Copper could help create clearer MRI images and improved diagnosis

Scientists have found a new use for copper in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent design. Discovery opens up applications beyond what biology is currently capable of - showcasing how we might engineer new technologies. Scientists have found a new use for copper in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent design, that could help to create better images which help doctors diagnose patients' conditions more easily and safely. Researchers discovered a novel copper protein binding site, which does not occur in nature, that has real potential for use in MRI contrast agents used to improve the visibility of internal body structures in scans. The discovery overturns conventional medical wisdom that copper is unsuitable for use in MRI contrast agents and could help to develop new imaging agents with potentially fewer risks and side effects than exist with current commonly used contrast agents. Researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and St Andrews, as well as Diamond Light Source, published their findings in PNAS after creating a highly elusive abiological copper site bound to oxygen donor atoms within a protein scaffold. Despite copper largely being disregarded for use in MRI contrast agents, our binding site was shown to display extremely promising contrast agent capabilities, with relaxivities equal and superior to the Gd(III) agents used routinely in clinical MRI.