Chemistry Commons^™

Silicon-based nanoparticles are ideally suited for use as biomedical imaging agents due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and simple surface chemistry that facilitates drug loading and targeting. A method of hyperpolarizing silicon particles using dynamic nuclear polarization, which increases magnetic resonance imaging signals by several orders-of-magnitude through enhanced nuclear spin alignment, has recently been developed to allow silicon particles to function as contrast agents for in vivo magnetic resonance imaging. The enhanced spin polarization of silicon lasts significantly longer than other hyperpolarized agents (tens of minutes, whereas <1  min for other species at room temperature), allowing a wide range of potential …

Visualizing the movement of angiocatheters during endovascular interventions is typically accomplished using x-ray fluoroscopy. There are many potential advantages to developing magnetic resonance imaging-based approaches that will allow three-dimensional imaging of the tissue/vasculature interface while monitoring other physiologically-relevant criteria, without exposing the patient or clinician team to ionizing radiation. Here we introduce a proof-of-concept development of a magnetic resonance imaging-guided catheter tracking method that utilizes hyperpolarized silicon particles. The increased signal of the silicon particles is generated via low-temperature, solid-state dynamic nuclear polarization, and the particles retain their enhanced signal for ≥40 minutes—allowing imaging experiments over extended time durations. The …

This article covers the fundamental principles and practice of NMR hyperpolarization techniques, which are proving useful for in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies of metabolism in animal models, and clinical trials with hyper-enhanced sensitivity. Fundamentally, hyperpolarization methods enhance nuclear spin polarization by orders-of-magnitude, resulting in concomitant improvement in NMR detection sensitivity. The hyperpolarization methods described here – dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), para-hydrogen induced polarization (PHIP), signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE), and spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) – are capable of achieving nuclear spin polarization approaching the theoretical maximum of unity on nuclear spin sites of molecular or atomic agents …