Comparison of Magnetic Properties of MRI Contrast Media Solutions at Different Magnetic Field Strengths

Relaxivities of MRI-CM were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy at 0.47 T and MRI phantom measurements at 1.5 T, 3 T, and 4.7 T, respectively. Both longitudinal (T1) and transverse relaxation times (T2) were measured by appropriate spin-echo sequences. Nuclear magnetic resonance dispersion (NMRD) profiles were also determined for all agents in water and in plasma.

Significant dependencies of relaxivities on the field strength and solvents were quantified. Protein binding leads to both increased field strength and solvent dependencies and hence to significantly altered T1 relaxivity values at higher magnetic field strengths.