Abstract #4226

Amine/Amide Concentration Independent Detection (AACID) of Intracellular pH by CEST MRI at 9.4T

Nevin McVicar¹, Alex Li², Robert Bartha², Daniela F. Goncalves³,⁴, Susan Meakin², Marco A. Prado²

¹Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario (UWO), London, ON, Canada; ²Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, Canada; ³Physiology and Pharmacology, UWO, London, ON, Canada; ⁴Graduate Program in Physiology and Biophysics, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

A novel ratiometric CEST approach is developed for amine/amide concentration independent detection (AACID) of intracellular pH. In vitro results demonstrate a linear relation between pH and the amine/amide CEST ratio. In vivo pH-calibration allowed quantitative pH mapping in both stroke and brain tumor mouse models.