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Gadolinium

J. Gadolin, an 18^th century Finnish chemist, devoted much of his life to research in the fields of analytical chemistry and mineralogy. He studied the rare earth elements extensively, and the 64^th element – gadolinium – was named after this scientist.

Gadolinium is a silvery-white metal with a metallic lustre. In its elemental form, gadolinium resembles steel. This element has many properties that account for its diverse applications in industry. In the production of permanent magnets, this element provides ferromagnetic properties, whereas in the music industry, gadolinium serves as a recording medium for compact discs.

Gadolinium is also known to have high thermal neutron absorption. In the nuclear industry, gadolinium is found as a component in shields and in control rods of nuclear reactors.

Biologically, gadolinium has no role. However, it has been used as an intravenous contrasting agent for the enhancement of images obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).¹ In the medical industry, MRI is an ever-growing technology, and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) is at the forefront of research and development in MR technology in order to improve the quality of healthcare of Canadians and others. NRC's Institute for Biodiagnostics strives to develop technologies for the next generation of MR scanners and to explore, exploit and expand the applications of MR in clinical diagnosis and basic medical research.

¹ Since 2007, Health Canada has been monitoring safety concerns related to this contrasting agent's role in nephrogenic disease.