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arXiv · 2301.06607

Real-time polarimetry of hyperpolarized $^{13}$C nuclear spins using an atomic magnetometer

Kostas Mouloudakis·Sven Bodenstedt·Marc Azagra·Morgan W Mitchell·Irene Marco-Rius·Michael CD Tayler
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Abstract

We introduce a method for non-destructive quantification of nuclear spin polarization, of relevance to hyperpolarized spin tracers widely used in magnetic resonance from spectroscopy to in vivo imaging. In a bias field of around 30 nT we use a high-sensitivity miniaturized $^{87}$Rb vapor magnetometer to measure the field generated by the sample, as it is driven by a windowed dynamical decoupling pulse sequence that both maximizes the nuclear spin lifetime and modulates the polarization for easy detection. We demonstrate the procedure applied to a 0.08 M hyperpolarized [1--$^{13}$C]-pyruvate solution produced by dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization, measuring polarization repeatedly during natural decay at Earth's field. Application to real-time quality monitoring of hyperpolarized substances is discussed.

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Kostas Mouloudakis, Sven Bodenstedt, Marc Azagra, Morgan W Mitchell, Irene Marco-Rius, Michael CD Tayler. 2023-01-16. Real-time polarimetry of hyperpolarized $^{13}$C nuclear spins using an atomic magnetometer. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03864

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