Generic name: Liposomes, central moiety: different, contrast effect: paramagnetic, distribution: different
Liposomes are lipid containing nanoparticles, or fat molecules, surrounding a water core. Liposomes were the first type of nanoparticles created to be used as carriers for lipophilic MRI contrast agents with novel characteristics.
Liposomes loaded with gadolinium-containing chelates have potential as blood pool agents, caused by modifications of the surface (e.g., with polyethylene glycol) leading to longer blood retention times.
The incorporation of contrast agents into either the the bilayer membrane or the aqueous inner cavity is possible. These MRI contrast agents has been used to image the lymph nodes using liposomes containing Gd-DTPA as well as dextran coated iron oxide particles.
To image the liver or the hepatobiliary system, liposomes containing Gd-HPDO3A, or MnDPDP, have been tested.
Liposomes containing gadolinium were conjugated to antibodies and targeted to a specific organ system.
A method of targeting tumors with ultrasound that also uses MRI to watch the cell destroying, uses liposomes loaded with cytotoxic drugs and also with gadolinium to make them show up in MRI. As well as used as an imaging technique, ultrasound can also be used to destroy cancer cells. Once the drugs have been administered, focusing the ultrasound on the target area makes blood vessels permeable. The liposomes leak out of the blood vessel into the target area, watched by MRI, where the cytotoxic drug can then go to work.

See also Memosomes, Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide, Classifications, Characteristics, etc. and Mangafodipir Trisodium.

The subacute risks and side effects of magnetic and RF fields (for patients and staff) have been intensively examined for a long time, but there have been no long-term studies following persons who have been exposed to the static magnetic fields used in MRI. However, no permanent hazardous effects of a static magnetic field exposure upon human beings have yet been demonstrated.
Temporary possible side effects of high magnetic and RF fields:
The results of some animal and cellular studies suggest the possibility that electromagnetic fields may act as co-carcinogens or tumor promoters, but the data are inconclusive. Up to 45 tesla, no important effects on enzyme systems have been observed. Neither changes in enzyme kinetics, nor orientation changes in macromolecules have been conclusively demonstrated.
There are some publications associating an increase in the incidence of leukemia with the location of buildings close to high-current power lines with extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic radiation of 50-60 Hz, and industrial exposure to electric and magnetic fields but a transposition of such effects to MRI or MRS seems unlikely.
Under consideration of the MRI safety guidelines, real dangers or risks of an exposure with common MRI field strengths up to 3 tesla as well as the RF exposure during the MRI scan, are not to be expected.

For more MRI safety information see also Nerve Conductivity, Contraindications, Pregnancy and Specific Absorption Rate.

See also the related poll result: 'In 2010 your scanner will probably work with a field strength of'

A magnet is by definition an object with magnetic properties (magnetism) that attracts iron and produces a magnetic field. It can be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.
Permanent magnets do not rely upon outside influences to generate their field. In permanent magnets are the atoms and molecules ordered in long range. The specific electron configuration and the distance of the atoms is what lead to this long range ordering. The electrons exist in a lower energy state if they all have the same orientation. Magnetic domains can be likened to microscopic neighborhoods in which there is a strong reinforcing interaction between particles, resulting in a high degree of order. The greater the degree of ordering within and between domains, the greater the resulting field will be. Long range ordering is one of the hallmarks of a ferromagnetic material.
A current carrying conductor for example a piece of wire, produces a magnetic field that encircles the wire. An electromagnet, in its simplest form, is a wire that has been coiled into one or more loops. This coil is known as a solenoid. The more loops of wire and the greater the current, the stronger the field will be.
Superconducting magnets are a special type of electromagnets, often used in MRI machines with high field strength.

(MRS / MRSI - Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging) A method using the NMR phenomenon to identify the chemical state of various elements without destroying the sample. MRS therefore provides information about the chemical composition of the tissues and the changes in chemical composition, which may occur with disease processes.
Although MRS is primarily employed as a research tool and has yet to achieve widespread acceptance in routine clinical practice, there is a growing realization that a noninvasive technique, which monitors disease biochemistry can provide important new information for the clinician.
The underlying principle of MRS is that atomic nuclei are surrounded by a cloud of electrons, which very slightly shield the nucleus from any external magnetic field. As the structure of the electron cloud is specific to an individual molecule or compound, then the magnitude of this screening effect is also a characteristic of the chemical environment of individual nuclei.
In view of the fact that the resonant frequency is proportional to the magnetic field that it experiences, it follows that the resonant frequency will be determined not only by the external applied field, but also by the small field shift generated by the electron cloud. This shift in frequency is called the chemical shift (see also Chemical Shift). It should be noted that chemical shift is a very small effect, usually expressed in ppm of the main frequency. In order to resolve the different chemical species, it is therefore necessary to achieve very high levels of homogeneity of the main magnetic field B0. Spectra from humans usually require shimming the magnet to approximately one part in 100. High resolution spectra of liquid samples demand a homogeneity of about one part in 1000.
In addition to the effects of factors such as relaxation times that can affect the NMR signal, as seen in magnetic resonance imaging, effects such as J-modulation or the transfer of magnetization after selective excitation of particular spectral lines can affect the relative strengths of spectral lines.
In the context of human MRS, two nuclei are of particular interest - H-1 and P-31. (PMRS - Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) PMRS is mainly employed in studies of the brain where prominent peaks arise from NAA, choline containing compounds, creatine and creatine phosphate, myo-inositol and, if present, lactate; phosphorus 31 MR spectroscopy detects compounds involved in energy metabolism (creatine phosphate, adenosine triphosphate and inorganic phosphate) and certain compounds related to membrane synthesis and degradation. The frequencies of certain lines may also be affected by factors such as the local pH. It is also possible to determine intracellular pH because the inorganic phosphate peak position is pH sensitive.
If the field is uniform over the volume of the sample, "similar" nuclei will contribute a particular frequency component to the detected response signal irrespective of their individual positions in the sample. Since nuclei of different elements resonate at different frequencies, each element in the sample contributes a different frequency component. A chemical analysis can then be conducted by analyzing the MR response signal into its frequency components.

See also Spectroscopy.