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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging
Published on: December 30, 2016
13C hyperpolarization with nitrogen-vacancy centers in micro- and nanodiamonds for sensitive magnetic resonance
Rémi Blinder1, Yuliya Mindarava1, Martin Korzeczek2
1Institute for Quantum Optics, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Abstract:
Nuclear hyperpolarization is a known method to enhance the signal in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) by orders of magnitude. The present work addresses the 13C hyperpolarization in diamond micro- and nanoparticles, using the optically pumped nitrogen-vacancy center (NV) to polarize 13C spins at room temperature. Consequences of the small particle size are mitigated by using a combination of surface treatment improving the 13C relaxation (T1) time, as well as that of NV, and applying a technique for NV illumination based on a microphotonic structure. Adjustments to the dynamical nuclear polarization sequence (PulsePol) are performed, as well as slow sample rotation, to improve the NV-13C polarization transfer rate. The hyperpolarized 13C NMR signal is observed in particles of 2-micrometer and 100-nanometer median sizes, with enhancements over the thermal signal (at 0.29-tesla magnetic field) of 1500 and 940, respectively. The present demonstration of room-temperature hyperpolarization anticipates the development of agents based on nanoparticles for sensitive magnetic resonance applications.
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