Abstract #1852

Nabuurs R, Pham W, Van Buchem M, Moore A

Clinical application of potentially useful imaging agents for the detection of neurodegenerative diseases is hampered by the limited access of probes to the BBB. Here we developed Gd-associated fatty acylated polyargine (MPAP-Gd) as a probe to cross the BBB for molecular neuroimaging using MRI. The peptide backbone was synthesized by solid phase chemistry, while a fatty acid group was incorporated using Schotten-Baumann reaction. DOTA was conjugated to the peptide selectively to a lysine side chain on solid support followed by association with gadolinium to afford the final product. Assessment of the probes in vivo using MRI is currently underway.