MRI Visualization of Melanoma Cells by Targeting Overexpressed Sialic Acid with a GdIII-dota-en-pba Imaging Reporter

By design: The novel MRI reporter GdIII-dota-en-pba (see picture) selectively binds to sialic acid residues, which are overexpressed on tumors. This imaging reporter accumulates in a murine melanoma B16-F10 mice xenograft and from the MRI signal intensity it is possible to quantify the sialic acid concentration that is directly associated with tumor malignancy.