@article {3169, title = {Two-electron-spin ratchets as a platform for microwave-free dynamic nuclear polarization of arbitrary material targets}, journal = {Nano Letters}, year = {In Press}, author = {P.R. Zangara and J. Henshaw and D. Pagliero and A. Ajoy and J. Reimer and A. Pines and C. Meriles} } @article {3170, title = {Dynamics of frequency-swept nuclear spin optical pumping in powdered diamond at low magnetic fields}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Science}, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, abstract = {
A broad effort is underway to improve the sensitivity of NMR through the use of dynamic nuclear polarization. Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond offer an appealing platform because these paramagnetic defects can be optically polarized efficiently at room temperature. However, work thus far has been mainly limited to single crystals, because most polarization transfer protocols are sensitive to misalignment between the NV and magnetic field axes. Here we study the spin dynamics of NV\−13C pairs in the simultaneous presence of optical excitation and microwave frequency sweeps at low magnetic fields. We show that a subtle interplay between illumination intensity, frequency sweep rate, and hyperfine coupling strength leads to efficient, sweep-direction-dependent 13C spin polarization over a broad range of orientations of the magnetic field. In particular, our results strongly suggest that finely tuned, moderately coupled nuclear spins are key to the hyperpolarization process, which makes this mechanism distinct from other known dynamic polarization channels. These findings pave the route to applications where powders are intrinsically advantageous, including the hyperpolarization of target fluids in contact with the diamond surface or the use of hyperpolarized particles as contrast agents for in vivo imaging.
}, issn = {0027-8424}, doi = { https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811994116 }, url = {https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/01/23/1811994116}, author = {P.R. Zangara and S. Dhomkar and A. Ajoy and K. Liu and R. Nazaryan and D. Pagliero and D. Suter and J. Reimer and A. Pines and C. Meriles} } @article {3230, title = {Two-Electron-Spin Ratchets as a Platform for Microwave-Free Dynamic Nuclear Polarization of Arbitrary Material Targets}, journal = {Nano Letters}, year = {2019}, month = {03/2019}, abstract = {Optically pumped color centers in semiconductor powders can potentially induce high levels of nuclear spin polarization in surrounding solids or fluids at or near ambient conditions, but complications stemming from the random orientation of the particles and the presence of unpolarized paramagnetic defects hinder the flow of polarization beyond the defect\’s host material. Here, we theoretically study the spin dynamics of interacting nitrogen-vacancy (NV) and substitutional nitrogen (P1) centers in diamond to show that outside protons spin-polarize efficiently upon a magnetic field sweep across the NV\–P1 level anticrossing. The process can be interpreted in terms of an NV\–P1 spin ratchet, whose handedness, and hence the sign of the resulting nuclear polarization, depends on the relative timing of the optical excitation pulse. Further, we find that the polarization transfer mechanism is robust to NV misalignment relative to the external magnetic field, and efficient over a broad range of electron\–electron and electron\–nuclear spin couplings, even if proxy spins feature short coherence or spin\–lattice relaxation times. Therefore, these results pave the route toward the dynamic nuclear polarization of arbitrary spin targets brought in proximity with a diamond powder under ambient conditions.
}, doi = {10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b05114}, url = {https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b05114}, author = {Pablo R. Zangara and J. Henshaw and Daniela Pagliero and Ashok Ajoy and Jeffrey A. Reimer and Alexander Pines and Carlos A. Meriles} } @article {2979, title = {Orientation independent room-temperature optical 13C hyperpolarization in powdered diamond}, journal = {Science Advances}, volume = {4}, year = {2018}, month = {05/2018}, abstract = {Dynamic nuclear polarization via contact with electronic spins has emerged as an attractive route to enhance the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance beyond the traditional limits imposed by magnetic field strength and temperature. Among the various alternative implementations, the use of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond\—a paramagnetic point defect whose spin can be optically polarized at room temperature\—has attracted widespread attention, but applications have been hampered by the need to align the NV axis with the external magnetic field. We overcome this hurdle through the combined use of continuous optical illumination and a microwave sweep over a broad frequency range. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate our approach using powdered diamond with which we attain bulk 13C spin polarization in excess of 0.25\% under ambient conditions. Remarkably, our technique acts efficiently on diamond crystals of all orientations and polarizes nuclear spins with a sign that depends exclusively on the direction of the microwave sweep. Our work paves the way toward the use of hyperpolarized diamond particles as imaging contrast agents for biosensing and, ultimately, for the hyperpolarization
of nuclear spins in arbitrary liquids brought in contact with their surface.
