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Updated: May 14, 2026

Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Instrumentation for Real-time Enzymatic Reaction Rate Measurements by NMR
Published on: February 23, 2016
A battery-driven, low-field NMR unit for thermally and hyperpolarized samples
Robert Borowiak1, Niels Schwaderlapp, Frank Huethe
1Medical Physics, Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacher Straße 60A, 79106, Freiburg, Germany.
Object:
The design of a multinuclear low-field NMR unit with variable field strength <6 mT providing accurate spin manipulations and sufficient sensitivity for direct detection of samples in thermal equilibrium to aid parahydrogen-based hyperpolarization experiments.
Materials And Methods:
An optimized, resistive magnet connected to a battery or wall-power driven current source was constructed to provide a magnetic field <6 mT. A digital device connected to a saddle-shaped transmit- and solenoid receive-coil enabled MR signal excitation and detection with up to 10(6) samples/s, controlled by a flexible pulse-programming software.
Results:
The magnetization of thermally polarized samples at 1.8 and 5.7 mT is detected in a single acquisition with a SNR ≈10(1) and ≈10(2) and a line width of 42 and 32 Hz, respectively. Nuclear spins are manipulated to an uncertainty of ±1° by means of pulses, which can be arranged in an arbitrary combination. As a demonstration, standard experiments for the measurement of relaxation parameters of thermally polarized samples were implemented. The detection of much stronger hyperpolarized signal was exemplified employing parahydrogen.
Conclusion:
Direct detection of thermal and hyperpolarized (1)H-MR signal in a single acquisition and accurate spin manipulations at 1.8 and 5.5 mT were successfully demonstrated.
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