Ben van den Brandt

Boosting Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization by Cross Polarization

The efficiency of dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization can be boosted by Hartmann-Hahn cross polarization at temperatures near 1.2 K. This enables high throughput of hyperpolarized solutions with substantial gains in buildup times and polarization levels. During dissolution and transport, the (13)C nuclear spin polarization P((13)C) merely decreases from 45 to 40%.

Automated transfer and injection of hyperpolarized molecules with polarization measurement prior to in vivo NMR

Hyperpolarized magnetic resonance via dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization necessitates the transfer of the hyperpolarized molecules from the polarizer to the imager prior to in vivo measurements. This process leads to unavoidable losses in nuclear polarization, which are difficult to evaluate once the solution has been injected into an animal. We propose a method to measure the polarization of the hyperpolarized molecules inside the imager bore, 3 s following dissolution, at the time of the injection, using a precise quantification of the infusate concentration. This in situ quantification allows for distinguishing between signal modulations related to variations in the nuclear polarization at the time of the injection and signal modulations related to physiological processes such as tissue perfusion. In addition, our method includes a radical scavenging process that leads to a minor reduction in sample concentration and takes place within a couple of seconds following the dissolution in order to minimize the losses due to the presence of paramagnetic polarizing agent in the infusate. We showed that proton exchange between vitamin C, the scavenging molecule and the deuterated solvent shortens the long carboxyl 13C longitudinal relaxation time in [1‐13C]acetate. This additional source of dipolar relaxation can be avoided by using deuterated ascorbate. Overall, the method allows for a substantial gain in polarization and also leads to an extension of the time window available for in vivo measurements. Copyright

Hyperpolarized lithium-6 as a sensor of nanomolar contrast agents

Lithium is widely used in psychotherapy. The 6Li isotope has a long intrinsic longitudinal relaxation time T1 on the order of minutes, making it an ideal candidate for hyperpolarization experiments. In the present study we demonstrated that lithium‐6 can be readily hyperpolarized within 30 min, while retaining a long polarization decay time on the order of a minute. We used the intrinsically long relaxation time for the detection of 500 nM contrast agent in vitro. Hyperpolarized lithium‐6 was administered to the rat and its signal retained a decay time on the order of 70 sec in vivo. Localization experiments imply that the lithium signal originated from within the brain and that it was detectable up to 5 min after administration. We conclude that the detection of submicromolar contrast agents using hyperpolarized NMR nuclei such as 6Li may provide a novel avenue for molecular imaging. Magn Reson Med, 2009.