Shelton D. Caruthers1, Monica Shokeen2,
Ricardo Ferdani2, Hua Pan1, Samuel A. Wickline1,
Carolyn J. Anderson2
1C-TRAIN, Washington
University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States; 2Mallinckrodt
Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis,
MO, United States
The combination of PET and MRI is a major step in the evolution of molecular imaging. This work introduces a novel multi-modality contrast agent detected by both PET and MRI. Based on a lipid-encapuslated liquid perfluorocarbon nanoparticle platform, the agent uses a self-inserting chelator with a linker peptide derived from melittin to allow straightforward labeling with 64Cu. Quantitative MR imaging results from direct detection of the 19F signal from the nanoparticle core.