LIVER-SPECIFIC MRI CONTRAST AGENT INCLUDING MANGANESE SILICATE NANOPARTICLES

摘要

The present invention relates to a MRI contrast agent for a liver cancer-specific imaging diagnosis including manganese silicate which releases manganese ion (Mn2+) under acidic conditions, and a method of characterizing liver tissue using the MRI contrast agent. In a relatively short time, T1-weighted images show different patterns depending on the tissue-specificity such as vascularity, cell density, mitochondrial activity, hepatocellular affinity and the like in normal liver tissues and lesion liver tissues (especially hepatic tumors), and thus, the disease-specific characteristics of liver cancers can be analyzed at appropriate times by analyzing the T1-weighted images. It is expected to be very useful for differentiating the liver cancer types or evaluating the therapeutic effect. Furthermore, it is expected to be useful for diagnosing the diseases occurring in organs other than liver based on the tissue-specificity.