Mitchell S Albert
Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute and Lakehead University, Canada
Title: New advances in hyperpolarized xenon-129 biosensor MR molecular imaging
Biography
Biography: Mitchell S Albert
Abstract
Hyperpolarized (HP) agents have the potential to vastly improve MRI sensitivity for the diagnosis and management of many diseases. The hyperpolarization of xenon (129Xe) can result in an enhanced signal by a factor of up to 100,000, which enables direct detection of the HP agent with no background signal. HP 129Xe is a potentially valuable MR tracer for functional imaging due to its high solubility in the blood and brain, and its large chemical shift range. HP 129Xe can also be used with biosensors for molecular MR imaging using the hyperpolarized xenon chemical exchange saturation transfer (HyperCEST) technique which allows the detection of probes at as low as femtomolar concentrations. HP 129Xe can be delivered to a target by means of dedicated molecular cage systems that can encapsulate xenon and bind to biological sites of interest using a targeting moiety, such as an antibody or a ligand, which enables detection of a specific biomarker. We have obtained the worlds first in vivo HyperCEST image via intravenous injection in a rat, which clearly illustrates the kidneys.