Date of Award
2010
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
The facile and definitive diagnosis of disease is paramount in treating patients effectively. The ability to image the body, and more precisely the ability to image the specific site of the ailment, has become a cornerstone in medicine. Currently, most imaging technologies focus on macroscopic physical, physiological, or metabolic changes rather than identifying specific molecular events that are responsible for disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-radioactive and high spatial resolution diagnostic technique capable of both anatomical and molecular imaging. Paramagnetic complexes, such as gadolinium, can be used as MRI contrast agents because their unpaired electrons increase the relaxivity of the nearby water molecules, thus increasing the signal. A recent alternative to lanthanide-based contrast agents are hyperpolarized 129Xe biosensors. These biosensors take advantage of 129Xe's large chemical shift window and the increased sensitivity associated with hyperpolarization. In order to further increase the sensitivity of 129Xe biosensors the HyperCEST technique can be utilized. Our research involves the synthesis and use of tropane-based contrast agents and cryptophane-based 129Xe biosensors with the intent to quantify the concentration of dopamine transporter (DAT). Knowing the concentration of DAT in the brain can help diagnose and treat conditions such as drug addiction, depression, and Parkinson's disease.
Recommended Citation
Naumiec, Gregory R., "The development of novel MR molecular imaging agents towards the visualization of DAT" (2010). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 2390.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/2390
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