New tris-3,4-HOPO lanthanide complexes as potential imaging probes: complex stability and magnetic properties

There is a growing interest in the development of new medical diagnostic tools with higher sensibility and less damage for the patient body, namely on imaging reporters for the management of diseases and optimization of treatment strategies. This article examines the properties of a new class of lanthanide complexes with a tripodal tris-3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone (tris-3,4-HOPO) ligand \u2013 NTP(PrHP)3. Among the studies herein performed, major relevance is given to the thermodynamic stability of the complexes with a series of Ln3+ ions (Ln = La, Pr, Gd, Er, Lu) and to the magnetic relaxation properties of the Gd3+ complex. This hexadentate ligand enables the formation of (1 : 1) Ln3+ complexes with high thermodynamic stability following the usual trend, while the Gd-chelates show improved relaxivity (higher hydration number), as compared with the commercially available Gd-based contrast agents (CAs); transmetallation of the Gd3+\u2013L complex with Zn2+ proved to be thermodynamically and kinetically disfavored. Therefore, NTP(PrHP)3 emerges as part of a recently proposed new generation of CAs with prospective imaging sensibility gains

\u3bcRALP and Beyond: Micro-Technologies and Systems for Robot-Assisted Endoscopic Laser Microsurgery

Laser microsurgery is the current gold standard surgical technique for the treatment of selected diseases in delicate organs such as the larynx. However, the operations require large surgical expertise and dexterity, and face significant limitations imposed by available technology, such as the requirement for direct line of sight to the surgical field, restricted access, and direct manual control of the surgical instruments. To change this status quo, the European project mu RALP pioneered research towards a complete redesign of current laser microsurgery systems, focusing on the development of robotic micro-technologies to enable endoscopic operations. This has fostered awareness and interest in this field, which presents a unique set of needs, requirements and constraints, leading to research and technological developments beyond mu RALP and its research consortium. This paper reviews the achievements and key contributions of such research, providing an overview of the current state of the art in robot-assisted endoscopic laser microsurgery. The primary target application considered is phonomicrosurgery, which is a representative use case involving highly challenging microsurgical techniques for the treatment of glottic diseases. The paper starts by presenting the motivations and rationale for endoscopic laser microsurgery, which leads to the introduction of robotics as an enabling technology for improved surgical field accessibility, visualization and management. Then, research goals, achievements, and current state of different technologies that can build-up to an effective robotic system for endoscopic laser microsurgery are presented. This includes research in micro-robotic laser steering, flexible robotic endoscopes, augmented imaging, assistive surgeon-robot interfaces, and cognitive surgical systems. Innovations in each of these areas are shown to provide sizable progress towards more precise, safer and higher quality endoscopic laser microsurgeries. Yet, major impact is really expected from the full integration of such individual contributions into a complete clinical surgical robotic system, as illustrated in the end of this paper with a description of preliminary cadaver trials conducted with the integrated mu RALP system. Overall, the contribution of this paper lays in outlining the current state of the art and open challenges in the area of robot-assisted endoscopic laser microsurgery, which has important clinical applications even beyond laryngology