Toward Production of Pure 13C Hyperpolarized Metabolites Using Heterogeneous Parahydrogen-Induced Polarization of Ethyl[1-13C]acetate.

Here, we report the production of 13C-hyperpolarized ethyl acetate via heterogeneously catalyzed pairwise addition of parahydrogen to vinyl acetate over TiO2-supported rhodium nanoparticles, followed by magnetic field cycling. Importantly, the hyperpolarization is demonstrated even at the natural abundance of 13C isotope (ca. 1.1%) along with the easiest separation of the catalyst from the hyperpolarized liquid.