Two decades of dendrimers as versatile MRI agents: a tale with and without metals

Michael T McMahon; Jeff W M Bulte

doi:10.1002/wnan.1496

Two decades of dendrimers as versatile MRI agents: a tale with and without metals

Wiley Interdiscip Rev Nanomed Nanobiotechnol. 2018 May;10(3):e1496. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1496. Epub 2017 Sep 11.

Authors

Michael T McMahon^{1

2}, Jeff W M Bulte^{1

2

3

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Cellular Imaging Section and Vascular Biology Program, Institute for Cell Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁶ Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Abstract

Dendrimers or dendritic polymers are a class of compounds with great potential for nanomedical use. Some of their properties, including their rigidity, low polydispersity and the ease with which their surfaces can be modified make them particularly well suited for use as MRI diagnostic or theranostic agents. For the past 20 years, researchers have recognized this potential and refined dendrimer formulations to optimize these nanocarriers for a host of MRI applications, including blood pool imaging agents, lymph node imaging agents, tumor-targeted theranostic agents and cell tracking agents. This review summarizes the various types of dendrimers according to the type of MR contrast they can provide. This includes the metallic T₁ , T₂ and paraCEST imaging agents, and the non-metallic diaCEST and fluorinated (¹⁹ F) heteronuclear imaging agents. This article is categorized under: Diagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanomaterials and Implants.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Line, Tumor
Contrast Media*
Dendrimers*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
Mice

Substances

Contrast Media
Dendrimers

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding