Abstract #1904

Tuning Histidine Proton Exchange Rates for CEST Contrast Through Peptide Design

Nikita Oskolkov¹, Xiaolei Song¹, Kannie W.Y. Chan², Michael Giano³, Jeff W.M. Bulte²,⁴, Peter C.M. van Zijl¹,⁴, Joel Schneider³, Michael T. McMahon¹,⁴

¹Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³National Cancer Institute, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States; ⁴F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States

Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) is a novel MRI contrast mechanism for detection of water exchangeable protons. We have designed peptides which form hydrogels suitable for use as adjuvants in cell therapy. These peptides are designed to form strong hydrogen bonding networks in order to slow down imino proton chemical exchange. These peptide-based hydrogels possess a wide range of unique properties that make them potentially applicable for different biological studies.