DNP Polarization Agents for Real-Time Metabolic Imaging and Clinical Diagnosis

Project Summary / Abstract Although standard MRI techniques provide valuable structural insight, a related technique known as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) adds powerful real-time metabolic information about the tissues under study. MRS provides early detection of disease, monitoring treatment efficacy, and, in the case of cancer, a dramatic reduction in unnecessary biopsies. However, broad utilization of MRS in the clinic is hindered by the low sensitivity of the underlying nuclear magnetic resonance phenomenon. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) dramatically enhances nuclear magnetic resonance signals by transferring polarization from relatively highly-polarized unpaired-electron spins to nuclear spins (e.g. 1H, 13C, 19F, 23Na, 31P). The unpairedelectrons are supplied by polarizing agents, which are persistent radical species added to a glass-forming matrix. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvements of over 10,000-fold are achievable with DNP. Hyperpolarized contrast agents and the high sensitivit