Toward Cleavable Metabolic/pH Sensing "Double Agents" Hyperpolarized by NMR Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange

Nanomaterials for hyperpolarized nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging

Nanomaterials play an important role in the development and application of hyperpolarized materials for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this context they can not only act as hyperpolarized materials which are directly imaged but also play a role as carriers for hyperpolarized gases and catalysts for para-hydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) to generate hyperpolarized substrates for metabolic imaging. Those three application possibilities are discussed, focusing on carbon-based materials for the directly imaged particles. An overview over recent developments in all three fields is given, including the early developments in each field as well as important steps towards applications in MRI, such as making the initially developed methods more biocompatible and first imaging experiments with spatial resolution in either phantoms or in vivo studies. Focusing on the important features nanomaterials need to display to be applicable in the MRI context, a wide range of different approaches to that extent is covered, giving the reader a general idea of different possibilities as well as recent developments in those different fields of hyperpolarized magnetic resonance. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Diagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging.

Hyperpolarizing DNA Nucleobases via NMR Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange

The present work investigates the potential for enhancing the NMR signals of DNA nucleobases by parahydrogen-based hyperpolarization. Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) and SABRE in Shield Enables Alignment Transfer to Heteronuclei (SABRE-SHEATH) of selected DNA nucleobases is demonstrated with the enhancement (ε) of ¹H, ¹⁵N, and/or ¹³C spins in 3-methyladenine, cytosine, and 6-O-guanine. Solutions of the standard SABRE homogenous catalyst Ir(1,5-cyclooctadeine)(1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolium)Cl ("IrIMes") and a given nucleobase in deuterated ethanol/water solutions yielded low ¹H ε values (≤10), likely reflecting weak catalyst binding. However, we achieved natural-abundance enhancement of ¹⁵N signals for 3-methyladenine of ~3300 and ~1900 for the imidazole ring nitrogen atoms. ¹H and ¹⁵N 3-methyladenine studies revealed that methylation of adenine affords preferential binding of the imidazole ring over the pyrimidine ring. Interestingly, signal enhancements (ε~240) of both ¹⁵N atoms for doubly labelled cytosine reveal the preferential binding of specific tautomer(s), thus giving insight into the matching of polarization-transfer and tautomerization time scales. ¹³C enhancements of up to nearly 50-fold were also obtained for this cytosine isotopomer. These efforts may enable the future investigation of processes underlying cellular function and/or dysfunction, including how DNA nucleobase tautomerization influences mismatching in base-pairing.

State-of-the-art accounts of hyperpolarized 15N-labeled molecular imaging probes for magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging

Hyperpolarized isotope-labeled agents have significantly advanced nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging (MRS/MRI) of physicochemical activities at molecular levels. An emerging advance in this area is exciting developments of 15N-labeled hyperpolarized MR agents to enable acquisition of highly valuable information that was previously inaccessible and expand the applications of MRS/MRI beyond commonly studied 13C nuclei. This review will present recent developments of these hyperpolarized 15N-labeled molecular imaging probes, ranging from endogenous and drug molecules, and chemical sensors, to various 15N-tagged biomolecules. Through these examples, this review will provide insights into the target selection and probe design rationale and inherent challenges of HP imaging in hopes of facilitating future developments of 15N-based biomedical imaging agents and their applications.

Order-Unity 13 C Nuclear Polarization of [1-13 C]Pyruvate in Seconds and the Interplay of Water and SABRE Enhancement

Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange in SHield Enabled Alignment Transfer (SABRE-SHEATH) is investigated to achieve rapid hyperpolarization of 13 C1 spins of [1-13 C]pyruvate, using parahydrogen as the source of nuclear spin order. Pyruvate exchange with an iridium polarization transfer complex can be modulated via a sensitive interplay between temperature and co-ligation of DMSO and H2 O. Order-unity 13 C (>50 %) polarization of catalyst-bound [1-13 C]pyruvate is achieved in less than 30 s by restricting the chemical exchange of [1-13 C]pyruvate at lower temperatures. On the catalyst bound pyruvate, 39 % polarization is measured using a 1.4 T NMR spectrometer, and extrapolated to >50 % at the end of build-up in situ. The highest measured polarization of a 30-mM pyruvate sample, including free and bound pyruvate is 13 % when using 20 mM DMSO and 0.5 M water in CD3 OD. Efficient 13 C polarization is also enabled by favorable relaxation dynamics in sub-microtesla magnetic fields, as indicated by fast polarization buildup rates compared to the T1 spin-relaxation rates (e. g., ∼0.2 s-1 versus ∼0.1 s-1 , respectively, for a 6 mM catalyst-[1-13 C]pyruvate sample). Finally, the catalyst-bound hyperpolarized [1-13 C]pyruvate can be released rapidly by cycling the temperature and/or by optimizing the amount of water, paving the way to future biomedical applications of hyperpolarized [1-13 C]pyruvate produced via comparatively fast and simple SABRE-SHEATH-based approaches.

