In the search for highly efficient magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents, polyamino polypyridine carboxylate complexes of Gd 3+ have shown unusual properties with both very rapid and very slow electron spin relaxation in solution observed by electron paramagnetic resonance. Since the relationship between the molecular structure and the electron spin properties remains quite obscure at this point, detailed studies of such complexes may offer useful clues for the design of Gd 3+ compounds with tailored electronic features. Furthermore, the availability of very high-frequency EPR spectrometers based on quasi-optical components provides us with an opportunity to test the existing relaxation theories at increasingly high magnetic fields and observation frequencies. We present a detailed EPR study of two gadolinium polyamino polypyridine carboxylate complexes, [Gd(tpaen)] -and [Gd(bpatcn)(H 2 O)], in liquid aqueous solutions at multiple temperatures and frequencies between 9.5 and 325 GHz. We analyze the results using the model of random zero-field splitting modulations through Brownian rotation and molecular deformations. We consider the effect of concentration on the line width, as well as the possible existence of an additional g-tensor modulation relaxation mechanism and its possible impact on future experiments. We use 17 O NMR to characterize the water exchange rate on [Gd(bpatcn)(H 2 O)] and find it to be slow (∼0.6 × 10 6 s -1 ).
IntroductionGd 3+ complexes with multidentate ligands are routinely used in medicine as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They accelerate the magnetic relaxation of the water protons due to random modulations of the interaction with the seven unpaired electrons of the Gd 3+ center. This effect is usually quantified by the relaxiVity, namely, the longitudinal relaxation rate enhancement observed in the presence of a unit concentration (1 mM) of the paramagnetic agent. Of course, understanding the molecular origins of this enhancement is the key to developing new and improved contrast agents. Therefore, the magnetic properties of these complexes have been probed using a number of techniques, such as 1 H NMR (in the form of nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion -NMRD), 17 O NMR, 1,2 and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). [3][4][5][6][7] Due to the toxicity of the [Gd(H 2 O) 8 ] 3+ aqua ion, it is necessary to embed the Gd 3+ ion in highly stable chelates for the development of potential contrast agents. The ligands are generally polyaminocarboxylates, the basic example of which is the well-known hexadentate edta 4-(ethylene diamine tetracarboxylate). However, a higher denticity is usually necessary to achieve sufficient stability. The commercial contrast agent ligands (dota 4-, dtpa 5-, dtpa-bma 3-, hp-do3a 3-) occupy eight coordination sites around the metal, leaving only one available position for a water molecule. This reduced hydration number has an obvious negative impact on relaxivity, as the chemical exchange of water molecules bound to the paramagnet...