SFB 1527: High Performance Compact Magnetic Resonance – HyPERiON

磁共振(MR)可以说是获得有关分子物质结构和功能的详细信息的最具化学特异性和通用性的测量方法，因此MR应该成为任何化学、生物或材料科学表征实验室的基本技术。然而，普遍使用该技术的障碍与该技术的低敏感性以及应用该方法所需的高度专业化有关。例如，自旋的弱极化效应需要极高的磁场才能发挥作用，导致成本高、体积大的高场磁体目前高达28T。在材料科学、食品科学、化学、药理学和生物学领域，复杂的分子行为主导着所有过程的核心，无论是在产品形成、功能行为还是降解过程中。通过在分子水平上充分详细地揭示这些机制，获得的信息推动了我们的技术反应。然而，一种能够提供机械细节、具有足够的时间和空间分辨率的原位和操作分析技术，目前还没有广泛应用。我们的假设是，MR有潜力发挥这一功能，但需要专门的、专注的研究努力，才能使这项技术得到广泛应用。Hyperion的目标是解决仪器方面的挑战，而不受目前MR应用程序深度的限制。它将通过挑战整个磁共振信号处理链上的传统概念来做到这一点，从样本到频谱，受到小型化、超极化和样本条件的强烈驱动。磁共振仪器的进步必须解决的五个关键方面是：灵敏度、分辨率、吞吐量、灵活性和便携性。Hyperion将为高性能磁共振硬件的概念建立一种全新的方法，通过汇集跨越整个能力链的研究团队来实现能力的突破，这些能力包括磁体概念和实现、低温、快速电子学、微型化、MEMS、微流体、过程参数控制、回旋加速器概念和实现、核磁共振和DNP以及脉冲序列优化。Hyperion将最大限度地(非增量地)克服目前高场磁共振的限制，从而促进从化学、生物医学、制药、材料科学到化学工程等令人兴奋的新应用的探索。因此，Hyperion将作为新一代年轻科学家的来源，通过综合研究培训计划提供支持，以充分利用新的仪器能力。它还将吸引在各种MR相关领域发展的有才华的年轻集团领导人，2021年底已经确定的两名这样的候选人突出了这一点。

Magnetic resonance (MR) is arguably the most chemically specific while versatile measurement method to obtain detailed information about the structure and function of molecular matter, and thus MR should be a fundamental technique for any chemical, biological, or materials science charac-terisation laboratory. However, the barriers to its general use relate to the low sensitivity of the tech-nique, and to the high level of specialisation required to apply the method. For example, the weak polarisation effect of spins requires extraordinarily high magnetic fields to be useful, leading to cost-ly and bulky high field magnets of currently up to 28 T. In the domains of materials science, food science, chemistry, pharmacology, and biology, complex molecular behaviour dominates the core of all processes, whether during product formation, func-tional behaviour, or degradation. By revealing these mechanisms with sufficient detail at the molec-ular level, the gained information drives our technological response. Yet an in situ and operando analytical technology that can provide mechanistic details, with sufficient time and spatial resolu-tion, across such a variety of applications, is currently not widely available. It is our hypothesis that MR has the potential to serve this function, but that a dedicated, focused research effort will be re-quired to bring the technology into widespread use. HyPERiON aims to address the instrumental challenges, without being limited by the current diver-sity of MR applications. It will do so by challenging the conventional notions along the entire MR signal processing chain, from sample to spectrum, strongly driven by miniaturisation, hyperpolarisa-tion, and sample conditioning. The five critical aspects that advances in MR instrumentation must address are: sensitivity, resolution, throughput, agility, and portability. HyPERiON will establish an entirely new approach to the conception of high performance MR hardware, by bringing together a research team spanning the entire competency chain necessary to converge towards a break-through in capabilities, including magnet conception and realisation, cryogenics, fast electronics, miniaturisation, MEMS, microfluidics, process parameter control, gyrotron conception and realisa-tion, NMR and DNP, and pulse sequence optimisation. HyPERiON will maximally (non-incrementally) overcome the current limits of high field MR, hence promoting the exploration of new and exciting applications from chemistry, biomedicine, pharmacy, materials science, to chemical engineering. HyPERiON will thereby serve as a source of a new generation of young scientists, supported through the integrated research training program, posi-tioned to fully leverage the new instrumentation capabilities. It will additionally attract talented young group leaders advancing various MR-related fields, highlighted by two such candidates already identified at the end of 2021.