Development of Novel Molecular Imaging Agents and Methods for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

本研究的中心目标是开发分子成像方法和用于磁共振成像（MRI）的试剂。分子成像是一门研究学科，旨在非侵入性地可视化，表征和量化在生物分子或细胞水平上发生的过程。由于MRI已经成为许多疾病的标准治疗方法，因此开发新的药物和方法用于MRI成像体内分子过程是非常有兴趣的。MRI可以产生高对比度和高分辨率的优秀组织图像。它还能够提供“功能性”信息，这可以为理解分子成像数据提供重要的背景。不幸的是，由于分子“靶点”在体内的浓度低，而且MRI的灵敏度有限，因此通常很难用MRI检测到它们。这项发现基金提出的研究重点是开发新的分子显像剂和方法，具有高目标敏感性和特异性，用于MRI。有三个一般的研究目标来支持这一研究目标。

The central goal of this research is the development of molecular imaging methods and agents for use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Molecular imaging is a research discipline, which seeks to non-invasively visualize, characterize and quantify processes taking place at the molecular or cellular level in living organisms. Since MRI is already the standard of care in many diseases, there is great interest in developing new agents and methods for MRI to image molecular processes in vivo. MRI produces excellent images of tissue with high contrast and resolution. It is also capable of providing “functional” information, which can provide important context for understanding molecular imaging data. Unfortunately it is often difficult to detect molecular “targets” using MRI due to their low in vivo concentration and the limited sensitivity of MRI. The research proposed in this Discovery Grant is focused on developing new molecular imaging agents and methods with high target sensitivity and specificity for use with MRI. There are three general research objectives to support this research goal.