Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Techniques for Measuring Oncologically Relevant Metabolites in Mouse Brain at 9.4 T

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The objective of the research program is to develop techniques to enable the improved detection of some relevant brain metabolites using the non-invasive method of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 9.4 T. State of the art high field 9.4 T MRS animal scanners are becoming more common in research laboratories across North America. The advantage of the strong magnetic field strength is the higher signal to noise ratio and spectral resolution attainable with it. 9.4 T scanners have been employed to study animal models of disease and have become an important tool for preclinical research. However, it is difficult to make accurate measurements of some relevant brain metabolites due to poor spectral resolution and low concentrations. The techniques we design we will enable more accurate quantification of glutamate, glutamine, glutathione, glycine, lactate, and alanine. All the mentioned metabolites are relevant in the study of many neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric disorders and cancer. Our long term goals are to use our developed methods to study brain tumour metabolism in mouse models of the disease in response to radiation treatment. We expect our research to improve our understanding of tumour metabolism. The techniques we design will aid other 9.4 T MRS research groups in Canada to measure the listed difficult to detect metabolites and to learn more about biochemical mechanisms involved in different brain disorders.