Hyperpolarization techniques based on the use of\ para-hydrogen provide orders of magnitude signal enhancement for magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging. The main drawback limiting widespread applicability of\ para-hydrogen-based techniques in biomedicine is the presence of organometallic compounds (the polarization transfer catalysts) in solution with hyperpolarized contrast agents. These catalysts are typically complexes of platinum-group metals, and their administration in vivo should be avoided. Herein, we show how extraction of a hyperpolarized compound from an organic phase to an aqueous phase combined with a rapid (less than 10 s) Ir-based catalyst capture by metal scavenging agents can produce pure\ para-hydrogen-based hyperpolarized contrast agents, as demonstrated by high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The presented methodology enables fast and efficient means of producing pure hyperpolarized aqueous solutions for biomedical and other uses.
}, doi = {10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01007}, url = {https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01007}, author = {Danila A Barskiy and Lucia A Ke and Xingyang Li and Vincent Stevenson and Nevin Widarman and Hao Zhang and Ashley Truxal and Alexander Pines} } @article {250, title = {Measurement of Arterial Input Function in Hyperpolarized C-13 Studies}, journal = {Applied Magnetic Resonance}, volume = {43}, year = {2012}, note = {Appl Magn Reson974GTTimes Cited:0Cited References Count:16}, month = {Jul}, pages = {289-297}, abstract = {Recently, hyperpolarized substrates generated through dynamic nuclear polarization have been introduced to study in vivo metabolism. Injection of hyperpolarized [1-C-13] pyruvate, the most widely used substrate, allows detection of time courses of [1-C-13] pyruvate and its metabolic products, such as [1-C-13] lactate and C-13-bicarbonate, in various organs. However, quantitative metabolic modeling of in vivo data to measure specific metabolic rates remains challenging without measuring the input function. In this study, we demonstrate that the input function of [1-C-13] pyruvate can be measured in vivo in the rat carotid artery using an implantable coil.
}, keywords = {kinetics}, isbn = {0937-9347}, doi = {Doi 10.1007/S00723-012-0348-3}, url = {A new approach to MRI thermometry using encapsulated hyperpolarized xenon is demonstrated The method is based on the temperature dependent chemical shift of hyperpolarized xenon in a cryptophane-A cage This shift is linear with a slope of 029 ppm degrees C(-1) which is perceptibly higher than the shift of the proton resonance frequency of water (ca 0 01 ppm degrees C(-1)) that is currently used for MRI thermometry Using spectroscopic imaging techniques, we collected temperature maps of a phantom sample that could discriminate by direct NMR detection between temperature differences of 0 1 degrees C at a sensor concentration of 150 mu M Alternatively, the xenon-in-cage chemical shift was determined by indirect detection using saturation transfer techniques (Hyper-CEST) that allow detection of nanomolar agent concentrations Thermometry based on hyperpolarized xenon sensors improves the accuracy of currently available MRI thermometry methods, potentially giving rise to biomedical applications of biosensors functionalized for binding to specific target molecules
}, keywords = {xe-129}, isbn = {1439-4235}, doi = {Doi 10.1002/Cphc.201000507}, url = {A method is reported for enhancing the sensitivity of NMR of dissolved xenon by detecting the signal after extraction to the gas phase. We demonstrate hyperpolarized xenon signal amplification by gas extraction (Hyper-SAGE) in both NMR spectra and magnetic resonance images with time-of-flight information. Hyper-SAGE takes advantage of a change in physical phase to increase the density of polarized gas in the detection coil. At equilibrium, the concentration of gas-phase xenon is approximate to 10 times higher than that of the dissolved-phase gas. After extraction the xenon density can be further increased by several orders of magnitude by compression and/or liquefaction. Additionally, being a remote detection technique, the Hyper-SAGE effect is further enhanced in situations where the sample of interest would occupy only a small proportion of the traditional NMR receiver. Coupled with targeted xenon biosensors, Hyper-SAGE offers another path to highly sensitive molecular imaging of specific cell markers by detection of exhaled xenon gas.
