Mohammed Salman Shazeeb1, Giancarlo Feula, 12, Alexei Bogdanov1, 3
1Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States; 2Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, United States; 3Department of Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
M40403 is a synthetic manganese based superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic that has been extensively studied in vivo and found to have a catalytic activity rate which approaches that of the native Mn SOD enzyme. Here we compared the kinetics of liposome encapsulated M40403 and found that in addition to catalyzing superoxide dismutation In Vitro, M40403 also doubled as a paramagnetic contrast agent in vivo, causing enhancement of mouse brain after systemic administration. Thus liposome encapsulated M40403 is an ideal candidate for development as a theranostic compound useful for MR imaging of SOD activity and disease treatment.