Direct and cost-efficient hyperpolarization of long-lived nuclear spin states on universal 15N2-diazirine molecular tags

摘要

Conventional magnetic resonance (MR) faces serious sensitivity limitations which can be overcome by hyperpolarization methods, but the most common method (dynamic nuclear polarization) is complex and expensive, and applications are limited by short spin lifetimes (typically seconds) of biologically relevant molecules. We use a recently developed method, SABRE-SHEATH, to directly hyperpolarize ¹⁵N2 magnetization and long-lived ¹⁵N2 singlet spin order, with signal decay time constants of 5.8 and 23 minutes, respectively. We find >10,000-fold enhancements generating detectable nuclear MR signals that last for over an hour. ¹⁵N2-diazirines represent a class of particularly promising and versatile molecular tags, and can be incorporated into a wide range of biomolecules without significantly altering molecular function.