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Published February 1998 | public
Journal Article

Fluorescently Detectable Magnetic Resonance Imaging Agents

Abstract

This report describes the synthesis, characterization, and in vivo testing of several bifunctional contrast-enhancing agents for optical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of experimental animals. These new agents integrate the advantages of both techniques since they can be visualized simultaneously by light and MRI microscopy. Employing this strategy allows the same biological structures of a specimen to be studied at dramatically different resolutions and depths. The complexes possess a metal chelator for binding a paramagnetic ion, gadolinium (Gd3+), and a covalently attached fluorescent dye. The first class of complexes are low-molecular weight species that are composed of the macrocyclic tetraamine 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N,N',N"-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) as the metal-chelating ligand coupled to tetramethylrhodamine. The second class of MRI-enhancing agents are composed of high-molecular weight polymers that are membrane impermeable and once injected into a cell or cells are trapped inside. These complexes possess multiple copies of both the metal−chelator−diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and the tetramethylrhodamine attached to a macromolecular framework of either poly(d-lysine) (pdl) or dextran. Images acquired of single cells after injection with these bifunctional agents enabled us to follow the relative motions and reorganizations of different cell layers during amphibian gastrulation and neurulation in Xenopus laevis embryos.

Additional Information

© 1998 American Chemical Society. Received August 13, 1997; Revised Manuscript Received December 12, 1997. Publication Date (Web): February 27, 1998. Support provided by the Human Brain Project with contributions from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Science Foundation. M.M.H. thanks the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for support.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023