Improved Spin Probes for Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Oxygen and Reactive Oxygen

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is currently a need for improved spin probes to help with the diagnosis of and fundamental research into diseases mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). This is especially true for the study of age related diseases, since oxidative damage accumulates during the aging process, and many age related disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease are characterized by damage from excess ROS. Spin probes allow these unstable oxygen species to be detected and identified using various magnetic resonance techniques, such as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). While certain cancers in animals (Mikuni et al., 2004) and tissues, such as an isolated rat heart (Zweier et al., 1998), have been successfully imaged using EPR imaging, (EPRI), with the current generation of spin probes it is not possible to detect the generation of ROS in age related disorders. The development of new spin probes that allow in vivo detection of ROS produced by Parkinson's and other ROS diseases would represent a significant advance for diagnosing these conditions and for guiding their treatment. To overcome limitations of currently available spin probes, we propose to investigate spin probes based upon single paramagnetic nitrogen atoms encapsulated in C60 fullerenes, N@C60. In this species, the nitrogen is pinned at the center of the symmetric fullerene cage where its unpaired spins are completely protected from reaction with external species. Isolation from the outside environment in the fullerene cage endows N@C60 with one of the narrowest known EPR line widths, (Morton et al., 2006), giving it detection efficiency 100 to 1000 times better than the current spin probes. In addition, interactions with ROS occurring on the surface N@C60 will produce measurable shifts in the spectrum without direct reaction with the probe. These combined features make N@C60 a potentially ideal spin probe. Given the potential of this class of compounds as spin probes and the number of applications that would benefit from such compounds, the overall goal of this project is to synthesize a water-soluble, bioavailable N@C60 derivative, N@C3, and characterize its ability to measure molecular oxygen and biologically important ROS including superoxide using magnetic resonance techniques in vivo. The specific aims of this project are: 1) show that our N@C60 derivative has an EPR signal that is suitable for use as a spin probe for both oximetry and ROS detection, 2) compare N@C3 with currently available spin probes for both oximetry and detection of superoxide and other ROS in aqueous and lipid environments, in cells, and in isolated mitochondria, and 3) Use the technique of Overhauser-enhanced MRI to study the ability of the spin probe to a) enhance spatial resolution of the MRI image, b) substantially improve oxygen mapping by MRI, and c) detect and map ROS in vivo. The proposed studies are the first steps in developing endohedral fullerene-based compounds as novel spin probes, and may open up new avenues for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's. There is growing evidence that reactive oxygen species (ROS) may contribute to the development of many human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's dementia and Parkinson's disease, but there are currently no techniques which allow ROS (or free radicals) to be measured in patients or in intact animal models of human disease. This project is designed to develop a novel class of "spin probes", molecular agents which are able to interact with ROS to produce a signal which can be detected using various magnetic resonance imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to assist in early diagnosis and treatment of a broad range of human diseases.