Parahydrogen-enhanced pH measurements using [1-¹³C]bicarbonate derived from non-enzymatic decarboxylation of...

Alterations in pH are a hallmark in several pathologies including cancer, ischemia, and inflammation. Non-invasive magnetic resonance methods to measure pH offer a new approach for early diagnosis of diseases characterized by acid-base imbalances. The hyperpolarization with parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) enhances inherently low signals in magnetic resonance experiments by several orders of magnitude and offers a suitable platform to obtain biocompatible markers in less than one minute. Here, we present an optimized preparation of an hyperpolarized H¹³CO₃^-/¹³CO₂ pH sensor via non-enzymatic decarboxylation with H₂O₂ of [1-¹³C]pyruvate-d₃ obtained by PHIP at 7 T. An improved ¹³C polarization of purified [1-¹³C]pyruvate-d₃ in water with 36.65 ± 0.06% polarization was obtained starting from 50 mM precursor. Subsequent decarboxylation, H¹³CO₃^-/¹³CO₂ exhibited 12.46 ± 0.01% of polarization at physiological pH, 45 seconds after the reaction start. Considering the dilution factor that [1-¹³C]pyruvate-d₃ exhibits in vivo, we optimized our methodology to test the accuracy of the pH sensor at single digit millimolar concentration. In vitro pH estimations on phantoms and cell culture media demonstrated accurate pH calculations with uncertainties of less than 0.08 units. These promising results highlight the efficiency of a pH sensor generated via PHIP in less than one minute, with remarkable polarization, and biocompatibility suitable for future in vivo studies.