2020 journal article

Partially Fluorinated Copolymers as Oxygen Sensitive(19)F MRI Agents

CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, 26(44), 9982–9990.

By: N. Taylor*, S. Chung*, A. Kwansa n, R. Johnson*, A. Teator*, N. Milliken n, K. Koshlap*, Y. Yingling n, Y. Lee*, F. Leibfarth*

co-author countries: United States of America 🇺🇸
author keywords: F-19 MRI; amphiphilic copolymer; fluorinated monomers; oxygen sensing; polyacrylates
MeSH headings : Fluorine / analysis; Fluorine / chemistry; Halogenation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Oxygen / analysis; Oxygen / chemistry; Partial Pressure; Polymers / chemistry
Source: Web Of Science
Added: July 20, 2020

Abstract Effective diagnosis of disease and its progression can be aided by 19 F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. Specifically, the inherent sensitivity of the spin–lattice relaxation time ( T 1 ) of 19 F nuclei to oxygen partial pressure makes 19 F MRI an attractive non‐invasive approach to quantify tissue oxygenation in a spatiotemporal manner. However, there are only few materials with the adequate sensitivity to be used as oxygen‐sensitive 19 F MRI agents at clinically relevant field strengths. Motivated by the limitations in current technologies, we report highly fluorinated monomers that provide a platform approach to realize water‐soluble, partially fluorinated copolymers as 19 F MRI agents with the required sensitivity to quantify solution oxygenation at clinically relevant magnetic field strengths. The synthesis of a systematic library of partially fluorinated copolymers enabled a comprehensive evaluation of copolymer structure–property relationships relevant to 19 F MRI. The highest‐performing material composition demonstrated a signal‐to‐noise ratio that corresponded to an apparent 19 F density of 220 m m , which surpasses the threshold of 126 m m 19 F required for visualization on a three Tesla clinical MRI. Furthermore, the T 1 of these high performing materials demonstrated a linear relationship with solution oxygenation, with oxygen sensitivity reaching 240×10 −5 mmHg −1 s −1 . The relationships between material composition and 19 F MRI performance identified herein suggest general structure–property criteria for the further improvement of modular, water‐soluble 19 F MRI agents for quantifying oxygenation in environments relevant to medical imaging.