This invention relates to macrocyclic chelants comprised of one or two heteroatom-containing
bridges, compositions containing them and their use in medicine, particularly in
diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy. This invention relates especially to the use
of metal chelates of the macrocyclic chelants as metallopharmaceuticals in Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) and radiopharmaceuticals. This invention also relates to
macrocyclic chelants as bifunctional chelating agents (BFC's) for the labeling
of biologically active targeting molecules such as proteins, peptides, peptidomimetics,
and non-peptide receptor ligands, with metal ions and radioisotopes.
