Hyperpolarized 15N contrast agents for the detection of copper and zinc ions

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The causes of many diseases, such as neurodegenerative processes,are associated with increased concentrations of metal ions. Important representatives of these ions are copper and zinc. The detection of endogenous ions can be accomplished by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, MRI has its limitations because it is an intrinsically insensitive method. To increase the sensitivity of MRI, the method of hyperpolarization was introduced which increases the signals of contrast agents by more than 10,000 times. I am planning to use this method for the development of new, sensitive contrast agents, which will allow for the detection of copper and zinc ions in 100 micromolar concentrations, as they are often found in pathologies. I am going to use the approach to hyperpolarize nitrogenspins (15N) in new, to be developed contrast agents. The 15N-species will have a very long lifetime and will be traceable for more than 10 minutes. This corresponds to one order of magnitude longer traceability than with 13C-labeled compounds, which are used as standard in hyperpolarization studies. The newly designed contrast agents will be optimized with respect to their magnetic resonance parameters and finally tested in in vitro imaging experiments. At the end of the project, the new hyperpolarized contrast agents will be developed to the point where preclinical studies in disease models can follow.