New research aims to improve MRI effectiveness

DETROIT - New strides in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are being made, thanks to a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The four-year, $2.3 million grant supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) of the NIH, will benefit a study titled, "Enabling Systemic Delivery of Europium-containing Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging." The study is led by Wayne State University's Department of Chemistry in collaboration with the Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Matthew J. Allen, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry in Wayne State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is leading the project alongside Dr. Robia Pautler, professor of integrative physiology at the Baylor College of Medicine.

"We are looking at advanced contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging," said Allen. "We want them to be able to detect hypoxia, which can be a factor in a lot of diseases, including cancer. Instead of using gadolinium, which is what is traditionally used, we are using the material europium as the contrast agent. Europium can change the brightness of an image based on how much oxygen is present. The absence of oxygen indicates hypoxia. We have developed new europium probes and figured out how to make them more stable which allows us to image anywhere in the body."

Pautler will test an innovative approach for imaging hypoxia with MRI. Novel MRI contrast agents synthesized at Wayne State will be tested at Baylor College of Medicine in vivo using a 9.4T MRI. This new approach is anticipated to be more reliable at detecting hypoxia than older blood-flow based imaging strategies.

"We're very excited to continue working with Dr. Allen and his team on these innovative and very exciting MRI contrast agents," said Pautler.

This study builds off Allen's previous work examining improved MRI.

"When this study is over four years from now, I expect that we will be able to inject europium complexes and have those complexes remain stable long enough to enable this improved type of imaging," Allen said.

He added that improved imaging techniques could have an enormous impact on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

"Our research could help in a variety of areas, but cancer is a great example," said Allen. "Tumors that are hypoxic respond differently to treatments than those that aren't, and right now there isn't a good way to determine the presence of hypoxia without doing a biopsy. Additionally, in the development of new drugs to treat hypoxia, our studies have the potential to speed those developments with imaging."

"This project is a great example of the importance of leveraging partnerships to advance scientific breakthroughs," said Dr. Ezemenari M. Obasi, vice president for research & innovation at Wayne State. "By teaming up with scientists from the Baylor College of Medicine, our researchers led by Dr. Matt Allen are leveraging the strengths of our two institutions that will hopefully one day improve diagnostics and treatments for a wide range of diseases. I look forward to the results of this important study."

The award number for this grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health is EB035631.

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Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu .

Wayne State University's research efforts are dedicated to a prosperity agenda that betters the lives of our students, supports our faculty in pushing the boundaries of knowledge and innovation further, and strengthens the bonds that interconnect Wayne State and our community. To learn more about Wayne State University's prosperity agenda, visit president.wayne.edu/prosperity-agenda .

Baylor College of Medicine ( bcm.edu ) in Houston is recognized as a health sciences university and is known for excellence in education, research and patient care. Baylor is a top-ranked medical school and listed 20^th among all U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding and No. 1 in Texas. Located in the Texas Medical Center, Baylor has affiliations with seven teaching hospitals and jointly owns and operates Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, part of St. Luke's Health. Currently, Baylor has more than 3,000 trainees in medical, graduate, nurse anesthesia, physician assistant, orthotics and genetic counseling as well as residents and postdoctoral fellows.