A University at Buffalo research company is working to improve MRIs by using one of the first materials the human race worked with: iron.
Magnetic resonance imaging machines are known for their high-tech status. For those who have been given a scan, there is the noise of clashing magnets, the narrow tube they are watched in, and a lot of chemistry. The machines use gadolinium to form a contrast, so the body parts being examined show up more clearly. Led by UB Distinguished Chemistry Professor Janet Morrow, researchers are developing an iron compound that can be used instead of gadolinium.
“We thought it was more commercially viable if we would make more of a general-purpose contrast agent which would be used in a lot of different types of procedures and just replace some of the gadolinium contrast agents,” Morrow said. The team is building carbon cages around iron molecules to create better contrast inside the MRIs and remove allergic reactions. She said without gadolinium, the contrast lowers medicine’s ability to see.
Name of Author: Mike Desmond