The Gadonanotubes revisited: A new frontier in MRI contrast agent design

• Published in: Inorganica Chimica Acta 2012-12, Vol.393, p.165-172
• Main Authors: Sethi, Richa, Mackeyev, Yuri, Wilson, Lon J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Gadonanotubes; Gd-based contrast agents; Magnetic resonance imaging; Single-walled carbon nanotubes
• ISSN: 0020-1693; 1873-3255
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ica.2012.07.004

The Gadonanotubes are evaluated as high-performance contrast agents, exhibiting MRI efficacies far surpassing leading clinical agents, such as Magnevist®. [Display omitted] ► Basic principles underlying the Gadonanotubes as superior T1-weighted contrast agents for MRI are discussed. ► The Gadonanotubes as a new nanotechnology is emphasized. ► Applications of the Gadonanotubes as T1-weighted MRI contrast agents are reviewed and the future forecast. In this review, the application of the Gadonanotubes (GNTs) as high-performance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents (CAs) is discussed. Through published and some unpublished work, we describe how the loading and nanoscale confinement of multiple Gd3+ ions within ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotubes (US-tubes) produces GNTs with MRI efficacies 40 to 90 times greater than current clinical CAs. Since there is a continuing need to increase MRI sensitivity, the molecular factors affecting the performance of Gd3+-based CAs are described and their optimization is considered for Gd3+-based agents, in general, and the GNTs in particular. The GNTs are new (ca. 2005) high-performance nanotechnology-inspired MRI CAs with promise for advanced T1-weighted MR molecular imaging applications.