Synthetic Approaches for 15 N-Labeled Hyperpolarized Heterocyclic Molecular Imaging Agents for 15 N NMR Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange in Microtesla Magnetic Fields

NMR hyperpolarization techniques enhance nuclear spin polarization by several orders of magnitude resulting in corresponding sensitivity gains. This enormous sensitivity gain enables new applications ranging from studies of small molecules by using high-resolution NMR spectroscopy to real-time metabolic imaging in vivo. Several hyperpolarization techniques exist for hyperpolarization of a large repertoire of nuclear spins, although the 13 C and 15 N sites of biocompatible agents are the key targets due to their widespread use in biochemical pathways. Moreover, their long T1 allows hyperpolarized states to be retained for up to tens of minutes. Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) is a low-cost and ultrafast hyperpolarization technique that has been shown to be versatile for the hyperpolarization of 15 N nuclei. Although large sensitivity gains are enabled by hyperpolarization, 15 N natural abundance is only ∼0.4 %, so isotopic labeling of the molecules to be hyperpolarized is required in order to take full advantage of the hyperpolarized state. Herein, we describe selected advances in the preparation of 15 N-labeled compounds with the primary emphasis on using these compounds for SABRE polarization in microtesla magnetic fields through spontaneous polarization transfer from parahydrogen. Also, these principles can certainly be applied for hyperpolarization of these emerging contrast agents using dynamic nuclear polarization and other techniques.

Design of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Molecular Probes for Hyperpolarized Bioimaging

Nuclear hyperpolarization has emerged as a method to dramatically enhance the sensitivity of NMR spectroscopy. By application of this powerful tool, small molecules with stable isotopes have been used for highly sensitive biomedical molecular imaging. The recent development of molecular probes for hyperpolarized in vivo analysis has demonstrated the ability of this technique to provide unique metabolic and physiological information. This review presents a brief introduction of hyperpolarization technology, approaches to the rational design of molecular probes for hyperpolarized analysis, and examples of molecules that have met with success in vitro or in vivo.

"Direct" 13 C Hyperpolarization of 13 C-Acetate by MicroTesla NMR Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange (SABRE)

Herein, we demonstrate "direct" ¹³ C hyperpolarization of ¹³ C-acetate via signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE). The standard SABRE homogeneous catalyst [Ir-IMes; [IrCl(COD)(IMes)], (IMes=1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl), imidazole-2-ylidene; COD=cyclooctadiene)] was first activated in the presence of an auxiliary substrate (pyridine) in alcohol. Following addition of sodium 1-¹³ C-acetate, parahydrogen bubbling within a microtesla magnetic field (i.e. under conditions of SABRE in shield enables alignment transfer to heteronuclei, SABRE-SHEATH) resulted in positive enhancements of up to ≈100-fold in the ¹³ C NMR signal compared to thermal equilibrium at 9.4 T. The present results are consistent with a mechanism of "direct" transfer of spin order from parahydrogen to ¹³ C spins of acetate weakly bound to the catalyst, under conditions of fast exchange with respect to the ¹³ C acetate resonance, but we find that relaxation dynamics at microtesla fields alter the optimal matching from the traditional SABRE-SHEATH picture. Further development of this approach could lead to new ways to rapidly, cheaply, and simply hyperpolarize a broad range of substrates (e.g. metabolites with carboxyl groups) for various applications, including biomedical NMR and MRI of cellular and in vivo metabolism.

Hyperpolarizing Concentrated Metronidazole 15 NO2 Group over Six Chemical Bonds with More than 15 % Polarization and a 20 Minute Lifetime

The NMR hyperpolarization of uniformly ¹⁵ N-labeled [¹⁵ N₃ ]metronidazole is demonstrated by using SABRE-SHEATH. In this antibiotic, the ¹⁵ NO₂ group is hyperpolarized through spin relays created by ¹⁵ N spins in [¹⁵ N₃ ]metronidazole, and the polarization is transferred from parahydrogen-derived hydrides over six chemical bonds. In less than a minute of parahydrogen bubbling at approximately 0.4 μT, a high level of nuclear spin polarization (P_15N ) of around 16 % is achieved on all three ¹⁵ N sites. This product of ¹⁵ N polarization and concentration of ¹⁵ N spins is around six-fold better than any previous value determined for ¹⁵ N SABRE-derived hyperpolarization. At 1.4 T, the hyperpolarized state persists for tens of minutes (relaxation time, T₁ ≈10 min). A novel synthesis of uniformly ¹⁵ N-enriched metronidazole is reported with a yield of 15 %. This approach can potentially be used for synthesis of a wide variety of in vivo metabolic probes with potential uses ranging from hypoxia sensing to theranostic imaging.

19F Hyperpolarization of 15N-3-19F-Pyridine Via Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange

We report synthesis of ¹⁵N-3-¹⁹F-pyridine via Zincke salt formation with the overall 35% yield and 84% ¹⁵N isotopic purity. Hyperpolarization studies of Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange (SABRE) and SABRE in SHield Enables Alignment Transfer to Heteronuclei (SABRE-SHEATH) were performed to investigate the mechanism of polarization transfer from parahydrogen-derived hydride protons to ¹⁹F nucleus in milli-Tesla and micro-Tesla magnetic field regimes in ¹⁵N-3-¹⁹F-pyridine and ¹⁴N-3-¹⁹F-pyridine. We found the mismatch between ¹⁵N and ¹⁹F magnetic field hyperpolarization profiles in the micro-Tesla regime indicating that the spontaneous hyperpolarization process likely happens directly from parahydrogen-derived hydride protons to ¹⁹F nucleus without spin-relaying via ¹⁵N site. In case of SABRE magnetic field regime (milli-Tesla magnetic field range), we found that magnetic field profiles for ¹H and ¹⁹F hyperpolarization are very similar, and ¹⁹F polarization levels are significantly lower than ¹H SABRE polarization levels and lower than ¹⁹F SABRE-SHEATH (i.e. obtained at micro-Tesla magnetic field) polarization levels. Our findings support the hypothesis that in milli-Tesla magnetic field regime, the process of ¹⁹F nuclei hyperpolarization is relayed via protons of substrate, and therefore is very inefficient. These findings are important in the context of improvement of the hyperpolarization hardware and rational design of the hyperpolarized molecular probes.

Facile Removal of Homogeneous SABRE Catalysts for Purifying Hyperpolarized Metronidazole, a Potential Hypoxia Sensor

We report a simple and effective method to remove IrIMes homogeneous polarization transfer catalysts from solutions where NMR Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE) has been performed, while leaving intact the substrate's hyperpolarized state. Following microTesla SABRE hyperpolarization of ¹⁵N spins in metronidazole, addition of SiO₂ microparticles functionalized with 3-mercaptopropyl or 2-mercaptoethyl ethyl sulfide moieties provides removal of the catalyst from solution well within the hyperpolarization decay time at 0.3 T (T ₁>3 mins)-and enabling transfer to 9.4 T for detection of enhanced ¹⁵N signals in the absence of catalyst within the NMR-detection region. Successful catalyst removal from solution is supported by the inability to "re-hyperpolarize" ¹⁵N spins in subsequent attempts, as well as by ¹H NMR and ICP-MS. Record-high ¹⁵N nuclear polarization of up to ~34% was achieved, corresponding to >100,000-fold enhancement at 9.4 T, and approximately 5/6^th of the ¹⁵N hyperpolarization is retained after ~20-second-long purification procedure. Taken together, these results help pave the way for future studies involving in vivo molecular imaging using agents hyperpolarized via rapid and inexpensive parahydrogen-based methods.