Abstract
In this review we describe the status of development for a new class of magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents, based on chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST). The mathematics and physics relevant to the description of the CEST effect in MR are presented in an appendix published in the online version only. We discuss the issues arising when translating in vitro results obtained with CEST agents to using these MR agents in in vivo model studies and in humans. Examples are given on how these agents are imaged in vivo. We summarize the status of development of these CEST agents, and speculate about the next steps that may be taken towards the demonstration of CEST MR imaging in clinical applications.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant no. EB004582. We would like to thank Dr A.K. Grant for the useful discussions on parallel imaging. Contract/grant sponsor: NIH, grant no. 5R01EB004582-03.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.