Igor V. Koptyug

Synthesis and characterization of fluorinated homocysteine derivatives as potential molecular probes for 19F magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging

A N-trifluoroacetyl-protected amino acid containing a thioester function, 2,2,2-trifluoro-N-(2-oxo-tetrahydrothiophen-3-yl)acetamide (TFA-tHcy), has been synthesized and characterized. It was then used to prepare a fluorine-labeled N-homocysteinylated protein, (19)F-Hcy-εN-Lys-albumin, that was characterized by SDS-PAGE, MALDI-TOF-MS, UV-vis and (19)F NMR spectroscopy. On average, four N-trifluoroacetylhomocysteine residues were covalently conjugated to human serum albumin through the N-substituted homocysteine thiolactone. The in situ homocysteinylation of human plasma proteins with TFA-tHcy has also been performed and has led to the formation of N-homocysteinylated proteins, with albumin modification accounting for ca. 75% of all fluorine-labeled human plasma proteins. The synthesized fluorinated molecular probes can be potentially used as informative molecular probes for in vivo (19)F magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging.

Hyperpolarized NMR: d-DNP, PHIP, and SABRE

The intensity of NMR signals can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude by using various techniques for the hyperpolarization of different molecules. Such approaches can overcome the main sensitivity challenges facing modern NMR/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, whilst hyperpolarized fluids can also be used in a variety of applications in material science and biomedicine. This Focus Review considers the fundamentals of the preparation of hyperpolarized liquids and gases by using dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (d-DNP) and parahydrogen-based techniques, such as signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) and parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP), in both heterogeneous and homogeneous processes. The various new aspects in the formation and utilization of hyperpolarized fluids, along with the possibility of observing NMR signal enhancement, are described.

Application of parahydrogen for mechanistic investigations of heterogeneous catalytic processes

Parahydrogen-induced polarization technique (PHIP), based on the pairwise addition of molecular hydrogen to a substrate, was successfully applied to obtain novel information on the mechanisms of heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation, hydrodesulfurization, and oligomerization processes. In particular, the PHIP effects were observed upon hydrogenation with parahydrogen catalyzed by the immobilized neutral complexes of rhodium and iridium, which confirms the similarity in the mechanisms of homogeneous and heterogeneous hydrogenation for such systems. In the study of acetylene oligomerization, a significant NMR signal enhancement was revealed for a number of C4 oligomers, with the enhancement levels by far exceeding that observed in hydrogenation of carbon-carbon triple bonds. The mechanistic features of heterogeneous hydrogenation of a number of six-membered cyclic hydrocarbons over supported metal catalysts were investigated, and their hydrogenation scheme based on the pairwise addition of molecular hydrogen was proposed. Furthermore, the PHIP technique revealed that heterogeneous hydrodesulfurization of thiophene mainly proceeds via hydrogenation followed by a C—S bond cleavage. A significant enhancement of sensitivity in combination with characteristic line shapes of NMR signals make the PHIP method a unique and highly informative tool for the investigation of heterogeneous catalytic processes.