Polystyrene microsphere-ferritin conjugates: a robust phantom for correlation of relaxivity and size distribution.

ABSTRACT: In vivo iron load must be monitored to prevent complications from iron overload diseases such as hemochromatosis or transfusion-dependent anemias. While liver biopsy is the gold standard for determining in vivo iron load, MRI offers a noninvasive approach. MR phantoms have been reported that estimate iron concentration in the liver and mimic relaxation characteristics of in vivo deposits of hemosiderin. None of these phantoms take into account the size distribution of hemosiderin, which varies from patient to patient based on iron load. We synthesized stable and reproducible microsphere-ferritin conjugates (ferribeads) of different sizes that are easily characterized for several parameters that are necessary for modeling such as iron content and bead fraction. T(1) s and T(2) s were measur

SUBMITTER: Sukerkar PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4145675 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature