Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a clinical standard for detecting abnormalities in soft tissue. Current commercial MRI contrast agents (CA) are polyaminocarboxylate-based chelates, such as Gd-DOTA Gd-DTPA producing images with limited contrast that required large injections of agent. Low relaxivity of these complexes arises from their slow water exchange rates, fast molecular tumbling, and the presence of only one water molecule per complex. The Raymond laboratory has been working on refining MRI CA using hexadentate hydroxypyridinone (HOPO) ligands, enabling the coordination of 2-3 water molecules to the Gd(III) center.  Conjugation to a macromolecule improves per Gd(III) relaxivity by reducing the molecular tumbling. Recent concern about the kinetic stability of Gd-DTPA has reoriented our research of Gd-HOPO toward kinetically inert structures. In this poster we demonstrate the design, synthesis and characterization of new Gd-HOPO complexes that will lead to better CA.

Recent development in design, and synthesis of new HOPO in the goal to improve the solubility and the kinetic stability of an already remarkable family of small molecule

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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