The detection of tumors noninvasively, the characterization of their progression by defined markers and the monitoring of response to treatment are goals of medical imaging techniques. In this ...article, a method which measures the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of metabolites using hyperpolarized (13) C diffusion-weighted spectroscopy is presented. A pulse sequence based on the pulsed gradient spin echo (PGSE) was developed that encodes both kinetics and diffusion information. In experiments with MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, we detected an ADC of intracellularly produced lactate of 1.06 ± 0.15 µm(2) /ms, which is about one-half of the value measured with pyruvate in extracellular culture medium. When monitoring tumor cell spheroids during progressive membrane permeabilization with Triton X-100, the ratio of lactate ADC to pyruvate ADC increases as the fraction of dead cells increases. Therefore, (13) C ADC detection can yield sensitive information on changes in membrane permeability and subsequent cell death. Our results suggest that both metabolic label exchange and (13) C ADCs can be acquired simultaneously, and may potentially serve as noninvasive biomarkers for pathological changes in tumor cells.
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•We present a real-time bolus tracking sequence for hyperpolarised substrates.•The imaging acquisition is started at a defined point on the bolus curve.•In vivo tests in healthy rats ...after injection of hyperpolarised 1-13Cpyruvate.•Bolus tracking improves SNR efficiency and reduces artefacts.•Bolus tracking enables a more reliable quantification of metabolic activity.
Dynamic nuclear polarisation has enabled real-time metabolic imaging of pyruvate and its metabolites. Conventional imaging sequences rely on predefined settings and do not account for intersubject variations in biological parameters such as perfusion. We present a fully automatic real-time bolus tracking sequence for hyperpolarised substrates which starts the imaging acquisition at a defined point on the bolus curve. This reduces artefacts due to signal change and allows for a more efficient use of hyperpolarised magnetisation. For single time point imaging methods, bolus tracking enables a more reliable and consistent quantification of metabolic activity. An RF excitation with a small flip angle is used to obtain slice-selective pyruvate tracking information in rats. Moreover, in combination with a copolarised urea and pyruvate injection, spectrally selective tracking on urea allows obtaining localised bolus tracking information without depleting the pyruvate signal. Particularly with regard to clinical application, the bolus tracking technique could provide an important step towards a routine assessment protocol which removes operator dependencies and ensures comparable results.
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► Very low magnetic field enables fast relaxation in 14N coupled 13C. ► Scalar coupling (II° type) is found responsible for sensible 13C T1 shortening. ► Effective only with ...relatively coupled 14N/13C nuclei and fast relaxing 14N nuclei. ► Important relaxation for hyperpolarized DNP MR spectroscopy/imaging application. ► Effect minimized if 15N labeling or sustained field during sample transfer is used.
Scalar coupling relaxation, which is usually only associated with closely resonant nuclei (e.g., 79Br–13C), can be a very effective relaxation mechanism. While working on hyperpolarized 5-13Cglutamine, fast liquid-state polarization decay during transfer to the MRI scanner was observed. This behavior could hypothetically be explained by substantial T1 shortening due to a scalar coupling contribution (type II) to the relaxation caused by the fast-relaxing quadrupolar 14N adjacent to the 13C nucleus in the amide group. This contribution is only effective in low magnetic fields (i.e., less than 800μT) and prevents the use of molecules bearing the 13C-amide group as hyperpolarized MRS/MRI probes. In the present work, this hypothesis is explored both theoretically and experimentally. The results show that high hyperpolarization levels can be retained using either a 15N-labeled amide or by applying a magnetic field during transfer of the sample from the polarizer to the MRI scanner.
(13)C metabolic MRI using hyperpolarized (13)C-bicarbonate enables preclinical detection of pH. To improve signal-to-noise ratio, experimental procedures were refined, and the influence of pH, buffer ...capacity, temperature, and field strength were investigated.
Bicarbonate preparation was investigated. Bicarbonate was prepared and applied in spectroscopy at 1, 3, 14 T using pure dissolution, culture medium, and MCF-7 cell spheroids. Healthy rats were imaged by spectral-spatial spiral acquisition for spatial and temporal bicarbonate distribution, pH mapping, and signal decay analysis.
An optimized preparation technique for maximum solubility of 6 mol/L and polarization levels of 19-21% is presented; T1 and SNR dependency on field strength, buffer capacity, and pH was investigated. pH mapping in vivo is demonstrated.
An optimized bicarbonate preparation and experimental procedure provided improved T1 and SNR values, allowing in vitro and in vivo applications.
Non-invasive and rapid determination of plant biomass would be beneficial for a number of research aims. Here, we present a novel device to non-invasively determine plant water content as a proxy for ...plant biomass. It is based on changes of dielectric properties inside a microwave cavity resonator induced by inserted plant material. The water content of inserted shoots leads to a discrete shift in the centre frequency of the resonator. Calibration measurements with pure water showed good spatial homogeneity in the detection volume of the microwave resonators and clear correlations between water content and centre frequency shift. For cut tomato and tobacco shoots, linear correlations between fresh weight and centre frequency shift were established. These correlations were used to continuously monitor diel growth patterns of intact plants and to determine biomass increase over several days. Interferences from soil and root water were excluded by shielding pots with copper. The presented proof of principle shows that microwave resonators are promising tools to quantitatively detect the water content of plants and to determine plant biomass. As the method is non-invasive, integrative and fast, it provides the opportunity for detailed, dynamic analyses of plant growth, water status and phenotype.
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