Monitoring tissue implants by field-cycling1H-MRIviathe detection of changes in the14N-quadrupolar-peak from imidazole moieties incorporated in a “smart“ scaffold material

Enza Di Gregorio, Valeria Bitonto, Simona Baroni, Rachele Stefania, Silvio Aime, Lionel M. Broche, Nicholas Senn, P. James Ross, David J. Lurie, Simonetta Geninatti Crich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study is focused on the development of innovative sensors to non-invasively monitor the tissue implant status by Fast-Field-Cycling Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FFC-MRI). These sensors are based on oligo-histidine moieties that are conjugated to PLGA polymers representing the structural matrix for cells hosting scaffolds. The presence of14N atoms of histidine causes a quadrupolar relaxation enhancement (also called Quadrupolar Peak, QP) at 1.39 MHz. This QP falls at a frequency well distinct from the QPs generated by endogenous semisolid proteins. The relaxation enhancement is pH dependent in the range 6.5-7.5, thus it acts as a reporter of the scaffold integrity as it progressively degrades upon lowering the microenvironmental pH. The ability of this new sensors to generate contrast in an image obtained at 1.39 MHz on a FFC-MRI scanner is assessed. A good biocompatibility of the histidine-containing scaffolds is observed after its surgical implantation in healthy mice. Over time the scaffold is colonized by endogenous fibroblasts and this process is accompanied by a progressive decrease of the intensity of the relaxation peak. In respect to the clinically used contrast agents this material has the advantage of generating contrast without the use of potentially toxic paramagnetic metal ions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4863-4872
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry B
Volume9
Issue number24
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jun 2021
Externally publishedYes

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