Real-Time In Vivo Tracking of Biological and Biochemical Milieu Using Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Biosensors

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) via the dissolution is a physics-based technique that amplifies the liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals of a variety of nuclei to unprecedented values typically by >10,000-fold. Carbon-13 (gamma γ=10.7 MHz/T), a stable and NMR-active isotope of carbopn, is the foremost target for hyperpolarization due to its utility in metabolic and biochemical imaging as seen in a plethora of hyperpolarized 13C MR studies using 13C-pyruvate and other 13C-labeled metabolic tracers. Although less sensitive than 13C, 15N-labeled (γ=4.31 MHz/T) biosensors have also been reported in a select number of hyperpolarized (HP) MR studies. In this presentation, the physics and instrumental aspects of the hyperpolarized magnetic resonance technology will be discussed in addition to its application in real-time tracking of the biological and biochemical activities in cells and in vivo in cancer and other pathologies.