Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) enables to provide anatomical, functional and molecular information of pathological angiogenesis when used with properly tailored imaging probes. Functional studies have been the domain of Dynamic Contrast Enhancement (DCE) -MRI protocols from which it is possible to extract quantitative estimations on key parameters such as the volumes of vascular and extracellular compartments and the rates of the bidirectional exchange of the imaging reporters across the endothelial barrier. Whereas paramagnetic Gd-complexes able to reversibly bind to serum albumin act better than the clinically used small-sized, hydrophilic species, new findings suggest that an accurate assessment of the vascular volume is possible by analyzing images acquired upon the i.v. administration of Gd-labelled Red Blood Cells (RBCs). As far as it concerns molecular MRI, among the many available biomarkers, α_vβ₃ integrins are the most investigated ones. The low expression of these targets makes mandatory the use of nano-sized systems endowed with the proper signal enhancing capabilities. A number of targeted nano-particles have been investigated including micelles, liposomes, iron oxides and perfluorocarbon containing systems. Finally, a growing attention is devoted to the design and testing of “theranostic” agents based on the exploitation of MRI to monitor drug delivery processes and therapeutic outcome.

当与适当定制的成像探头一起使用时，磁共振成像（MRI）能够提供病理性血管生成的解剖，功能和分子信息。功能研究已经成为动态对比​​度增强（DCE）-MRI协议的领域，从中可以提取关键参数的定量估计值，例如血管和细胞外隔室的体积以及整个成像报告子双向交换的速率。内皮屏障。能够与血清白蛋白可逆结合的顺磁性Gd复合物的作用比临床上使用的小型亲水性物质要好，但新发现表明，通过分析静脉注射Gd标记后获得的图像，可以准确评估血管体积红细胞（RBC）。_v β _3个整合是研究最多的。这些靶标的低表达使得必须使用具有适当信号增强功能的纳米系统。已经研究了许多靶向纳米粒子，包括胶束，脂质体，氧化铁和含全氟化碳的系统。最后，越来越多的注意力投入到基于MRI来监测药物输送过程和治疗结果的“热源性”药物的设计和测试上。