title: Ni-DTPA doped agarose gel--a phantom material for Gd-DTPA enhancement measurements.
abstract: In order to study the relationship between the concentration of Gd-DTPA in tissue, and the resulting changes in relaxation times and signal intensity, a phantom material that has similar relaxation times to tissue and that can be doped with Gd-DTPA is required. The "tissue-equivalent" material should not contain Gd; nor should it alter the relaxivities of Gd-DTPA from their values in aqueous solution (R1 = 4.5 sec-1 mM-1; R2 = 5.5 sec-1 mM-1 at 1.5 T). Conventional materials, based on CuSO4-, MnCl2-, or GdCl3/LaCl3-agarose mixtures, are not suitable, since Gd is displaced from the Gd-DTPA chelate. The new material, consisting of Ni-DTPA dissolved in agarose, is easy to prepare and does not interact with Gd-DTPA. Its relaxation times are stable; relaxivity R1 was within 4% of its aqueous value over 109 days. T1s have low dependence on temperature (0.2-1.0%/degrees C at 21 degrees C) and on field strength, allowing the material to be used as a relaxation time standard for quality assurance. Equations giving the concentration of Ni-DTPA and agarose to produce a required T1 and T2 are provided.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Tofts
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shuter
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pope
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry; D015195:Drug Design; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000737:chemistry; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008961:Models, Structural; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D012685:Sepharose / Q000737:chemistry; D012996:Solutions; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005782:Gels; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D012996:Solutions; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D009532:Nickel; D012685:Sepharose; D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA