News 2015

ACS Select Virtual Issue on Emerging Investigators in Bioinorganic Chemistry

Monday, 07.12.2015 09:00
Goran has been featured an emerging investigator in bioinorganic chemistry, together with 16 other young scientists.  This ACS Select Virtual Issue highlights the exciting work of these researchers which has recently appeared in Inorganic Chemistry, Journal of the American Chemical Society, ACS Chemical Biology or ACS Chemical Neuroscience, and is at the forefront of modern bioinorganic chemistry.

Link: http://pubs.acs.org/page/vi/bioinorganic-chemistry.html

New publication in Inorganic Chemistry

Monday, 02.11.2015 12:13
We connected a DO3A unit for Ln(III) complexation to a NO2A moiety through a N-propylacetamide linker and prepared  respective Tb(III) and  Gd(III) complexes. The luminescence emission experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate changes in coordination environment of Ln(III) complexes upon Zn(II) binding to the NO2A moiety. The longitudinal relaxivity of the Gd(III) complex increases by almost 150% upon saturation with Zn(II), while Ca(II) and Mg(II) induced very small relaxivity changes. In vitro MRI experiments confirmed the ability of Gd(III) complex to provide response to the presence of Zn(II).

Link to the article: M. Regueiro-Figueroa, S. Gündüz, V. Patinec, N. K. Logothetis, D. Esteban-Gómez, R. Tripier, G. Angelovski, C. Platas-Iglesias. “Gd3+-based Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agent Responsive to Zn2+Inorg. Chem. 2015, 54, 10342-10350.

DAAD fellowship to Tanja Savić

Thursday, 01.10.2015 09:00
Tanja continues her studies within the group as the PhD fellow of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) . We greatly appreciate the financial support of the DAAD!

New PhD students in the group MR Neuroimaging Agents

Dienstag 01.09.2015 09:00
Liam and Djordje joined the group this summer as PhD students.  Their projects concentrate on further development of responsive MRI contrast agents to monitor neural activity.  The initial results of their research are expected in due course. Good luck to both of them!

New publication in Small

Sunday, 16.08.2015 13:00
The ultrasmall and rigid nanoplatforms (USRPs) were coupled to calcium-responsive/smart contrast agents (SCAs). The resulting nanosized probes (SCA-USRPs) were validated in vitro and in vivo. Their longitudinal relaxivity increases almost twice upon saturation with calcium. On intravenous administration of SCA-USRPs in living mice, MRI studies indicated their rapid accumulation in the renal pelvis and parenchyma. Importantly, the MRI signal increased in both kidney compartments when CaCl2 was also administrated. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy experiments confirmed accumulation of SCA-USRPs in the renal cortex. These are the first studies which demonstrate calcium-sensitive MRI signal changes in vivo using smart contrast agents.

Link to the article: A. Moussaron, S. Vibhute, A. Bianchi, S. Gündüz, S. Kotb, L. Sancey, V. Motto-Ros, S. Rizzitelli, Y. Crémillieux, F. Lux, N. K. Logothetis, O. Tillement and Goran Angelovski. „Ultrasmall Nanoplatforms as Calcium-Responsive Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging.” Small 2015, 11, 4900-4909.

New publication in Chemistry - A Europeal Journal

Friday, 26.06.2015 16:00
We prepared and investigated a set of neurotransmitter-responsive MRI agents. They possess an azacrown ether appended to the macrocyclic chelate for selective interaction with the amino group of neurotransmitter. A wide range of performed studies confirm the response of our contrast agents towards the amino acid neurotransmitters and provide valuable insights for future design of even more potent neurotransmitter markers.

Link to the article:  F. Oukhatar, H. Meudal, C. Landon, N. K. Logothetis, C. Platas-Iglesias, G. Angelovski, É. Tóth. “Macrocyclic Gd3+ Complexes with Pendant Crown Ethers Designed for Binding Zwitterionic Neurotransmitters.” Chem. Eur. J. 2015, 21, 11226-11237.

New publication in ChemPlusChem

Wednesday, 18.03.2015 11:00
A nanosized target-specific bimodal and multivalent contrast agent (CA) has been prepared and characterized. This dendrimeric CA bears the ligand biotin and allows dual modal readout by means of magnetic resonance and optical imaging techniques. The demonstrated specific binding to avidin-coated agarose gels and microspheres opens new perspectives for high-affinity and high-resolution MRI of various cellular targets.
Link to the article: S. Gündüz, A. Power, M. E. Maier, N. K. Logothetis, G. Angelovski. „Synthesis and Characterization of a Biotinylated Multivalent Targeted Contrast Agent.” ChemPlusChem 2015, 80, 612-622.

New publication in Chemical Communications

Wednesday, 18.02.2015 16:00
We have prepared the first example of dendrimeric calcium-responsive MRI agent. Despite structural changes, its Ca-triggered longitudinal relaxivity response is still very high. The in vivo MRI studies in rat cerebral cortex indicate that this molecular probe has very advantageous diffusion properties for its utilization in novel type of functional MRI based on smart contrast agents.

Link to the article:  S. Gündüz, N. Nobuhiro, S. Vibhute, S. Shibata, M. E. Mayer, N. K. Logothetis, I. Aoki, G. Angelovski. „Dendrimeric Calcium-responsive MRI Contrast Agents with Slow in vivo Diffusion.” Chem. Commun. 2015, 51, 2782-2785.

New publication in ACS Chemical Neuroscience

Wednesday, 18.02.2015 11:00

We created a synthetic molecular platform with appropriate recognition moieties for zwitterionic neurotransmitters that generate an MR signal change upon neurotransmitter binding. The gadolinium complex we report offers ditopic binding for zwitterionic amino acid neurotransmitters, and their binding leads to a remarkable relaxivity change, related to a decrease in hydration number. This agent was successfully used to monitor neural activity in ex vivo mouse brain slices by MRI.

Link to the article: F. Oukhatar, S. Même, W. Même, F. Szeremeta, N. K. Logothetis, G. Angelovski, É. Tóth. “MRI sensing of neurotransmitters with a crown-ether appended Gd3+ complex.” ACS Chem. Neurosci. 2015, 6, 219-225.

New publication in Tetrahedron Letters

Friday, 16.01.2015 17:00
This invited review is intended for both the beginners and experts in the field of MRI contrast agents. We provide a brief overview of synthetic strategies to prepare DOTA, DO3A and DO2A derivatives, with the aim to familiarize chemists and MRI scientists with the first steps in preparation of these molecular imaging probes.

Link to the article: N. Cakić, S. Gündüz, R. Rengarasu, G. Angelovski. „Synthetic strategies for preparation of cyclen-based MRI contrast agents". Tetrahedron Lett. 2015, 56, 759-765.

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