Protocol for detecting substrates in living cells by targeted molecular probes through hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI

Due to limited detection sensitivity and contrast limitation, imaging substrates with 129Xe MRI in living cells is still a challenge. Here, we present an effective protocol to detect and image substrates in human lung cancer cells A549 with hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI. This protocol was optimized for a cryptophane-based probe sensitive to biothiols and can be expanded to other Xe-based probes to detect potential biomarkers in other mammalian cells.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zeng et al. (2021).