Tuesday, July 5, 2022
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Chemistry AND Physics

Hyperpolarized proton MRI used to observe metabolic processes in real time

March 11, 2021
in Chemistry AND Physics
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

New technique using nuclear spin hyperpolarization of hydrogen paves the way for further advances in the field of magnetic resonance imaging

IMAGE

Credit: photo/©: Laurynas Dagys, University of Southampton

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is already widely used in medicine for diagnostic purposes. Hyperpolarized MRI is a more recent development and its research and application potential has yet to be fully explored. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) have now unveiled a new technique for observing metabolic processes in the body. Their singlet-contrast MRI method employs easily-produced parahydrogen to track biochemical processes in real time. The results of their work have been published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition and chosen by the editors as a “hot paper”, i.e., an important publication in a rapidly-developing and highly significant field.

Over the past decades, it has become standard practice to use MRI for medical examinations. It can be used to investigate soft tissues in the body such as the brain, intervertebral discs, and even the formation of tumors. “MRI images can show us the structure of the brain, for example, but they tell us nothing about the biomolecular processes occurring in the body, partly because of the poor sensitivity of MRI,” said Dr. James Eills, first author of the study and member of the work group led by Professor Dmitry Budker at JGU and HIM.

Using hydrogen atoms instead of carbon or nitrogen isotopes

One way to significantly enhance MRI signals is hyperpolarization. This achieves significant alignment of the signal-generating nuclear spins with the help of an external magnetic field. Hyperpolarization-enhanced MRI is already being used to study biomolecular processes in the body; unfortunately, the use of carbon isotope C-13 or the nitrogen isotope N-15 is associated with certain disadvantages. “It would thus be of considerable benefit if we could use hydrogen atoms directly. Hydrogen has greater sensitivity, is more abundant, and the detection equipment is readily available,” stated Eills. A drawback of hydrogen, however, is its rapid relaxation time. This means the hyperpolarized atoms revert to their original state so quickly that it is difficult to generate images.

Dr. James Eills and his colleagues tackled this problem by using a special quantum state of hydrogen nuclei called a singlet state, which derives from so-called parahydrogen. “This means we were able to overcome the drawbacks of hyperpolarized proton imaging, particularly those relating to the short relaxation time,” explained Eills. While hydrogen usually has a relaxation time of a few seconds, this can be minutes in the case of singlet states. The singlet state is also non-magnetic and therefore cannot be observed. It can only be observed once the molecule is no longer symmetrical.

When fumarate is used, metabolism triggers hyperpolarization

In the study under discussion, the scientists describe their technique for singlet-contrast MRI using fumarate, a biomolecule naturally occuring as an intermediate product of metabolism. First, fumarate is produced from a precursor molecule and parahydrogen. The hyperpolarized fumarate is converted into malate by the addition of a heavy water molecule. This conversion eliminates the symmetry of the molecule, rendering it magnetic and detectable. “Then we can use the associated magnetic signals for imaging,” Dr. James Eills pointed out.

Carbon-13-labelled fumarate is already a molecule that plays a significant role in hyperpolarized imaging. This work opens the possibility to perform fumarate-imaging with all the benefits of observing hydrogen rather than cabon-13. Moreover, use of parahydrogen would also be beneficial due to the fact that it can be easily produced: Hydrogen gas is simply cooled in the presence of a catalyst, which is then removed. The resulting parahydrogen can then be warmed up and remains stable in the para state for months.

“Hyperpolarized MRI is in the early stages of its development, and our contribution is an exciting new MRI variant,” concluded Eills. It is possible to record images of the hyperpolarized signal at different points in time, which enables the real-time tracking of metabolic processes.

“The combination of Parahydrogen Induced Polarization with long-lived spin-states and enzymatic conversion finally breaks the door to a cost-efficient magnetic resonance imaging of fumarate and similar tumor markers in cancer metabolism,” added Professor Gerd Buntkowsky, head of the Physical Chemistry of Condensed Matter group at TU Darmstadt and corresponding author of the work.

###

Also involved in the international collaborative project were partners from TU Kaiserslautern, from research institutions in Turin, Italy, and Novosibirsk, Russia, as well as from the University of Southampton in the UK.

Related links:

https://budker.uni-mainz.de/ – Budker Lab at JGU and HIM ;

https://www.prisma.uni-mainz.de/ – PRISMA+ Cluster of Excellence at JGU ;

https://www.hi-mainz.de/ – Helmholtz Institute Mainz

https://zulf.eu/ – Innovative Training Network “Zero and Ultra-low Field NMR” (ZULF NMR)

https://blog.zulf.eu/ – ZULF NMR weblog ;

https://www.chemie.tu-darmstadt.de/buntkowsky/research_group/index.en.jsp – Physical Chemistry of Condensed Matter research group at TU Darmstadt

Read more:

https://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/13025_ENG_HTML.php – press release “Venus flytraps found to produce magnetic fields” (2 Feb. 2021) ;

https://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/12355_ENG_HTML.php – press release “Dmitry Budker receives Norman F. Ramsey Prize of the American Physical Society” (21 Oct. 2020) ;

https://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/11825_ENG_HTML.php – press release “New NMR method enables monitoring of chemical reactions in metal containers” (15 July 2020) ;

https://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/11370_ENG_HTML.php – press release “New simple method for measuring the state of lithium-ion batteries” (7 May 2020)

Media Contact
Dr. James Eills
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/aktuell/13224_ENG_HTML.php

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.202014933

Tags: Atomic/Molecular/Particle PhysicsBiomechanics/BiophysicscancerChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesElectromagneticsMedicine/HealthMicrobiologyMolecular BiologyMolecular Physics
Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • New imaging technology less accurate than MRI at detecting prostate cancer, trial shows

    66 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 17
  • Alcohol changes brain activity differently in male and female mice

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Scientists discover key to hepatitis A virus replication, show drug effectiveness

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Study explores coevolution of mammals and their lice

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • COVID-19 fattens up our body’s cells to fuel its viral takeover

    95 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • Magnetic spins that ‘freeze’ when heated: Nature in the wrong direction

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

nTIDE May 2022 COVID Update: Uncertainty about inflation tempers good news for people with disabilities

COVID-19 fattens up our body’s cells to fuel its viral takeover

The pair of Orcas deterring Great White Sharks – by ripping open their torsos for livers

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 190 other subscribers

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....