Synthesis and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of manganese(III) porphyrin–dextran as a novel MRI contrast agent

5-(4-Aminophenyl)-10,15,20-tris(4-sulfonatophenyl) manganese(III) porphyrin conjugated with dextran was synthesized. Its potential of being used as a tumor-targeting magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrated that the compound has a longitudinal relaxivity (R1) higher than Gd-DTPA, low cytotoxicity and binding specificity to tumor cell membrane.

Graphical abstractThe synthesis and evaluation of Mn porphyrin–dextran as MRI contrast agents are reported.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide