PROCESS FOR OBTAINING IMAGES AND SPECTRA OF THE EXTRACELLULAR pH BY MAGNETIC RESONANCE WITH EXTRINSINC INDICATORS CONTAINING 1H OR 19F

摘要

The conceptual approach consists in acquiring an MR image or spectrum for any pH-sensitive MR property of molecules non-permeable to the membrane. The chemical shift of a nucleus localized in, or in close proximity to, an ionizable group of a non-permeable molecule, is normally used as a "pH informative resonance" in the extracellular space. Several MR methods (CSIC - Chemical shift selective imaging, or SI - spectroscopic image) can be used to determine the spatial distribution of the "informative resonance", and thereby the extracellular pH distribution within the sample. This information is most useful in clinical conditions such as muscular dystrophy, isquemia, tumoral transformation and metastasis, among others.