Lanthanide Trifluoride Nanoparticles for Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI

摘要: We present a new class gadolinium-based contrast agents for MR imaging. The contrast agent consists of nanoparticles with a lanthanide fluoride core (Gadolinium and Cerium trifluoride) surrounded by a coating of polyacrilic acid. Chemical similarity between different lanthanide-series elements allows core elements to be varied, altering size and relaxivity as well as rendering the nanoparticles visible under fluorescence microscopy via the addition of Europium or Terbium. The polyacrilic acid coating can be functionalized to allow for cellular uptake. This flexible contrast agent has been successfully used in vivo for dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging.