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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Preparation, Purification, and Characterization of Lanthanide Complexes for Use as Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: July 21, 2011
Highly fluorinated metal complexes as dual 19F and PARACEST imaging agents
Meng Yu1, Bailey S Bouley, Da Xie
1Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E. 24th St Stop A5300, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. emilyque@cm.utexas.edu.
Abstract:
We reported a set of water-soluble transition metal complexes that can serve as both 19F and PARACEST magnetic resonance imaging agents. The high number of equivalent fluorine atoms and the paramagnetic effect of metals offer these complexes high 19F sensitivity as demonstrated by in vitro19F MRI experiments. The complexes contain carboxamide groups appended onto a cyclen macrocycle, which provide 1H CEST peaks well differentiated from bulk water. The Co(ii) agent displays two CEST peaks that can be utilized for ratiometric pH determination and the concept of combining 19F MR and PARACEST as complementary imaging techniques was demonstrated with the Fe(ii) complex.
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