Activities

The chemistry of Gd-complexes is one of the first research line which has been tackled at CIM. It starts from the synthesis of differently functionalized Gd-based probes and continues to their relaxometric characterization for the in-depth elucidation of the relationships between structure and dynamics of paramagnetic metal complexes and the determinants of their proton relaxation enhancement. Moreover, all the new Gd-complexes which are here synthetized and characterized are tested for their specific function in vitro (at the cellular level) and/or in vivo (in specific animal models).

In recent years, a new concern came out on the use of Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) in clinical settings as MRI contrast agents associated to the finding that small amounts of gadolinium are retained in the brain (and in other body districts) of patients who received multiple doses of GBCAs during their life. The intrinsic difficulties associated with the availability of human biopsies prompted the development of animal models to investigate Gd-retention in the brain. The study of the processes beyond Gd-retention issue has been object of a new research activity at CIM.

Group

• Prof. Enzo Terreno, PI
• Simonetta Geninatti Crich, Associate Professor
• Giuseppe Ferrauto, Research Fellow
• Eliana Gianolio, Research technician
• Simona Baroni, research technician
• Enza Di Gregorio, post doc fellow
• Lorenzo Palagi, PhD student
• Chiara Furlan, PhD student