Biomedical applications of hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance imaging

The new era of Molecular Imaging can be defined as the visual representation, characterization and quantification of biological processes at the cellular and sub-cellular levels within intact living organisms. The biodistribution of molecular imaging probes should be more accurate and specific in diagnosing and assessing disease than the morphological information acquired using conventional imaging methods. The ability to hyperpolarize 13C-labelled molecules using dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in the solid-state and maintain polarization following dissolution into the liquid-state has created interest in the potential biomedical applications of this technology. The large increase in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) has made it possible to image the spatial distribution of labeled molecules following their intravenous injection. The spatial distribution of a substrate, and the metabolic products formed from it, can be imaged in real-time providing spatial information on enzyme kinetics.