Nanosensors for the Chemical Imaging of Acetylcholine Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

ABSTRACT: A suite of imaging tools for detecting specific chemicals in the central nervous system could accelerate the understanding of neural signaling events critical to brain function and disease. Here, we introduce a class of nanoparticle sensors for the highly specific detection of acetylcholine in the living brain using magnetic resonance imaging. The nanosensor is composed of acetylcholine-catalyzing enzymes and pH-sensitive gadolinium contrast agents co-localized onto the surface of polymer nanoparticles, which leads to changes in T1 relaxation rate (1/ T1). The mechanism of the sensor involves the enzymatic hydrolysis of acetylcholine leading to a localized decrease in pH which is detected by the pH-sensitive gadolinium chelate. The concomitant change in 1/ T1 in vitro measured a 20% increa

SUBMITTER: Luo Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6281809 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature