Centimeter-Scale Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectrometer for Analysis of Biochemical Composition of Living Organisms

微型核磁共振（NMR）光谱仪是分析生物生化成分的重要研究工具，其样本量通常非常小。这些文书可以解决环境研究、环境保护措施和防止饮用水污染方面大量未得到满足的需要，特别是加拿大各地土著社区的需要。尽管国际上有几个学术团队开发了便携式核磁共振光谱仪，但加拿大在开发和部署这一关键领域的本土技术方面落后。我们的团队的目标是开发和制造一种低成本的厘米级核磁共振光谱仪，在样品体积有限的生物体体内检测中验证它，并通过将这些生物体中检测到的化学变化与加拿大水资源中毒性的存在和来源联系起来，将其部署在几项环境研究中。我们的跨学科团队具有开发厘米级核磁共振光谱仪的独特资格，因为它汇集了电子集成电路（R. Genov和X. Liu）以及核磁共振光谱和环境科学（a . J. Simpson）的深厚专业知识。我们在设计，原型设计和测试定制电子芯片和电磁线圈方面拥有丰富的经验。在这个项目中，我们的目标是开发一种厘米级核磁共振光谱仪，具有高检测灵敏度（70V）的芯片制造工艺（即双扩散金属氧化物半导体），允许高样品激发，从而产生高信噪比（SNR）；(2)利用我们过去的3D片外核磁共振微线圈设计，进一步提高信噪比；(3)通过片上高级信号处理和片外机器学习提高检测精度。该项目为我们合作的研究实验室中众多不同HQP提供了多学科的培训机会。HQP将积极参与电子核磁共振谱仪的设计、开发和实验表征及其现场部署。经过培训的HQP在毕业后将成为行业、学术界和环境政策制定机构的未来领导者。在这个提案中，我们的团队提出了一个具有时效性、可行性和创新性的解决方案，这将使加拿大的环境科学研究人员保持竞争力，并确保所有加拿大人都能长期安全地使用其最重要、最珍贵的自然资源——水。

A miniature nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer is an essential research tool for analyzing biochemical composition of living organisms, where the sample size is typically very small. Such instruments can address a vast number of unmet needs in environmental studies, environmental protection measures, and safeguarding against drinking-water contamination, especially for the Indigenous communities across Canada. Although portable NMR spectrometer has been developed by several academic teams internationally, Canada is falling behind in developing and deploying homegrown technology in this essential area. Our team aims to develop and manufacture a low-cost centimeter-scale NMR spectrometer, validate it in sample-volume-limited in-vivo interrogation of living organisms, and deploy it in several environmental studies by correlating the chemical changes detected in these organisms with the presence and origins of toxicity in Canadian water resources. Our interdisciplinary team is uniquely qualified to develop such a centimeter-scale NMR spectrometer, as it brings together deep expertise in electronic integrated circuits (R. Genov and X. Liu), and NMR spectrometry and environmental science (A. J. Simpson). We have extensive proven experience in designing, prototyping, and testing customized electronic chips and electromagnetic coils. In this project, we aim to develop a centimeter-scale NMR spectrometer with a high detection sensitivity (70V) chip fabrication process (i.e., Double Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor) that permits high sample excitation and thus yields a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); (2) leverage our past design of 3D off-chip NMR micro-coils to further boost the SNR; (3) improve the detection accuracy by on-chip advanced signal processing and off-chip machine learning. This project provides multi-disciplinary training opportunities to a large group of diverse HQP in our collaborating research labs. HQP will actively participate in the design, development, and experimental characterization of the electronic NMR spectrometer, and its field deployment. The trained HQP will be in high demand upon graduation and will become future leaders of the industry, academia, and environmental policy making institutions. In this proposal, our team has put forward a time-sensitive, feasible and innovative solution that will keep Canadian researchers in environmental science competitive, and will ensure that all Canadians will enjoy long-lasting and safe access to its most important and its most cherished natural resource - its water.