Synthesis, Study and Applications of High Spin Molecules

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Our research aims to apply the chemistry of metal ions with unpaired electrons to develop high spin molecules for quantum computing applications, and as temperature sensitive contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We will develop two strategies to prepare and characterize single molecule magnets (SMMs) exhibiting quantum phenomena that make them suitable as quantum bits (qubits), the processing elements in quantum computers. Firstly, we will use chiral ligands together with transition metal and lanthanide ions to assemble polynuclear cluster-based SMMs. Secondly we will use two families of macrocycles to prepare mononuclear lanthanide SMMs. This is a very active field of research at the interface between chemistry, physics and materials science. It will therefore provide excellent interdisciplinary training for HQP in the emerging field of quantum computing in which Canada is currently internationally leading, through companies such as D-Wave, who provide quantum computers to Google and NASA. A key component of our studies is to make and study multifunctional SMMs, where their magnetic properties are combined together with a second property (e.g., electronic or optical), that can give rise to new phenomena which can be used to read-out the properties of the individual molecules. Our research will reveal new insights into the unique properties of these compounds and provide a way forward to commercial applications.****MRI is the medical technique used to acquire 2- and 3-D images of tissues and organs in the body. High spin molecules known as contrast agents are often administered to improve the quality of the MR image, and over 1.7 million Canadians benefit from this technology in medical diagnosis every year. Recent advances in this field have been to explore MRI as a non-invasive technique to determine the temperature of tissues and organs in the human body, known as MRI thermometry. This is particularly important for therapies where physicians use heat to treat or destroy small tumours, or for targeted temperature management which improves survival and brain function following resuscitation from cardiac arrest, or the blockage of an artery from a clot due to a stroke. Conventional MRI agents are not particularly sensitive to temperature changes which make certain targets (e.g., fatty tissue and the heart) difficult to accurately image at low concentration. We will therefore develop a new family of temperature-sensitive contrast agents and encapsulate them within a liposome (a tiny vesicle made out of the same material as a cell membrane) to reduce their toxicities and further increase their sensitivities to broaden the clinical applications of MRI thermometry, improving the future healthcare of all Canadians.***