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Self‐Assembled Nanomicelles as MRI Blood‐Pool Contrast Agent
Author(s) -
Babič Andrej,
Vorobiev Vassily,
Xayaphoummine Céline,
Lapicorey Gaëlle,
Chauvin AnneSophie,
Helm Lothar,
Allémann Eric
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201703962
Subject(s) - gadolinium , amphiphile , mri contrast agent , in vivo , magnetic resonance imaging , materials science , nuclear magnetic resonance , chemistry , biophysics , biomedical engineering , copolymer , organic chemistry , radiology , medicine , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , polymer
Gadolinium‐loaded nanomicelles show promise as future magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents (CAs). Their increased size and high gadolinium (Gd) loading gives them an edge in proton relaxivity over smaller molecular Gd‐complexes. Their size and stealth properties are fundamental for their long blood residence time, opening the possibility for use as blood‐pool contrast agents. Using l ‐tyrosine as a three‐functional scaffold we synthesized a nanostructure building block 8 . The double C18 aliphatic chain on one side, Gd‐1,4,7,10‐tetraazacyclododecane‐1‐4‐7‐triacetic acid (Gd‐DO3A) with access to bulk water in the center and 2 kDa PEG on the hydrophilic side gave the amphiphilic properties required for the core–shell nanomicellar architecture. The self‐assembly into Gd‐loaded monodispersed 10–20 nm nanomicelles occurred spontaneously in water. These nanomicelles ( Tyr‐MRI ) display very high relaxivity at 29 m m −1 s −1 at low field strength and low cytotoxicity. Good contrast enhancement of the blood vessels and the heart together with prolonged circulation time in vivo, makes Tyr‐MRI an excellent candidate for a new supramolecular blood‐pool MRI CA.