This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Bioimaging technologies, such as fluorescence imaging (FI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are powerful tools in basic research and clinical medicine. FI allows researchers to visualize cells and other biological processes at high resolution, but it lacks imaging depth.
MRI can capture images deep within the body, but it lacks the single-cell resolution provided by FI. Furthermore, MRI contrast agents contain paramagnetic metals, such as gadolinium, that can potentially cause adverse side effects. In the journal Advanced Science, a research team led by Kyushu University reports developing a new water-soluble, metal-free molecule that can be detected by fluorescence imaging and used as an MRI contrast agent.
The findings open the possibility of safer, multifunctional and less toxic imaging agents, as well as applications in other bioimaging techniques. "In this study, we developed a molecule with both FI and MRI functionality. However, creating such a molecule is challenging because the functional mechanisms of the two technologies differ," explains associate professor Ken Albrecht from Kyushu University's Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, who led the study.
"In FI, a molecule absorbs and reemits certain wavelengths of light that we then detect. MRI works by detecting the molecular spin of the hydrogen atoms in water molecules in the body. The contrast material helps improve the clarity of the resulting image." The team focused on a promising series of molecules called luminescent organic radicals, which have been shown to produce fluorescence and molecular spin.
However, previous studies showed that these molecules were hydrophobic, limiting their utility in biological systems. "We worked with a molecule called tris(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) methyl (TTM), a luminescent organic radical that produces fluorescence and functions as an MRI contrast agent," Albrecht continues. "The first generation of molecules we made showed good MRI activity but had extremely weak fluorescence.
We continued to optimize the molecule to make it water-soluble and improve its fluorescence activity." The team eventually developed two molecules: TTM-trisTP3B and TTM-trisTP9B. Both molecules are bound in three directions to water-soluble groups and produce deep-red fluorescence in water. TTM-trisTP3B was tested in living cells and was confirmed to emit fluorescence around the cell nucleus and continue fluorescing for at least 24 hours.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
