Christoph J. Jocher

High-Relaxivity MRI Contrast Agents: Where Coordination Chemistry Meets Medical Imaging

The desire to improve and expand the scope of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has prompted the search for contrast agents of higher efficiency. The development of better agents requires consideration of the fundamental coordination chemistry of the gadolinium(III) ion and the parameters that affect its efficacy as a proton relaxation agent. In optimizing each parameter, other practical issues, such as solubility and in vivo toxicity, must also be addressed, making the attainment of safe, high-relaxivity agents a challenging goal. This Minireview presents recent advances in the field, with an emphasis on gadolinium(III) hydroxypyridinone chelate complexes.

Highly Luminescent Lanthanide Complexes of 1-Hydroxy-2-pyridinones

The synthesis, X-ray structure, stability, and photophysical properties of several trivalent lanthanide complexes formed from two differing bis-bidentate ligands incorporating either alkyl or alkyl ether linkages and featuring the 1-hydroxy-2-pyridinone (1,2-HOPO) chelate group in complex with Eu(III), Sm(III), and Gd(III) are reported. The Eu(III) complexes are among some of the best examples, pairing highly efficient emission (Phi tot (Eu) approximately 21.5%) with high stability (pEu approximately 18.6) in aqueous solution, and are excellent candidates for use in biological assays. A comparison of the observed behavior of the complexes with differing backbone linkages shows remarkable similarities, both in stability and photophysical properties. Low temperature photophysical measurements for a Gd(III) complex were also used to gain insight into the electronic structure and were found to agree with corresponding time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations for a model complex. A comparison of the high resolution Eu(III) emission spectra in solution and from single crystals also revealed a more symmetric coordination geometry about the metal ion in solution due to dynamic rotation of the observed solid state structure.

Aryl-bridged 1-hydroxypyridin-2-one: sensitizer ligands for Eu(III).

The synthesis, crystal structure, solution stability, and photophysical properties of an aryl group bridging two 1-hydroxypyridin-2-one units complexed to Eu(III) are reported. The results show that this backbone unit increases the rigidity of the ensuing complex, and also the conjugation of the ligand. As a result of the latter, the singlet absorption energy is decreased, along with the energy of the lowest excited triplet state. The resulting efficiency of sensitization for the Eu(III) ion is influenced by these phenomena, yielding an overall quantum yield of 6.2% in aqueous solution. The kinetic parameters arising from the luminescence data reveal an enhanced nonradiative decay rate for this compound when compared to previously reported aliphatic bridges.

Eu(III) Complexes of Functionalized Octadentate 1-Hydroxypyridin-2-ones: Stability, Bioconjugation, and Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer Studies

The synthesis, stability, and photophysical properties of several Eu(III) complexes featuring the 1-hydroxypyridin-2-one (1,2-HOPO) chelate group in tetradentate and octadentate ligands are reported. These complexes pair highly efficient emission with exceptional stabilities (pEu ∼ 20.7-21.8) in aqueous solution at pH 7.4. Further analysis of their solution behavior has shown the observed luminescence intensity is significantly diminished below about pH ∼ 6 because of an apparent quenching mechanism involving protonation of the amine backbones. Nonetheless, under biologically relevant conditions, these complexes are promising candidates for applications in Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) assays and synthetic methodology to prepare derivatives with either a terminal amine or a carboxylate group suitable for bioconjugation has been developed. Lastly, we have demonstrated the use of these compounds as the energy donor in a Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (LRET) biological assay format.