For use in biomedical research, the Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center (HMTRC) creates and makes hyperpolarized (HP) 13C MR techniques, instrumentation, specialized data acquisition techniques, and analysis tools available. A new molecular imaging method called hyperpolarized 13C MRI offers unheard-of data on tissue metabolism. Advancement of precision molecular imaging and addressing unmet clinical requirements in cancer and other diseases are the main objectives of the HMTRC.
An emerging, powerful molecular imaging technique called hyperpolarized 13C MRI allows for the real-time, pathway-specific, safe, and non-radioactive study of dynamic metabolic and physiological processes previously inaccessible by imaging. The recent advancement of the dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) technique, which can significantly boost the signal of 13C-labeled biomolecules by more than 50,000-fold, has made this feasible. This method has made it possible to quickly examine metabolism in vivo, which is essential to understanding several illnesses, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and liver and kidney metabolic disorders.
The wide range of probes that can be polarized is one of the main benefits of HP 13C technology. 13C pyruvate, which is at a crucial branch point of several metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and amino acid biosynthesis, is the most extensively investigated HP probe to date.
The first HP probe successfully adapted for clinical metabolic investigations has been demonstrated to be both feasible and secure. Many additional HP 13C probes, primarily made of endogenous biomolecules, have demonstrated excellent potential for examining physiology and metabolism pertinent to human diseases.
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