Simultaneous enhancement of T(1) and T(2) magnetic resonance imaging of liver tumor at respective low and high magnetic fields

Background: Nowadays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely applied in clinical diagnosis. However, using one contrast agent (CA) to simultaneously enhance the T(1) and T(2) MR contrast at low and high magnetic fields respectively has not been reported. Methods: Herein, we investigated the MR property of a γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT)-instructed, intracellular formed gadolinium nanoparticle (DOTA-Gd-CBT-NP) at low and high magnetic fields. Results: Experimental results showed that DOTA-Gd-CBT-NP possesses a low r(2)/r(1) ratio 0.91 which enables it to enhance T(1) MR imaging of liver tumor at 1.0 T, and a high r(2)/r(1) ratio 11.8 which renders the nanoparticle to largely enhance T(2) MR imaging of liver tumor at 9.4 T. Conclusion: We expect that our GGT-responsive Gd-nanoparticle could be applied for simultaneous T(1) and T(2) MRI diagnosis of early liver cancer in clinic at respective low and high magnetic fields when the 9.4 T MR machine is clinically available in the future.