Peptide hydrogels generating chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI contrast and uses thereof
AssigneesThe Johns Hopkins University, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Inc., National Institutes of Health
InventorsMichael T. McMahon, Kannie Wai-Yan Chan, Michael Christopher Giano, Nikita Oskolkov, Joel Patrick Schneider, Xiaolei Song
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Abstract
The present invention provides novel hydrogels through peptides, which are designed to self-assemble and produce magnetic resonance (MR) contrast through chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST). The location and integrity of these gels could consequently be tracked using MR imaging. The self-assembly of the peptides into hydrogels can be brought about by a change in pH, ionic strength, temperature, and concentration of ions.
Claims12
An agent for use in conjunction with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging comprising:
- a biocompatible chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) agent;
- wherein said biocompatible CEST agent takes the form of a peptide-based hydrogel comprising two β-strands comprising alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues flanking a tetrapeptide turn sequence, wherein the hydrophobic residues comprise valine, each hydrophilic residue is selected from a group consisting of histidine, serine and aspartate, and the tetrapeptide turn sequence comprises ‘Val-pro-Pro-Thr’;
- and wherein said peptide-based hydrogel is inherently a contrast agent;
- and
- wherein said biocompatible CEST agent is configured to create contrast in an MR image detectable using a saturation transfer CEST method of MR imaging.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.