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Abstract:
As calcium plays an important role in regulating a great variety of neuronal processes, many efforts are already made to generate gadolinium complexes that can act as a calcium-sensors in MRI.1 We developed a series of the DO3A-based macrocyclic and bismacrocyclic gadolinium chelates, bearing phosphonate groups as an additional coordination sites. These complexes are hypothesized to change the MRI contrast dynamically with Ca2+ concentration. Different lengths of the phosphonate side chains are exploited for fine-tuning the sensitivity of the agent to calcium ion concentration.