}, keywords = {field}, isbn = {0027-8424}, doi = {Doi 10.1073/Pnas.0909147106}, url = {A spectrometer based on a dc SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) was used to record nuclear magnetic resonance signals from laser-polarized Xe-129 at 4.2 K and at frequencies ranging from about 200 Hz to 110 kHz in magnetic fields varying from about 0.02 to 9 mT. The Xe-129 resonance linewidths were found to increase with increasing magnetic field, and, at a given field, to increase with higher Xe-129 concentration. The spin-lattice relaxation times were observed to decrease from similar to 8000 s at 5 mT to similar to 2000 s at fields below 0.05 mT. Such long relaxation times make possible a variety of spin polarization transfer experiments. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
}, keywords = {relaxation}, isbn = {0009-2614}, doi = {Doi 10.1016/S0009-2614(97)88016-5}, url = {We present here an experimental and theoretical study of the application of two-dimensional exchange nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to the investigation of the rotational diffusion of colloidal particles. The theoretical discussion includes the nature of the NMR frequency time-correlation function where the NMR interaction is represented by the chemical shift anisotropy (CSA). Time-correlation functions for the isotropic rotational diffusion of a suspension of colloidal particles containing single and multiple sites are derived in addition to time-correlation functions for the rotational diffusion of a suspension of symmetric top particles containing an isotropic distribution of a single CSA interaction. Simulations of two-dimensional exchange spectra for particles undergoing isotropic rotational diffusion are presented. We performed two-dimensional exchange NMR experiments on a colloidal suspension of spherical poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles which were synthesized with a 20\% enrichment in C-13 at the carbonyl site. Rotational diffusion time-correlation functions determined from the experimental exchange spectra are consistent with the composition of the colloidal suspension. Detailed explanations of the syntheses of the enriched methyl C-13-(carbonyl)-methacrylate monomer and the small quantities of 20\% enriched C-13-(carbonyl)-poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres used for this study are presented. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.
}, keywords = {scattering}, isbn = {0021-9606}, doi = {Doi 10.1063/1.470847}, url = {In switched-angle spinning spectroscopy (SAS) a sample is spun about different angles, beta, relative to the magnetic field, during various periods of the experiment. In the present work, SAS is combined with two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy in order to correlate carbon-13 chemical shift tensors of the carbonyl (1) and hydroxyl (2) carbons of tropolone. Experiments were performed on a sample enriched to 25 at. \% in each of these sites (at different molecules). At this level of enrichment the dominant exchange mechanism between the two sites involves spin diffusion, The experiment consists of a preparation period during which the sample spins at the magic angle and the magnetization of one of the sites is quenched by means of a selective pulse sequence. During the rest of the experiment the sample spins with its axis away from the magic angle except for a short period just before the detection where the axis is switched to the magic angle in order to select the magnetization to be detected. Experiments were performed for all four possible combinations of the initial and final magnetizations, thus providing chemical shift correlations between carbons 1,1\&$\#$39;,2, and 2\&$\#$39; in the two magnetically inequivalent (but symmetry related) molecules in the unit cell. Combining these results with the known crystal structure of tropolone (neglecting a small tilt between the perpendicular to the molecular plane and the crystallographic c-axis) provides information on the orientation and magnitude of the chemical shift tensors of the two types of carbons, The principal values (in ppm) are sigma(xx)(1)=65, sigma(yy)(1)=33, sigma(zz)(1)=-98, sigma(xx)(2)=77, sigma(yy)(2)=17, and sigma(zz)(2)=-94. Assuming sigma(zz) to be perpendicular to the molecular plane, the orientations of the sigma(yy) s\&$\#$39; are 12 degrees off the C-1=0 bond (toward the hydroxyl carbon) for carbon 1 and 10 degrees off the C-3=C-2 bond (away from the carbonyl carbon) for carbon 2. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.
}, keywords = {spectra}, isbn = {0021-9606}, doi = {Doi 10.1063/1.469951}, url = {Various new and well-established multiple-pulse sequences that provide homonuclear dipolar decoupling are compared on a high-resolution spectrometer/probe configuration using low RF-irradiation powers. Proton-proton decoupled carbon-13 spectra of singly C-13-labeled benzene dissolved in a nematic liquid crystal and of the liquid crystal 152 are presented. Two classes of multiple-pulse sequences are studied that produce either broadband decoupled carbon spectra or separated local-held spectra. Several new approaches for the design of windowless sequences are demonstrated to be valuable in these heteronuclear experiments. They include implementations of the iterative MLEV scheme and the use of 270 degrees pulses. Furthermore, noncyclic propagators have been found that exhibit advantages over closely related cyclic analogues in both classes of decoupling sequences. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.
}, keywords = {dipolar}, isbn = {1064-1858}, doi = {Doi 10.1006/Jmra.1995.1077}, url = {We present a technique for the study of nuclear quadrupole resonance of N-14 interacting with low electric field gradients as found, for example, in amino acids. A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is used to detect directly small NMR signals via cross relaxation of the N-14 polarization to adjacent proton spins, eliminating the need for field cycling. When one nitrogen quadrupolar transition matches the proton Zeeman splitting, the remaining two quadrupolar transitions can be observed by sweeping a saturating rf field through resonance. In addition, signal enhancement by simultaneous excitation of two nitro n resonances helps to identify connected transitions.
}, keywords = {resonance}, isbn = {0009-2614}, doi = {Doi 10.1016/0009-2614(93)87194-8}, url = {