Liposome encapsulation of glucose or 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) may be exploited to enhance the CEST signal by reducing the overall apparent exchange rate. Here we aim to construct a complete theoretical model to measure the exchange properties of diamagnetic CEST agents. Experimentally measured exchange rates of glucose and 2-DG in the liposomal system were found to be reduced by one or two orders of magnitude due to the intermembrane exchange between the intra- and extra-liposomal compartment because of restrictions in water transfer imposed by the lipid membrane. These new theoretical and experimental findings are expected to benefit applications of diamagnetic liposomes to image biological processes.
In a first step, a simple two-site exchange between water and monosaccharides can be established. By measuring the exchange rates separately for free and encapsulated monosaccharides in liposomes we can evaluate the effect of the intermembrane exchange on the total exchange rate between monosaccharides and water at different conditions. The steady state magnetization Mwz is given by (4):
$$ Mwz/M0= R1A/(R1p+ R1A(1-DC)) Equation 1
However, the complete system can only be described through a full three-site exchange model (see Figure 1). The hydroxyl protons in monosaccharides are in chemical exchange with the intra-liposomal water, which are in a two-site exchange. Then, the intra-liposomal water, having experienced exchange with OH protons from glucose or 2-DG enters the extra-liposomal space and thereby physically transfers saturated protons to bulk water via the lipid membrane with a rate known as the intermembrane exchange rate. The extra-liposomal water magnetization in steady state conditions can be written as a function of the intra-liposomal water magnetization as follows:
Mwzextra= (1/(R1extra+Rintermebrane .M0intra).(Rintermembrane.M0extra.Mwzintra+ R1extra.M0extra)) Equation 2
where Rintermembrane. M0intra= kextra/intra, and Rintermembrane .M0extra= kintra/extra
The measured signal from the liposomal sample is the sum of the water magnetizations in the intra-liposomal and extra-liposomal space weighted by their equilibrium magnetizations M0intra and M0exrta
Z-spectra were acquired on a 9.4T Agilent MRI scanner using a single-shot single-slice spin-echo (SE) echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence (TR=65.3ms, TE=4.07ms, FOV=20x20mm², slice thickness=5mm, matrix size=64x64) with a saturation train prior to the readout consisting of 151 Gaussian pulses (pulse length = 50ms, 99% duty cycle) at 10 different amplitudes (0.39μT, 0.76μT, 1.17μT, 1.57μT, 1.96μT, 2.35μT, 2.74μT, 3.13μT, 3.52μT, and 4.31μT). Raw data were fitted using either Equation 1 or 2 using the optimization function lsqcurvefit in MATLAB.
Liposome samples: 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) liposomes containing 0.25M glucose or 0.25M 2-DG were formulated in 20% phosphate buffer saline (PBS) at pH 6 and 7 via sonication, extruded to achieve an average diameter of ~200nm and dialysed into 0.25M NaCl solution. The overall sugar concentrations for both liposome samples were enzymatically measured and adjusted to 23mM. Free sugar controls were made up at 23mM in 20% PBS at pH 6 and 7.
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