Monolithic MACS micro resonators.

Magic Angle Coil Spinning (MACS) aids improving the intrinsically low NMR sensitivity of heterogeneous microscopic samples. We report on the design and testing of a new type of monolithic 2D MACS resonators to overcome known limitations of conventional micro coils. The resonators' conductors were printed on dielectric substrate and tuned without utilizing lumped element capacitors. Self-resonance conditions have been computed by a hybrid FEM-MoM technique. Preliminary results reported here indicate robust mechanical stability, reduced eddy currents heating and negligible susceptibility effects. The gain in B1/P is in agreement with the NMR sensitivity enhancement according to the principle of reciprocity. A sensitivity enhancement larger than 3 has been achieved in a monolithic micro resonator inside a standard 4mm rotor at 500MHz. These 2D resonators could offer higher performance micro-detection and ease of use of heterogeneous microscopic substances such as biomedical samples, microscopic specimens and thin film materials.

Eddy current effects in plain and hollow cylinders spinning inside homogeneous magnetic fields: application to magnetic resonance.

We present a thorough analysis of eddy currents that develop in a rectangular cross section toroid rotating in a uniform magnetic field. The slow rotation regime is assumed. Compact expressions for the current density, the total dissipated power, and the braking torque are given. Examination of the topology of current lines reveals that depending upon the relative dimensions of the side and length of the toroid two different regimes exist. The conditions of existence of the two regimes are analytically established. In view of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) applications, we derive the angular variation of the magnetic field created by eddy currents and lay down the formalism necessary for calculating the effect of this field on the NMR spectra of the conductor itself or of a sample co-rotating with the conductor, a situation encountered when dealing with rotating detectors. Examples of calculations for cases of practical interest are presented. The theory is confronted with available data, and we give guidelines for the design of optimized rotating micro-coils.

Flux transformers made of commercial high critical temperature superconducting wires.

We have designed flux transformers made of commercial BiSCCO tapes closed by soldering with normal metal. The magnetic field transfer function of the flux transformer was calculated as a function of the resistance of the soldered contacts. The performances of different kinds of wires were investigated for signal delocalization and gradiometry. We also estimated the noise introduced by the resistance and showed that the flux transformer can be used efficiently for weak magnetic field detection down to 1 Hz.

Nuclear spin dynamics using time-dependent projection operators: application to the saturation of dipolar order in slowly rotating samples.

An extension of the projection operators method is presented by considering explicit time-dependent projection operators. The usefulness of the present formalism is demonstrated by an investigation of nonadiabatic corrections to the evolution of a many-body system under a slow motion. A theoretical and experimental study of the saturation of nuclear spins dipolar order induced by a slow sample rotation is presented. Theoretically, the master equation of the dipolar order beyond the limit of an adiabatic evolution is established. It is shown how the time dependence of the projection operators is related to saturation of the dipolar order. A formal expression of the saturation rate is derived and its dependence upon the angle between rotation axis and external magnetic field is derived. Comparison with experimental data obtained on polycrystalline adamantane validates our theoretical approach.

High-resolution, high-sensitivity NMR of nanolitre anisotropic samples by coil spinning.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) can probe the local structure and dynamic properties of liquids and solids, making it one of the most powerful and versatile analytical methods available today. However, its intrinsically low sensitivity precludes NMR analysis of very small samples-as frequently used when studying isotopically labelled biological molecules or advanced materials, or as preferred when conducting high-throughput screening of biological samples or 'lab-on-a-chip' studies. The sensitivity of NMR has been improved by using static micro-coils, alternative detection schemes and pre-polarization approaches. But these strategies cannot be easily used in NMR experiments involving the fast sample spinning essential for obtaining well-resolved spectra from non-liquid samples. Here we demonstrate that inductive coupling allows wireless transmission of radio-frequency pulses and the reception of NMR signals under fast spinning of both detector coil and sample. This enables NMR measurements characterized by an optimal filling factor, very high radio-frequency field amplitudes and enhanced sensitivity that increases with decreasing sample volume. Signals obtained for nanolitre-sized samples of organic powders and biological tissue increase by almost one order of magnitude (or, equivalently, are acquired two orders of magnitude faster), compared to standard NMR measurements. Our approach also offers optimal sensitivity when studying samples that need to be confined inside multiple safety barriers, such as radioactive materials. In principle, the co-rotation of a micrometre-sized detector coil with the sample and the use of inductive coupling (techniques that are at the heart of our method) should enable highly sensitive NMR measurements on any mass-limited sample that requires fast mechanical rotation to obtain well-resolved spectra. The method is easy to implement on a commercial NMR set-up and exhibits improved performance with miniaturization, and we accordingly expect that it will facilitate the development of novel solid-state NMR methodologies and find wide use in high-throughput chemical and biomedical analysis.

Nuclear magnetic relaxation without spin diffusion in polymers at interfaces.

We consider theoretically the possibility of solid state NMR experiments with frozen linear polymer chains at interfaces. Three different cases are studied, namely, when the macromolecules are grafted on the surface, when they are adsorbed, and when they are very strongly adsorbed from a melt that is subsequently washed by a good solvent. The latter case is somewhat intermediate between the two former ones. For each case, we consider the relaxation when paramagnetic centers are located on the surface. We show that the shape of the relaxation curves depends critically on the monomer concentration profile, and exhibits characteristic power-law variations.