title: A smart T(1)-weighted MRI contrast agent for uranyl cations based on a DNAzyme-gadolinium conjugate.
abstract: Rational design of smart MRI contrast agents with high specificity for metal ions remains a challenge. Here, we report a general strategy for the design of smart MRI contrast agents for detecting metal ions based on conjugation of a DNAzyme with a gadolinium complex. The 39E DNAzyme, which has high selectivity for UO2(2+), was conjugated to Gd(III)-DOTA and streptavidin. The binding of UO2(2+) to its 39E DNAzyme resulted in the dissociation of Gd(III)-DOTA from the large streptavidin, leading to a decrease of the T1 correlation time, and a change in the MRI signal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. yi-lu@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Weichen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D021881:DNA, Catalytic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D014501:Uranium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D021881:DNA, Catalytic; D014501:Uranium; D005682:Gadolinium