Artikel des Tages: Slow magic-angle coil spinning: A high-sensitivity and high-resolution NMR strategy for microscopic biological specimens

Der heutige Artikel des Tages widmet sich einer eher technischen Fragestellung.
Erschienen ist er im Februar 2010 in der Zeitschrift Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Vol. 63, Teil 2, Seiten 269-274.

High-resolution magic-angle spinning has become a valuable tool to study biologic samples; however, there are only a few high-resolution magic-angle spinning methodologies that have been explored specifically to deal with small semisolid biomaterials such as tissues. Here, we report a novel high-resolution 1H NMR spectroscopic approach using magic-angle coil spinning. We demonstrate its potential for intact tissues by combining a resonant microcoil with a large-volume commercial magic-angle spinning rotor, where the microcoil offers incredible sensitivity and the large-volume magic-angle spinning rotor provides stable slow magic-angle spinning. This approach provides high-resolution spectra with high sensitivity and the preservation of living biologic specimens for an accurate chemical analysis.

Die Autoren sind Mitglieder des Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique Saclay, in Gif-sur-Yvette, Frankreich.

Online abrufbar ist der Artikel über DOI 10.1002/mrm.22231.

Artikel des Tages: Protein polymer MRI contrast agents: Longitudinal analysis of biomaterials in vivo

Wir bleiben bei den Polymeren, widmen uns heute aber einer Anwendung in der Medizin.

Abstract:

Despite recent advances in tissue engineering to regenerate biological function by combining cells with material supports, development is hindered by inadequate techniques for characterizing biomaterials in vivo. Magnetic resonance imaging is a tomographic technique with high temporal and spatial resolution and represents an excellent imaging modality for longitudinal noninvasive assessment of biomaterials in vivo. To distinguish biomaterials from surrounding tissues for magnetic resonance imaging, protein polymer contrast agents were developed and incorporated into hydrogels. In vitro and in vivo images of protein polymer hydrogels, with and without covalently incorporated protein polymer contrast agents, were acquired by magnetic resonance imaging. T1 values of the labeled gels were consistently lower when protein polymer contrast agents were included. As a result, the protein polymer contrast agent hydrogels facilitated fate tracking, quantification of degradation, and detection of immune response in vivo. For the duration of the in vivo study, the protein polymer contrast agent-containing hydrogels could be distinguished from adjacent tissues and from the foreign body response surrounding the gels. The hydrogels containing protein polymer contrast agent have a contrast-to-noise ratio 2-fold greater than hydrogels without protein polymer contrast agent. In the absence of the protein polymer contrast agent, hydrogels cannot be distinguished by the end of the gel lifetime.

Erschienen ist der Artikel in der Zeitschrift Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Volume 65, Teil 1, Seiten 220-228. Online abrufbar ist er über DOI 10.1002/mrm.22587.

Artikel des Tages: Visualization of Inert Gas Wash-Out During High- Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation Using Fluorine-19 MRI

Der heutige Artikel beschäftigt sich mit der Lungenbildgebung unter Anwendung von ¹⁹F als NMR-Sonde. Die Autoren sind Mitarbeiter des Uniklinikums Mainz bzw. der Universität Mainz.

Aus dem Abstract:

High-frequency oscillatory ventilation is looked upon as a lung-protective ventilation strategy. For a further clarification of the physical processes promoting gas transport, a visualization of gas flow and the distribution of ventilation are of considerable interest. Therefore, fluorine-19 magnetic resonance imaging of the imaging gas octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8) during high-frequency oscillatory ventilation was performed in five healthy pigs. For that, a mutually compatible ventilation-imaging system was set up and transverse images were acquired every 5 sec using FLASH sequences on a 1.5 T scanner. Despite a drop in signal-to-noise ratio after the onset of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, for each pig, the four experiments could be analyzed. A mean wash-out time (t) at 5 Hz of 52.7 6 18 sec and 125.9 6 39 sec at 10 Hz, respectively, were found for regions of interest including the whole lung.
This is in agreement with the clinical findings, in that washout of respiratory gases is significantly prolonged for increased high-frequency oscillatory ventilation frequencies.
Our study could be a good starting-point for a further optimization of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation.

Erschienen ist der Artikel in der Zeitschrift Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Volume 64, Issue 5, Seiten 1478-1483.

Artikel des Tages: Measurement of Apparent Cell Radii Using a Multiple Wave Vector Diffusion Experiment

Mit dem heutigen Artikel möchte ich eine spezielle Form von Diffusions-NMR vorstellen, im Englischen als "Multiple Wave vector diffusion" bezeichnet.

Die Autoren sind Mitglieder des Fachbereiches Physik, Experimentalphysik 5 sowie der Medizinischen Klinik und Poliklinik I an der Universität Würzburg und des Forschungszentrums "Magnetic Resonance Bavaria" in Würzburg.

Im Abstract heißt es:

It had been previously shown that an idealized version of the two-wave-vector extension of the NMR pulsed-field-gradient spin echo diffusion experiment can be used to determine the apparent radius of geometries with restricted diffusion. In the present work, the feasibility of the experiment was demonstrated in an NMR imaging experiment, in which the apparent radius of axons in white matter tissue was determined. Moreover, numerical simulations have been carried out to determine the reliability of the results. For small diffusion times, the radius is systematically underestimated. Larger gradient area, finite length gradient pulses, and a statistical distribution of radii within a voxel all have a minor influence on the estimated radius.

Erschienen ist der Artikel im April 2009 in der Zeitschrift Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (Volume 61, Issue 4, Seiten 1001–1006).