Abstract #1641

A Bacteriophage-Based Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI Contrast Agent Targeting the EGF Receptor in Mammalian Cells

Richard Matthew Ramirez¹,², Krishnan K. Palaniappan¹, David E. Wemmer¹,³, Matthew B. Francis¹,², Alex Pines¹,²

¹Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States; ²Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States; ³Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States

A hyperpolarized Xe molecular sensor capable of targeting specific cell types is presented. The sensor agent is composed of multiple cage-like cryptophane molecules attached to a bacteriophage which can then be targeted. This particular agent incorporated an anti-EGFR moiety and was successfully bound by EGFR-positive MDA-MB-231 cells, but not by Jurkat cells which do not express the EGF receptor. Presence of the agent is detected using a hyperCEST scheme.