2021 journal article

Background‐Free Proton NMR Spectroscopy with Radiofrequency Amplification by Stimulated Emission Radiation

Angewandte Chemie, 9.

co-author countries: Germany 🇩🇪 Russian Federation 🇷🇺 United States of America 🇺🇸
Source: ORCID
Added: October 2, 2021

Abstract We report on the utility of Radiofrequency Amplification by Stimulated Emission Radiation (RASER) for background‐free proton detection of hyperpolarized biomolecules. We performed hyperpolarization of ≈0.3 M ethyl acetate via pairwise parahydrogen addition to vinyl acetate. A proton NMR signal with signal‐to‐noise ratio exceeding 100 000 was detected without radio‐frequency excitation at the clinically relevant magnetic field of 1.4 T using a standard (non‐cryogenic) inductive detector with quality factor of Q =68. No proton background signal was observed from protonated solvent (methanol) or other added co‐solvents such as ethanol, water or bovine serum. Moreover, we demonstrate RASER detection without radio‐frequency excitation of a bolus of hyperpolarized contrast agent in biological fluid. Completely background‐free proton detection of hyperpolarized contrast agents in biological media paves the way to new applications in the areas of high‐resolution NMR spectroscopy and in vivo spectroscopy and imaging.