Decacationic pillar[5]arene: A new scaffold for the development of ¹²⁹Xe MRI imaging agents

P. U.Ashvin I. Fernando, University of Rhode Island
Yurii Shepelytskyi, Lakehead University
Paul T. Cesana, University of Rhode Island
Alanna Wade, Lakehead University
Vira Grynko, Lakehead University
Adriana M. Mendieta, University of Rhode Island
Lauren E. Seveney, University of Rhode Island
Joseph D. Brown, University of Rhode Island
Francis T. Hane, Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute
Mitchell S. Albert, Lakehead University
Brenton Deboef, University of Rhode Island

Abstract

A decacationic water-soluble pillar[5]arene possessing a nonsolvated hydrophobic core has been designed and synthesized. This supramolecular host is capable of binding xenon, as evidenced by hyperCEST depletion experiments. Fluorescence-based studies also demonstrate that xenon binds into the cavity of the pillararene with an association constant of 4.6 × 103 M-1. These data indicate that the water-soluble pillararene is a potential scaffold for building contrast agents that can be detected by xenon-129 magnetic resonance imaging.