Purpose: The reproductive toxicology of mangafodipir trisodium (MnDPDP, Teslascan), a new hepatobiliary MR contrast agent, was evaluated in rats and rabbits.Material and Methods: Male and female fertility and post-natal development were examined in rats after repeated i.v. injections of MnDPDP. The developmental toxicity in rats was investigated after repeated daily i.v. injections during organogenesis with MnDPDP, MnCl,, or DPDP, as well as with MnC1, administered orally. The developmental toxicity of i.v. injected MnDPDP was also investigated in rabbits.Results: MnDPDP (100 pmofig) had no adverse effects on rat fertility. However, both MnDPDP (10-40 pmolkg) and MnCl, (30 pmofig) caused skeletal abnormalities in the rat, but not in the rabbit given 20 pmol MnDPDPkg. Maternal treatment of rats with MnDPDP (40 prnofig) reduced survival and body weights of neonates, and adversely affected their functional, but not physical development. No skeletal abnormalities were seen in the rat after i.v. administered DPDP (40 pmolkg) or MnCl, (6 pmofig), or after MnC1, (400 pmolkg) given by oral gavage. Maternal toxicity was not seen in rats or rabbits given these doses.Conclusion: MnDPDP caused skeletal abnormalities in foetal rats, but not rabbits, and had no effects on rat fertility. Manganese appears to be the causative agent for inducing bone abnormalities in the rat.There has been considerable interest in developing manganese-(Mn) based contrast agents for MR imaging, due its paramagnetic properties and effects on the relaxivity of those tissues that take it up (17,18,38,50). One such agent is manganese(I1) dipyridoxy1 diphosphate (MnDPDP), a chelate of Mn and an organic ligand, dipyridoxyl diphosphate (fodipir, DPDP) (43), which has been formulated as the MR contrast agent, mangafodipir trisodium infusion 0.01 mmol/ml. MnDPDP has been shown to have good efficacy for the detection and characterization of focal liver lesions, both in humans (33)(34)(35)46) and in experimental animals (28-31). The recommended single clinical dose of MnDPDP is 5 pmoV kg b.w.After i.v. administration, MnDPDP is metabolized by dephosphorylation and simultaneous trans-