Novel molecular platform integrated iron chelation therapy for 1H-MRI detection of ß-galactosidase activity.

Targeting the increased Fe(3+) content in tumors, we propose a novel molecular platform integrated cancer iron chelation therapy for (1)H-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection of ß-galactosidase (ß-gal) activity. Following this idea, we have designed, synthesized, and characterized a series of ß-d-galactosides conjugated with various chelators and demonstrated the feasibility of this concept for assessing ß-gal activity in solution by (1)H-MRI T1 and T2 relaxation mapping.