The ability of magnetic compounds to increase the relaxation rates of the surrounding water proton spins.
Relaxivity is used to improve the contrast of the image, and to study tissue specific areas where the contrast agent better diffuses or to perform functional magnetic resonance imaging.
The relaxivity of MRI contrast agents depends on the molecular structure and kinetic of the complex. To increase the number of water molecules that are in the inner sphere of the complex, or to slow down the molecular rotational correlation time, are possibilities to improve the water relaxivity.
Relaxivity units (r1, r2) are mM-1 * sec-1 (at varying temperatures).

(N) The SI units is moles/m³.
Definition: The concentration of nuclei in tissue processing at the Larmor frequency in a given region; one of the principal determinants of the strength of the NMR signal from the region.
For water, there are about 1.1 x 105 moles of hydrogen per m³, or 0.11 moles of hydrogen/cm³.
The signal intensity measured is related to the square of the xy-magnetization, which in a SE pulse sequence is given by
Mxy = Mxy0(1-exp(-TR/T1)) exp(-TE/T2)
where Mxy0 = Mz0 is proportional to the proton or spin density, and corresponds to the z-magnetization present at zero time of the experiment when it is tilted into the xy-plane.
True spin density is not imaged directly, but must be calculated from signals received with different interpulse times. The spin density contrast can be generated by using a long TR and sampling the data immediately after the RF pulse (with a TE as short as possible).

Short name: B22956, generic name: Gadocoletic acid, chemical compound: Gadocoletic acid trisodium salt, central moiety: Gd, phase: II
A blood pool agent for magnetic resonance coronary angiography and first pass myocardial perfusion imaging under development (Bracco Diagnostics Inc). The small molecules of gadolinium-based B22956 are bound after injection to large human serum albumin molecules in coronary vessels with the result of high vessel/muscle contrast.

Combidex® is the brand name (same as Sinerem®) for an ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) in the development pipeline to detect metastatic disease in lymph nodes. Metastatic lymph nodes show less uptake of this MRI contrast agent, which results in less signal decrease and allows the differentiation of normal lymph nodes from normal-sized, metastatic nodes. Combidex® has also potential to be used as a functional molecular imaging agent.
In March 2005, AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with respect to Combidex subject to certain conditions.
See also Ferumoxtran, Drug Development and Approval Process USA, Molecular Imaging and Classifications, Characteristics, etc.

EP-2104R is a molecularly targeted MRI contrast agent for high resolution blood clot imaging within half an hour of injection. This gadolinium based small peptide has high affinity and specificity for human fibrin.
The thrombus agent is a new class of contrast medium for the diagnostic of, e.g. deep venous thrombosis, carotid artery blood clots, coronary artery blood clots and pulmonary embolism. Fibrin is an excellent target for a molecular imaging contrast agent, since it is present in arterial and venous clots at high concentrations (20-100 μM), and is a target for fibrinolytic therapy.
Due to financial problems, the developer EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. had to shut down all operations. As a consequence, the development of EP-2104R is discontinued.