1H chemical shift magnetic resonance imaging probes with high sensitivity for multiplex imaging.

Proton-based chemical shift imaging (CSI) probes were encapsulated inside nano-carriers to increase the sensivitity of the reporters. Co-encapsulation with a relaxation agent results in improved sensitivity and suppresses background signals. Simultaneous imaging of different chemical shift reporters allows multiplexed detection. In conventional biomedical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), water and lipid protons are imaged. MRI is an insensitive technique and water and fat represent the largest concentrations of mobile protons in the body. Contrast agents based on gadolinium complexes or iron oxide nanoparticles shorten the relaxation times of biological water and induce image contrast. Limitations of these contrast agents are the inability to quantify the agent concentration in vivo and to simultaneously detect more than one type of contrast agent, i.e. multiplexed imaging.