Recent Progress of Molecular Imaging Probes Based on Gadofullerenes

Paramagnetic gadofullerenes and their derivatives exhibit more advantages than commercial Magnevist™ (Gd-DTPA) therefore have become competitive candidates for MR imaging probes. One of the most important properties is the stable fullerene cages are believed to hinder both chemical attacks on the inner clusters and the escape of the toxic lanthanide ions, which should effectively suppress the toxicity of naked Gd3+ ions. Some functionalized gadofullerides are also available for further conjugation to fabricate multifunctional probes. This review presented the latest findings of MRI imaging probes based on various gadofullerenes, including Gd@C60, Gd@C82 and Gd3N@C80 and discussed the derivative strategy of gadofullerenes determining their relaxivity properties, biodistributions as well as their potential applications as nanoplatform for multifunctional probes.