Thesis supervisor: Zoltán Garda
Location of studies (in Hungarian): Debreceni Egyetem, Fizikai Kémiai Tanaszék, D-519 laboratórium Abbreviation of location of studies: D-519
Description of the research topic:
Cell tracking in vivo remains an important challenge in the field of biomedical imaging. Given the lack of background signal, 19F MRI is very attractive approach for this purpose. Today 19F MRI most often relies on fluorine-dense perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions (PFCs). PFCs, like perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) or cyclic perfluoro-15-crown-5-ether (PFCE), and nanoemulsions derived from them, were the first generation of 19F MR imaging agents for preclinical imaging and clinical cell labelling and in vivo tracking of different cell types (immune, T, natural killer (NK), dendritic, or cancer cells).
The objective of this research is to develop 19F MRI probes suitable for 19F MRI cell tracking which (i) avoid the solubility, stability and biodistribution problems associated with PFC nanoemulsions, and (ii) maximize 19F MRI signal to noise ratio per imaging time by using efficient paramagnetic relaxation agents. We will combine the advantageous properties of paramagnetic metal ion based systems and small fluorinated molecules by creating highly stable and inert complexes which fulfill the cell labelling requirements. We will use fluorinated complexes of paramagnetic metal ions (Mn(II)/(III) és Fe(II)/(III)) with best adapted paramagnetic features (optimized during the PhD work realization) for 19F MRI. 19F atoms will be integrated in the complex at an optimized distance from the paramagnetic metal ion to allow for fast relaxation without significant signal vanishing. During the work, we design, synthetize and study (from the coordination chemistry point of view) fluorine-containing ligands and their complexes formed with paramagnetic metal ions.
Required language skills: Magyar vagy Angol Number of students who can be accepted: 1
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