The project proposes the development of new rationally designed nanogels containing paramagnetic complexes of Gd3+ and endogenous metals Fe3+ and Mn2+, incorporated or combined inside the polymeric network, as probes for high-sensitivity MRI imaging. Such systems have limited toxicity and optimised performance in comparison with the chelates of commercial Gd(III) which are currently used. The efficacy of these nanoparticles (developed in partnership with the universities of Florence, Turin and Naples) will be tested via in vivo MRI measurements in experiments on healthy mice and then on specific mouse models of human diseases.

Achievement of the research goals will benefit the Italian and European diagnostic field. The development of new, safe nanosystems that are more efficient that those currently used will strongly improve existing partnerships with the industrial world working in this sector, facilitating university-industry technology transfer.