Chapter 2:Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents

In this chapter, the development of efficient GdIII-based agents for MRI is detailed. This chapter is divided into ten sections covering the general theory of the relaxivity of GdIII-based contrast agents; the measurement of longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation times; the theory, acquisition, and interpretation of NMRD profiles; the determination of water-coordination numbers (q), rotational-correlation times (τR), water-residence times (τM), and concentrations of solutions of GdIII complexes; as well as relaxometric titrations, computational methods, and the acquisition of phantom images.