Institutsseminar Biologische Chemie

The signal in nuclear magnetic resonance is very sensitive to the structure and dynamics of matter. Under ambient conditions, however, the nuclear spin polarization is small, and only 1 in 100,000 spins contributes to the NMR signal. In dissolution-dynamic nuclear polarization, nuclear spins are polarized by coupling them to electron spins at very low temperatures. This hyperpolarized solid is then dissolved with a jet of hot solvent, and the solution is transferred rapidly to a secondary magnet for liquid-state NMR. While this method has enabled a plethora of applications, we have shown that it may be advantageous to reverse the order of transfer and dissolution: In bullet-DNP, the hyperpolarized solid is transferred to the secondary magnet using pressurised gas, and dissolved only upon arrival. A successful implementation of bullet-DNP requires control over low-field relaxation during the transfer. We present the bullet-DNP methodology, and our understanding of the relevant relaxation processes.

Dr. Benno Meier, Karlsruher Institute for Technologies, Deutschland, http://www.meier-lab.org