MRI: Acquisition of a Solids Probe for a 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer to Enhance Research and Training at Texas A&M International University

为了评估皮质骨孔隙度，可以使用核磁共振设备。生物组织中的水分子中与氧相连的氢原子可用于评估水分子在特定测量时间内由于随机运动而在骨骼中移动的距离。该信息可用于获得骨骼中的孔径图，因此在医学中具有实际用途。类似的技术已经成功地评估了富含石油的土壤样品的孔隙尺寸，以评估石油含量。本提案中要求的设备的采购将允许德克萨斯州A M国际大学，少数服务机构（93%的西班牙裔学生），以提高学生研究/教学的质量。建议的设备将帮助教师和学生：（1）学习和理解磁角旋转NMR和固态NMR的原理;（2）追求和发展骨相关的研究;和（3）学习固态NMR技术，并将其应用于各种不同的应用。研究结果和成果将在期刊和专业会议上传播。每年将有几名研究生和40多名本科生参与NMR相关的研讨会和项目。该设备也将有利于物理，化学和生物工程的研究，以及将用于每年超过20名本科生的批判性思维和研究方法的培训班。光谱仪探测器的加入将使TAMIU的科学项目更具竞争力，有助于招募新的教师和学生，并使更多的少数民族本科生和研究生能够在TAMIU的科学学位课程中进行高质量的研究。PI目前的低场台式NMR系统使用NMR CPMG自旋-自旋（T2）由于移动的相中的水而产生的弛豫时间信号来表征皮质骨孔隙率和孔径分布，并使用NMR自由感应衰减（FID）测量来确定结合相和移动的相中的水组分。使用该要求的仪器，PI可以对骨材料的1H环境进行进一步研究，以确定骨矿物质和骨结构（包括水）的位置。具体而言，PI将表征水如何稳定矿物质结构以及它如何与矿物质微晶结合到周围的骨结构。我们假设，低场NMR和高场磁角自旋（MAS）NMR将提供一个更完整的解释骨微观结构中的水分布，这些数据是重要的，以评估骨质量和预测骨的力学行为。此外，高场磁角旋转（MAS）技术可以用来解耦和减少固体和类液相之间的偶极效应和磁化率效应。这项研究将提供一个更完整的骨骼微观结构的图片，作为进一步的骨骼相关研究，材料和医学应用的基础。所要求的仪器将为其他教师提供必要的工具，用于追求他们的研究方面，目前在TAMIU校园不可用。

To evaluate cortical bone porosity Nuclear Magnetic Resonance equipment can be used. The hydrogen atom attached to oxygen in the water molecules in biological tissue can be used to assess how far a water molecule moves in the bone due to random motion during a specific time of measurement. This information can be used to obtain a map of the pore sizes in the bone and thus is of practical use in medicine. Similar techniques have been successful in assessing the pore sizes of oil rich earth samples to assess oil content. The acquisition of the equipment requested in this proposal will allow Texas A&M International University, a minority serving institution (93% Hispanic students), to enhance the quality of student research/instruction. The proposed equipment will help faculty and students to: (1) study and understand the principle of magnetic angle spinning NMR and solid state NMR; (2) pursue and develop bone related research; and (3) learn solid state NMR technology and apply it to a variety of different applications. Research findings and results will be disseminated in journals and at professional conferences. Several graduate and more than 40 undergraduate students will be involved in NMR related workshops and projects each year. This equipment will also be of benefit for the studies of physics, chemistry, and bioengineering, as well as will be used in classes of more than 20 undergraduates each year for the training of critical thinking and research methodology. The addition of this spectrometer probe will make the science program at TAMIU more competitive, aid the recruitment of new faculty and students, and enable more primarily minority undergraduate and graduate students to conduct high quality research in science degree programs at TAMIU.The PI's current low-field bench-top NMR system uses NMR CPMG spin-spin (T2) relaxation time signal due to water in mobile phase to characterize the cortical bone porosity and pore size distribution, and uses NMR free induction decay (FID) measurements to determine water components in bound and mobile phases. With this requested instrumentation the PI can conduct further research into the 1H environments of bone materials to identify the locations of bone minerals and bone architecture, including water. Specifically, the PI will characterize how water stabilizes the mineral structure and how it couples with mineral crystallites to the surrounding bone structure. We hypothesize that low-field NMR and high field with magnetic angle spinning (MAS) NMR will provide a more complete interpretation of water distribution in bone microstructure, and these data are important to assess bone quality and predict the mechanical behavior of bone. In addition, the high-field magnetic angle spinning (MAS) technique can be used to decouple and reduce the dipolar and susceptibility effect between the solid and the liquid-like phases. This research will provide a more complete picture of bone microstructure to be used as the basis for further bone related research, and material and edical applications. The requested instrumentation will provide other faculty with a necessary tool for use in pursuing aspects of their research that are presently not available on the TAMIU campus.