| Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been extensively investigated and is routinely used in medical diagnostic imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Recently developed dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) technology offers the potential of increasing the NMR sensitivity and extending MRI to non-proton nuclei, among which hyperpolarized 89Y is an ideal candidate due to its sharp NMR line width, favorable spin quantum number (I) and long longitudinal relaxation time (T1). This thesis focuses on the development of hyperpolarized 89Y complexes as biological MRI sensor. Strong signals were observed in 89Y spectra of various complexes, demonstrating that hyperpolarized 89Y complexes can be used as sensors. An empirical equation is introduced to describe the correlation between chemical shift and chemical structure, which helps predict chemical shifts of 89Y complexes, therefore serving as a guide to design 89Y complex sensors. |
