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Updated: Dec 7, 2025

Preparation, Purification, and Characterization of Lanthanide Complexes for Use as Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: July 21, 2011
Trimeric uranyl(vi)-citrate forms Na+, Ca2+, and La3+ sandwich complexes in aqueous solution
Jerome Kretzschmar1, Satoru Tsushima, Björn Drobot
1Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Resource Ecology, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden, Germany. j.kretzschmar@hzdr.de.
Abstract:
M. Basile, et al., Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 5306-5309, showed that a sodium ion is sandwiched by uranyl(vi) oxygen atoms of two 3 : 3 uranyl(vi)-citrate complex molecules in single-crystals. By means of NMR spectroscopy supported by DFT calculations we provide unambiguous evidence for this complex to persist in aqueous solution above a critical concentration of 3 mM uranyl citrate. Unprecedented Ca2+ and La3+ coordination by a bis-(η3-uranyl(vi)-oxo) motif advances the understanding of uranium's aqueous chemistry. As determined from 17O NMR, Ca2+ and more distinctly La3+ cause strong O[double bond, length as m-dash]U[double bond, length as m-dash]O polarization, which opens up new ways for uranyl(vi)-oxygen activation and functionalization.
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