The Development of a Novel Gadolinium Chelating Agent, for MRI contrast agents, Employing Carbomoylmethyl-Phosphine Oxides (CMPOs)

Medical resonance imaging (MRI) is sometimes performed using Ionized gadolinium (Gd) as a contrast agent. As gadolinium is a nephrotoxin, chelating agents are needed to prevent toxicity to the patient. Current chelating agents are available; however, they suffer from a lack of water solubility or by having a negative affect on water\u27s relaxivity rates. An ideal chelating agent binds well to Gd while allowing it to simultaneously interact with individual water molecules. Our lab is developing a novel class of chelating agents containing carbamoylmethyl phosphine oxides (CMPO\u27s), which have the potential to be more soluble in water, by the manipulation of side groups, than current commercially available agents while retaining a favorable affect on water relaxivity