Simultaneous enhancement of T1 and T2 magnetic resonance imaging of liver tumor at respective low and high magnetic fields

Background: Nowadays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely applied in clinical diagnosis. However, using one contrast agent (CA) to simultaneously enhance the T-1 and T-2 MR contrast at low and high magnetic fields respectively has not been reported. Methods: Herein, we investigated the MR property of a gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT)-instructed, intracellular formed gadolinium nanoparticle (DOTA-Gd-CBT-NP) at low and high magnetic fields. Results: Experimental results showed that DOTA-Gd-CBT-NP possesses a low r(2)/r(1) ratio 0.91 which enables it to enhance T-1 MR imaging of liver tumor at 1.0 T, and a high r(2)/r(1) ratio 11.8 which renders the nanoparticle to largely enhance T-2 MR imaging of liver tumor at 9.4 T. Conclusion: We expect that our GGT-responsive Gd-nanoparticle could be applied for simultaneous T-1 and T-2 MRI diagnosis of early liver cancer in clinic at respective low and high magnetic fields when the 9.4 T MR machine is clinically available in the future.

Automated summary

This study found that a gadolinium nanoparticle, instructed by gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and formed intracellularly, exhibits different magnetic resonance properties at low and high magnetic fields, making it suitable for enhancing T-1 and T-2 MRI imaging of liver tumors respectively.