Collaborative Research - GOALI: Dynamic Nuclear Spin Hyperpolarization via Color Centers in Diamond

在化学测量和成像项目的支持下，Carlos A. Meriles教授（纽约城市学院）和Jeffrey A. Reimer教授（加州大学伯克利分校）与Delaware Diamond Knives合作，正在努力提高核磁共振（NMR）的灵敏度，核磁共振是一种重要的化学分析工具，用于广泛的应用，包括确定蛋白质结构和折叠动力学；医学成像（MRI）；探测多孔岩石寻找石油。对于所有此类应用，核磁共振的有限灵敏度限制了可以检测的最小样品量，并可能导致长测量时间和限制使用昂贵的仪器。Meriles/Reimer团队正在研究和利用光和工程金刚石晶体之间的相互作用，在环境条件下将核磁共振的灵敏度提高几个数量级。他们的多管齐下的方法——结合基础科学和应用科学——正在为多模态体内成像提供更广泛的应用和开发新的造影剂。这个多机构项目为多样化的STEM劳动力提供培训机会，包括一些本科和高中水平的教育机会。Meriles和Reimer团队正在寻找一种新的途径，通过利用氮空位（NV）中心的奇异性质来产生增强的核自旋极化，氮空位（NV）中心是金刚石中的顺磁缺陷，可以在环境条件下通过光激发完全极化。具体目标包括：(1)金刚石缺陷工程和核极化形成的系统表征；（ii）开发适合单晶和粉末金刚石的新型增强自旋极化转移方案；（三）从金刚石到固体和流体目标的极化转移的原理证明。该方法采用低磁场（~10 mT）、环境（或近环境）温度和温和的光激发，避免了对复杂、昂贵的硬件的需求，同时提供了过去未探索的自旋极化动力学机制。与特拉华钻石刀具的合作伙伴关系提供了广泛的钻石样品，其特征（氮含量，13C富集，表面终止，单晶或可变粒度粉末等）是专门定制的，以获得最佳的极化转移。这项工作的目的是研究微量浓度的分子部分（典型的生物化学），研究质量有限的系统（通常在合成化学中发现），以及分子文库的高通量表征（如制药工业所需要的）。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program, Professors Carlos A. Meriles (City College of New York) and Jeffrey A. Reimer (University of California at Berkeley), in collaboration with Delaware Diamond Knives, are working to enhance the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), an important chemical analysis tool used for wide-ranging applications that include determination of protein structure and folding dynamics; medical imaging (MRI); and probing porous rocks in search of oil. For all such applications, the limited sensitivity of NMR imposes restrictions on the minimum amount of sample that can be detected, and can result in long measurement times and limited access to expensive instrumentation. The Meriles/Reimer team is studying and utilizing interactions between light and engineered diamond crystals to enhance the sensitivity of NMR by several orders of magnitude under ambient conditions. Their multi-pronged approach - combining both fundamental and applied science - is enabling a wider range of applications and development of new contrast agents for multi-modal in-vivo imaging. This multi-institutional project is providing training opportunities targeting a diverse STEM workforce, including a number of educational opportunities at the undergraduate and high-school levels.The Meriles and Reimer groups are pursuing a novel route to generating augmented nuclear spin polarization by leveraging the singular properties of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, a paramagnetic defect in diamond that can be completely polarized via optical excitation under ambient conditions. Specific aims include (i) defect engineering in diamond and systematic characterization of nuclear polarization buildup; (ii) development of novel, enhanced spin polarization transfer schemes tailored to both single-crystal and powdered diamond; and (iii) proof-of-principle demonstrations of polarization transfer from diamond to solid and fluid targets. The approach employs low magnetic fields (~10 mT), ambient (or near-ambient) temperature, and mild optical excitation, circumventing the need for complex, expensive hardware while offering regimes of spin polarization dynamics not explored in the past. The partnership with Delaware Diamond Knives is providing access to a broad set of diamond samples, whose characteristics (nitrogen content, 13C enrichment, surface termination, single crystal or variable-particle-size powder, etc.) are specifically tailored to attain optimal polarization transfer. The work aims to enable studies of molecular moieties in trace concentrations (typical in biochemistry), investigation of mass-limited systems (often found in synthetic chemistry), and high-throughput characterization of molecular libraries (as required in the pharmaceutical industry).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.