Abstract #3467

Cellular Level MR Phase Contrast Microscopy & MEMRI of MnCl2 Labeled Tumor Cells with Direct Optical Correlation

Nicoleta Baxan¹, Ulf Kahlert², Juergen Hennig¹, Dominik von Elverfeldt¹

¹Dept. of Radiology, Medical Physics, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; ²Department of Stereotactic Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

In this study, we present for the first time the ability of the microcoil-based phase contrast MRI to resolve cellular structure of human glioma neurospheres, at significantly improved resolutions (10 10 m2) with direct optical image correlation. Furthermore, after cell labeling with manganese chloride (MnCl2), the paramagnetic properties of manganese were exploited using phase imaging to further enhance the contrast of cell structure. The MnCl2 property to function as a T1 contrast agent, enabled to follow temporal changes of MnCl2 uptake, retention and release time within and from single cells and individual clusters.