Abstract #3142

In Vitro Molecular MRI to Determine Contrast Sensitivity of Gd DTPA Slex Binding to P Selectin

Jessica Hung King Sang¹, Ursula Tuor^2,3, Robert Muller⁴, Tad Foniok², Philip Barber⁵

¹Department of Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ²National Research Council of Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ³Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ⁴Department of General, Organic and Biomedical Chemistry, NMR and Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Universit de Mons-Hainaut, Mons, Belgium; ⁵Clinical Neuroscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Previous magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies of endothelial activation in the mouse brain post-ischemia have demonstrated rather low contrast sensitivity using a novel contrast probe, Gd-DTPA-B(sLex)A, designed to bind to selectin molecules. Thus, prior knowledge of whether a contrast agent binds with sufficient affinity to its intended molecular target could be a valuable tool. The aim of our study was to develop an assay that would allow us to evaluate the MRI contrast sensitivity and the binding affinity of Gd-DTPA B(sLeX)A for P-selectin in vitro.