Nanodiamond-Manganese dual mode MRI contrast agents for enhanced liver tumor detection

Contrast agent-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is an important tool for diagnosing solid cancers, such as liver cancer. While both T1 and T2-weighted MR imaging are utilized, current clinical contrast agent-enhanced dual mode MR imaging of liver tumors can be unreliable. Nanodiamonds (NDs) have unique surface properties that improve paramagnetic ion relaxivity through improved interaction between paramagnetic ions and water molecules. In this study, we identified the critical properties needed to develop a nanodiamond-based dual mode contrast agent that exhibits improved relaxivity efficiency and enhanced T1 and T2-weighted liver tumor images compared to current clinical contrast agents.87