Gadolinium(III) chelated conjugated polymer as a potential MRI contrast agent

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a powerful technique in clinical diagnostics. In this work, a new MRI contrast agent by covalently linking Gd(III) chelates to the side chain of conjugated polymer (PF-Gd) is synthesized by Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The PF-Gd exhibits a higher relaxivity and a pronounced enhancement in contrast than that of (NMG)2-Gd-DTPA widely used for clinical diagnosis. This work should be feasible to potentially lead to a new class of imaging contrast agents.