Probing signal amplification by reversible exchange using an NMR flow system.

Hyperpolarization methods are used in NMR to overcome its inherent sensitivity problem. Herein, the biologically relevant target nicotinamide is polarized by the hyperpolarization technique signal amplification by reversible exchange. We illustrate how the polarization transfer field, and the concentrations of parahydrogen, the polarization-transfer-catalyst and substrate can be used to maximize signal amplification by reversible exchange effectiveness by reference to the first-order spin system of this target. The catalyst is shown to be crucial in this process, first by facilitating the transfer of hyperpolarization from parahydrogen to nicotinamide and then by depleting the resulting polarized states through further interaction. The 15 longitudinal one, two, three and four spin order terms produced are rigorously identified and quantified using an automated flow apparatus in conjunction with NMR pulse sequences based on the only parahydrogen spectroscopy protocol. The rates of build-up of these terms were shown to follow the order four~three > two > single spin; this order parallels their rates of relaxation. The result of these competing effects is that the less-efficiently formed single-spin order terms dominate at the point of measurement with the two-spin terms having amplitudes that are an order of magnitude lower. We also complete further measurements to demonstrate that (13)C NMR spectra can be readily collected where the long-lived quaternary (13)C signals appear with significant intensity. These are improved upon by using INEPT. In summary, we dissect the complexity of this method, highlighting its benefits to the NMR community and its applicability for high-sensitivity magnetic resonance imaging detection in the future.

Optimization of SABRE for polarization of the tuberculosis drugs pyrazinamide and isoniazid.

Hyperpolarization produces nuclear spin polarization that is several orders of magnitude larger than that achieved at thermal equilibrium thus providing extraordinary contrast and sensitivity. As a parahydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) technique that does not require chemical modification of the substrate to polarize, Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange (SABRE) has attracted a lot of attention. Using a prototype parahydrogen polarizer, we polarize two drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis, namely pyrazinamide and isoniazid. We examine this approach in four solvents, methanol-d4, methanol, ethanol and DMSO and optimize the polarization transfer magnetic field strength, the temperature as well as intensity and duration of hydrogen bubbling to achieve the best overall signal enhancement and hence hyperpolarization level.

Iridium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes as efficient catalysts for magnetization transfer from para-hydrogen.

While the characterization of materials by NMR is hugely important in the physical and biological sciences, it also plays a vital role in medical imaging. This success is all the more impressive because of the inherently low sensitivity of the method. We establish here that [Ir(H)(2)(IMes)(py)(3)]Cl undergoes both pyridine (py) loss as well as the reductive elimination of H(2). These reversible processes bring para-H(2) and py into contact in a magnetically coupled environment, delivering an 8100-fold increase in (1)H NMR signal strength relative to non-hyperpolarized py at 3 T. An apparatus that facilitates signal averaging has been built to demonstrate that the efficiency of this process is controlled by the strength of the magnetic field experienced by the complex during the magnetization transfer step. Thermodynamic and kinetic data combined with DFT calculations reveal the involvement of [Ir(H)(2)(η(2)-H(2))(IMes)(py)(2)](+), an unlikely yet key intermediate in the reaction. Deuterium labeling yields an additional 60% improvement in signal, an observation that offers insight into strategies for optimizing this approach.

Spontaneous transfer of parahydrogen derived spin order to pyridine at low magnetic field.

The cationic iridium complex [Ir(COD)(PCy(3))(py)]BF(4) (1) is shown to react with dihydrogen in the presence of pyridine (py) to form the dihydride complex fac,cis-[Ir(PCy(3))(py)(3)(H)(2)]BF(4) (2). Complex 2 undergoes rapid exchange of the two bound pyridine ligands which are trans to hydride with free pyridine; the activation parameters for this process in methanol are DeltaH(double dagger) = 97.4 +/- 9 kJ mol(-1) and DeltaS(double dagger) = 84 +/- 31 J K(-1) mol(-1). When parahydrogen is employed as a source of nuclear spin polarization, spontaneous magnetization transfer proceeds in low magnetic field from the two nascent hydride ligands of 2 to its other NMR active nuclei. Upon interrogation by NMR spectroscopy in a second step, signal enhancements in excess of 100 fold are observed for the (1)H, (13)C and (15)N resonances of free pyridine after ligand exchange. The degree of signal enhancement in the free substrate is increased by employing electronically rich and sterically encumbered phosphine ligands such as PCy(3), PCy(2)Ph, or P(i)Pr(3) and by optimizing the strength of the magnetic field in which polarization transfer occurs.

Reversible interactions with para-hydrogen enhance NMR sensitivity by polarization transfer.

The sensitivity of both nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging is very low because the detected signal strength depends on the small population difference between spin states even in high magnetic fields. Hyperpolarization methods can be used to increase this difference and thereby enhance signal strength. This has been achieved previously by incorporating the molecular spin singlet para-hydrogen into hydrogenation reaction products. We show here that a metal complex can facilitate the reversible interaction of para-hydrogen with a suitable organic substrate such that up to an 800-fold increase in proton, carbon, and nitrogen signal strengths are seen for the substrate without its hydrogenation. These polarized signals can be selectively detected when combined with methods that suppress background signals.

Para-hydrogen induced polarization without incorporation of para-hydrogen into the analyte.

The cationic iridium complexes [Ir(COD)(PR3)2]BF4 (1a-c) (a, R = Ph; b, R = p-tolyl; c, R = p-C6H4-OMe) react with parahydrogen in the presence of pyridine to give trans, cis, cis-[Ir(PR3)2(py)2(H)2]+ (2a-c) and small amounts of fac, cis-[Ir(PR3)(py)3(H)2]+ (3a-c), each of which exhibit polarized hydride resonances due to the magnetic inequivalence associated with the resultant AA"XX" spin system when 15N-labeled pyridine is employed. The pyridine ligands in 2 are labile, exchanging slowly into free pyridine with a rate constant of 0.4 s(-1) for 2a at 335 K in a dissociative process where DeltaH(double dagger) = 134 +/- 1 kJ mol(-1) and DeltaS(double dagger) = 151 +/- 5 J mol(-1) K(-1). Pyridine ligand exchange in 2 proves to be slower than that determined for 3. Parahydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) based on the hydride ligands of 2 and 3 is transferred efficiently to the 15N nuclei of the bound pyridine ligand by suitable insensitive-nuclei-enhanced-by-polarization-transfer (INEPT) based procedures. Related methods are then used to facilitate the sensitization of the free pyridine 15N signal by a factor of 120-fold through ligand exchange even though this substrate does not contain parahydrogen. This therefore corresponds to the successful polarization of an analyte by parahydrogen induced polarization methods without the need for the actual chemical incorporation of any parahydrogen derived nuclei into it.