Making Gadolinium DTPA in your kitchen

According to a lecturer (a chemist) at recent MRI course I attended, Gadolinium DTPA (the fabulously expensive contrast agent used in MRI scanning) is a very simple compound that any first year chemistry student could make at home.

In China, they are not too concerned with copyrights and patents, I was told, so the pharmaceutical companies have started factories there to protect themselves. Enough said.

My sister studied chemistry at university, but unfortunately that was some time ago and she is unable to assist our department in obtaining cheap supplies.