Abstract
Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is a type of reactive oxygen species that regulates essential biological processes. Despite the central role of H(2)O(2) in pathophysiological states, available molecular probes for assessing H(2)O(2) in vivo are still limited. This work develops hyperpolarized (15)N-boronobenzyl-4-cyanopyridinium ((15)N-BBCP) as a rationally designed molecular probe for detecting H(2)O(2). The (15)N-BBCP demonstrated favorable physicochemical and biochemical properties for H(2)O(2) detection and dynamic nuclear polarization, allowing noninvasive detection of H(2)O(2). In particular, (15)N-BBCP and the products possessed long spin-lattice relaxation times and spectrally resolvable (15)N chemical shift differences. The performance of hyperpolarized (15)N-BBCP was demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo with time-resolved (15)N-MRS. This study highlights a promising approach to designing a reaction-based (15)N-labeled molecular imaging agent for detecting oxidative stress in vivo.