Advancements in magnetic resonance imaging of cell apoptosis

It is significant to detect apoptosis for detecting disease and assessing therapy efficiency at early stage. Recent years, many new MRI-based probes have improved the quality of MRI. Many small probes that target phosphatidylserine and demonstrate Caspase-3 activity are available to obtain superior tissue penetration. Molecular structures of many traditional probes have been modified to improve the specific binding between probes and targets. A number of MRI-based probes, such as the Caspase-3 sensitive nano-aggregation MR probe (C-SNAM), have been used to improved signal strength of cell apoptosis in some degree. (authors)