Due to its rapid conversion to lactic acid, which leads to reduced CEST effect and short signal duration, natural glucose limits the glucoCEST method. Therefore, a variety of glucose analogues were also tested as alternatives to the original glucoCEST as part of the GLINT project.
The project partners were able to demonstrate the ability to image tumours by many new possible contrast agents, from 3-O-methyl-Dglucose (3OMG) and other non-metabolizable glucose analogues, to glucosamine (GlcN) or N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc) CEST MRI in animal models. Generally, images produced using these analogues at high field strength corresponded well to FDG-PET.
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