Julie Magat1, Elif
Ozel1, Valrie Marchand1, Caroline Bouzin2,
Olivier Feron2, Benedicte F. Jordan1, Bernard Gallez1
1Louvain Drug Research
Institute, Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Research Group, University of
Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; 2Pole of Pharmacotherapy, University
of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
Dissolved oxygen acts as a T1-shortening paramagnetic contrast agent. We suggest here to monitor the changes in R1 of the lipid peak instead of water to exploit the higher solubility property of oxygen in lipids. For this purpose, we developed a method to map variations in oxygenation based on the changes in the relaxation properties of the tissue lipids. The method was applied in vitro for calibration and in vivo lipids in vivo in mammary cancer models during breathing challenges. The measurement of R1 in lipids offer an increased sensitivity compared to previously described techniques that measure the variations of R1 in the water component