Harnessing the catalytic transfer of magnetism

In this thesis the research concentrates on NMR and MRI applications of the recently established hyperpolarisation technique, SABRE. Hyperpolarisation is a technique for generating enhanced magnetic resonance signals to improve resolution, contrast and signal to noise within NMR and MRI. One of the aims of this work was to develop the SABRE technique for applications in biomedical systems.
The thesis focusses on optimising the SABRE technique by catalyst modification. The connection between signal enhancement and a range of dependencies such as temperature, field and substrate are investigated. Results demonstrate that the rates of hydride and substrate ligand exchange were significant when optimising conditions. A range of biological substrate molecules were studied.
Work has also been completed on the development of SABRE techniques for use in biologically compatible solvent systems, focusing on using water soluble SABRE pre-catalysts. Other work performed, focused on optimising the SABRE technique to characterise small organic molecules. Pyridine was involved as a model substrate, studies on a range of molecules were examined these including substituted pyridines, pyrimidines, heteroatom - containing molecules.
The results shown in Chapter 4 demonstrate the potential of SABRE for the detection of 5-methylpyrimidine as a contrast agent for in-vivo study. They also discuss the hydrogenation of quinazoline, a novel and unexpected reaction. Work in Chapter 5 highlights the efforts made towards biocompatibility. This will include an approach for the removal of catalyst, which will focus on heterogeneous catalysis. Secondly, an approach to obtaining a catalyst that works sufficiently well in a biocompatible medium such as ethanol and water solution is detailed.