Digital Commons Network^™

Studies On The Physicochemical Properties Of Eu2+ Cryptates: Implications To Contrast Agents For Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Joel Garcia

Wayne State University Dissertations

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful medical imaging technique that can be enhanced using metal complexes called contrast agents. Most clinically approved contrast agents contain Gd³⁺. However, the efficiency (also known as relaxivity) of these Gd³⁺-containing complexes decreases as field strength increases, and in the ultra-high field strength regime, the relaxivity of these complexes is decreased considerably. Because of the slow water-exchange rate of most Gd³⁺-containing complexes (∼;10⁶ s^-1), I used Eu²⁺ instead of Gd³⁺ and adapted the ligand modification strategies that have been used for Gd^{3+ …}