Novel molecular platform integrated iron chelation therapy for 1H-MRI detection of β-galactosidase activity

Targeting the increased Fe(3+) content in tumors, we propose a novel molecular platform integrated cancer iron chelation therapy for (1)H-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection of β-galactosidase (β-gal) activity. Following this idea, we have designed, synthesized, and characterized a series of β-d-galactosides conjugated with various chelators and demonstrated the feasibility of this concept for assessing β-gal activity in solution by (1)H-MRI T1 and T2 relaxation mapping.