| Project Detail |
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful spectroscopic technique, used in various fields, including chemistry, biology and medicine. However, conventional NMR has one big limitation, namely very small sensitivity, due to a low level of polarisation of nuclear spins and inefficient signal detection by an induction signal in pick-up coils. My ERC Starting grant has explored the use of radiation-detected NMR (RD-NMR), in which very short-lived nuclei were used as novel NMR probes, bringing up to a billion-fold increase in NMR sensitivity. Such nuclei are produced at a radioactive-ion beam facility and are polarised on the fly, before being introduced into the sample.
In this Proof of Concept project, I want to use the advantaged of RD-NMR and explore the prospect of turning it into a more easily accessible analytic tool. I aim to build a prototype of a modular insert for conventional NMR and MRI spectrometers that will allow in-situ polarisation of longer-lived nuclei that can be acquired commercially. The insert will include a sample, rf coil for spin excitation, beta-particle detectors, connections to introduce the hyperpolarising agent and the radiolabelled molecule that will be polarised in situ. The insert will be complemented by hardware and software needed for the data acquisition.
During the project we will also explore the most suitable exploitation path, we will refine the end users and end market (including a workshop at CERN), and will investigate the patentability of the results. I will collaborate with researchers from University of Mainz, Knowledge Transfer specialists, and companies active in NMR and MRI. |
