Published March 29, 1996 | Version v1
Journal article

Enhancement of solution NMR and MRI with laser-polarized xenon

  • 1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Description

Optical pumping with laser light can be used to polarize the nuclear spins of gaseous xenon-129. When hyperpolarized xenon-129 is dissolved in liquids, a time-dependent departure of the proton spin polarization from its thermal equilibrium is observed. The variation of the magnetization is an unexpected manifestation of the nuclear Overhauser effect, a consequence of cross-relaxation between the spins of solution protons and dissolved xenon-129. Time-resolved magnetic resonance images of both nuclei in solution show that the proton magnetization is selectively perturbed in regions containing spin-polarized xenon-129. This effect could find use in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of surfaces and proteins and in magnetic resonance imaging. 33 refs., 5 figs

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Science (Washington, D.C.)
Journal Volume
271
Journal Issue
5257
Journal Page Range
p. 1848-1851.
ISSN
0036-8075
CODEN
SCIEAS