In vivo imaging of the neutron capture therapy agent BSH in mice using 10B MRI

Authors:   Peter Bendel,Natalia Koudinova,Yoram Salomon
Journal: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.1154
Abstract: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is an experimental cancer treatment modality requiring the targeting of 10B-enriched compounds to the tumor, which is then irradiated by low-energy neutrons. One of the boron-containing compounds used for this purpose is the mercaptoborane Na2B12H11SH (BSH). The first in vivo MR images of 10B-enriched BSH are presented here. BSH, injected into the tail vein of mice with implanted M2R melanoma xenografts, was imaged using 3D gradient echo 10B MRI. 10B NMR spectroscopy, localized mainly to the tumor by virtue of the use of a small surface coil, was applied to measure the T1 (2.9 ± 0.3 ms) and T2 (1.75 ± 0.25 ms) values of the 10B signal. The MRI experiments detected levels of about 20 ppm ($mu$g boron / g tissue) at 6 × 6 × 6 mm spatial resolution in a total scan time of 16 min. {textcopyright} 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.