Low-field, high-gradient NMR shows diffusion contrast consistent with localization or motional averaging of water near surfaces

Nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)measurements of water diffusion have been extensively used to probe microstructure in porous materials,such as biological tissue,however primarily using pulsed gradient spin echo(PGSE)methods.Low-field single-sided NMR systems have built-in static gradients(SG)much stronger than typical PGSE maximum gradient strengths,which allows for the signal attenuation at extremely high b-values to be explored.Here,we perform SG spin echo(SGSE)and SG stimulated echo(SGSTE)diffusion measurements on biological cells,tissues,and gels.Measurements on fixed and live neonatal mouse spinal cord,lobster ventral nerve cord,and starved yeast cells all show multiexponential signal attenuation on a scale of b with significant signal fractions observed at b×Do>1 with b as high as 400 ms/um2.These persistent signal fractions trend with surface-to-volume ratios for these systems,as expected from porous media theory.An exception found for the case of fixed vs.live spinal cords was attributed to faster exchange or permeability in live spinal cords than in fixed spinal cords on the millisecond timescale.Data suggests the existence of multiple exchange processes in neural tissue,which may be relevant to the modeling of time-dependent diffusion in gray matter.The observed multi-exponential attenuation is from protons on water and not macromolecules because it remains proportional to the normalized signal when a specimen is washed with D20.The signal that persists to b×Do>1 is also drastically reduced after delipidation,indicating that it originates from lipid membranes that restrict water diffusion.The multiexponential or stretched exponential character of the signal attenuation at b×Do>1 appears mono-exponential when viewed on a scale of(b×Do)/3,suggesting it may originate from localization or motional averaging of water near membranes on sub-micron length scales.To try to disambiguate these two contributions,signal attenuation curves were compared at varying temperatures.While the curves align when normalizing them using the localization length scale,they separate on a motional averaging length scale.This supports localization as the source of non-Gaussian displacements,but this interpretation is still provisional due to the possible confounds of heterogeneity,exchange,and relaxation.Measurements on two types of gel phantoms designed to mimic extracellular matrix.one with charged functional groups synthesized from polyacrylic acid(PAC)and another with uncharged functional groups synthesized from polyacrylamide(PAM),both exhibit signal at b×Do>1,potentially due to water interacting with macromolecules.These preliminary finding motivate future research into contrast and attenuation mechanisms in tissue with low-field,high-gradient NMR。

全开放式单边核磁共振探测器及其应用

全开放式单边核磁共振(nuclear magnetic resonance,NMR)系统具有成本低、易便携、可实时无损检测等特点.该文介绍了单边NMR探测器的发展,重点以德国亚琛工业大学Blumich教授团队研发的NMR-MOUSE(NMR mobile universal surface explorer)探测器为例,详细讨论了其硬件结构,探讨了单边NMR的测量方法,最后介绍了单边NMR探测器在波谱分析和生物医学等领域中的应用.

基于移动核磁共振仪的聚乙烯聚集态结构的非侵入检测

采用移动核磁共振仪(MObile Universal Surface Explorer,NMR-MOUSE)快速、非侵入地检测聚乙烯(PE)粉料和管材料的聚集态结构。NMR-MOUSE仅需几秒钟就可以完成聚集态结构检测。本文首先建立了CPMG序列数据分析方法,用于描述PE的结晶相含量、无定形相含量、界面相含量以及各相区的横向弛豫时间,进而用于分析相同牌号不同厂家的PE粉料聚集态结构中各相区的的微小差异以及受力变形的PE管材不同位点的聚集态结构。结果表明,基于表征各相区链段运动性差异的NMR-MOUSE可实现PE聚集态结构的在线检测。