title: MRI nanoprobes based on chemical exchange saturation transfer: Ln(III) chelates anchored on the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles.
abstract: The formation of ternary complexes between neutral Ln(III)-DO3A chelates anchored on MCM-41 mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and silanol groups on the surface allows obtaining highly efficient chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI nanoprobes. These new probes achieve excellent sensitivity in the μM range (per Ln(III) ion), significantly greater than that of other paramagnetic CEST nanosystems such as dendrimers or micelles and three orders of magnitude higher than that of the corresponding molecular agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Molecular Imaging Center, University of Torino, Via Nizza, 52, 10126, Torino, Italy. silvio.aime@unito.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrauto
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carniato
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tei
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aime
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Botta