We report here the design of several gadolinium-based MR contrast agents with different zinc affinities. The zinc sensors increased r1 in the presence of Zn2+ ions and more in the presence of serum albumin, only when zinc was present. The sensors with a lower affinity for Zn2+ enhanced better the MR contrast produced by zinc release in mouse pancreas due to reduced background signal. These lower affinity Zn2+ agents show great promise for detecting and monitoring the pharmacological effect of drugs in diabetes.
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