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，卡洛斯A. Meriles（纽约城市学院）和Jeffrey A. Reimer（加州大学伯克利分校）与特拉华州Diamond公司合作，正在努力提高核磁共振（NMR）的灵敏度，NMR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）;以及探测多孔岩石以寻找石油。对于所有这些应用，NMR的有限灵敏度对可以检测的最小样品量施加了限制，并且可能导致长的测量时间和对昂贵仪器的有限访问。Meriles/Reimer团队正在研究和利用光与工程金刚石晶体之间的相互作用，以在环境条件下将NMR的灵敏度提高几个数量级。他们多管齐下的方法-结合基础和应用科学-使更广泛的应用和开发新的造影剂的多模态体内成像。这个多机构项目正在提供针对不同STEM劳动力的培训机会，包括本科和高中阶段的一些教育机会。Meriles和Reimer小组正在寻求一种新的途径，通过利用氮空位（NV）中心的奇异特性来产生增强的核自旋极化，金刚石中的一种顺磁性缺陷，在环境条件下通过光激发可以完全极化。具体目标包括：（i）金刚石缺陷工程和核极化累积的系统表征;（ii）开发针对单晶和粉末金刚石的新型增强自旋极化转移方案;以及（iii）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（或接近环境）温度和温和的光激发，避免了对复杂，昂贵的硬件的需求，同时提供了过去没有探索过的自旋极化动力学机制。与特拉华州钻石公司的合作伙伴关系提供了一套广泛的钻石样品，其特征（氮含量，13 C富集，表面终止，单晶或可变粒度粉末等）。被特别定制以获得最佳偏振转移。这项工作的目的是使研究的分子部分在痕量浓度（生物化学中的典型），质量受限系统的研究该奖项反映了NSF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.