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Excellent Science INNOVATION
MR targeted contrast agents for molecular imaging
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Market Maturity: Exploring
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Market Creation Potential
This innovation was assessed by the JRC’s Market Creation Potential indicator framework as having a Noteworthy” level of Market Creation Potential. Only innovations that are showing multiple signals of market creation potential are assigned a value under this indicator system. Learn more
Women-led innovation
A woman had a leadership role in developing this innovation in at least one of the Key Innovator organisations listed below.
Go to Market needs
Needs that, if addressed, can increase the chances this innovation gets to (or closer to) the market incude:
  • Prepare for Market entry
  • Secure capital
  • Scale-up market opportunities
Location of Key Innovators developing this innovation
Key Innovators
UN Sustainable Development Goals(SDG)
This innovation contributes to the following SDG(s)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 3
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

The UN explains: "Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers responsible for child and maternal mortality.

Major progress has also been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

However, many more efforts are needed to control a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues."

The EU-funded Research Project
This innovation was developed under the Horizon 2020 project PRIMOGAIA with an end date of 31/05/2023
  • Read more about this project on CORDIS
Description of Project PRIMOGAIA
PrimoGaia opens up a new pathway in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) by initiating the concept of in vivo “enzymatic imaging” for a better understanding of human physiology, early detection and prognosis of diseases, monitoring of therapeutic treatment. The main objective is to overcome current boundaries by making it possible to map and quantify the activity of an enzyme in a pathological tissue. It will be accomplished by building an MRI instrumentation operating at earth field in order to allow the use of 70MHz frequency for saturating the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) transition of Nitroxyl radicals. Enzyme activity is assessed by the use of suitable probes designed to generate the radical upon action of the enzyme of interest. Upon saturation of the radical EPR resonance, polarization is transferred to the protons of the water molecules (Overhauser MRI). The enhancement factor will be high (more than two orders of magnitude). The polarized water signal thus reports on the local concentration of the radicals that reflect the enzymatic activity. 3 lines of activity will be addressed to generate the radicals of interest, namely: i) using a radical-containing molecular precursor that, upon the action of specific enzyme, yields a radical whose absorption frequency is sufficiently different to be selectively irradiated; ii) the use of paramagnetic impurities on nanodiamond surfaces to increase the OMRI effect; iii) the use of radical precursors as “prodrugs” generating a signal only after their activation. The overall methodology will be much less expensive than the current clinical scanners and will allow distribution in developping countries. PrimoGaia brings together an interdisciplinary consortium of research teams from 4 academics: Aix-Marseille University, U Mons, U Torino (reagents), CNRS Bordeaux (EPR unit, sequences, biology); Fraunhofer (Physics) and 2 companies: “Stelar” (magnetic unit) and “Pure Devices” an innovative SME (MRI instrumentation).

Innnovation Radar's analysis of this innovation is based on data collected on 27/01/2021.
The unique id of this innovation in the European Commission's IT systems is: 20569