Concepts in Magnetic Resonance Part A最新文献

The starting point of all NMR experiments is a spin polarization which develops when we place the sample in static magnetic field B₀. There are excess of spins aligned along B₀ (spin up with lower energy) than spins aligned opposite (spin down with higher energy) to the field B₀. A natural question is what is the source of this excess spin polarization because relaxation mechanisms can flip a up spin to a down spin and vice-versa. The answer lies in the density of states. When a molecule with spin down flips to spin up it loses energy. This energy goes into increasing the kinetic energy of the molecule in the gas/solution phase. At this increased kinetic energy, there are more rotational-translational states accessible to the molecule than at lower energy. This increases the probability the molecule will spend in spin up state (higher kinetic energy state). This is the source of excess polarization. In this article, we use an argument based on equipartition of energy to explicitly count the excess states that become accessible to the molecule when its spin is flipped from down to up. Using this counting, we derive the familiar Boltzmann distribution of the ratio of up vs down spins. Although prima facie, there is nothing new in this article, we find the mode counting argument for excess states interesting. Furthermore, the article stresses the fact that spin polarization arises from higher density of states at increased kinetic energy of molecules.

A simple approach how to calculate analytical expressions for unbalanced steady-state free precession (ubSSFP) signals of arbitrary dephasing order is presented. Dephasing order is the number of effective gradient dephasing cycles that magnetization immediately after an RF-pulse has experienced during the ubSSFP sequence. Based on the obtained equations, which are in accordance with existing literature, the sensitivity of ubSSFP signals to T₂^∗ is derived under the assumption of a Lorentzian frequency distribution resulting from static field inhomogeneities. Further, the phases of all ubSSFP signals are calculated and a general expression of how to use them for B₀-fieldmapping is given. The derivation is supported by the extended phase graph (EPG) model, and as such the work also acts as a comprehensive introduction to the formal description of SSFP. In addition, the balanced SSFP (bSSFP) sequence is explored. The connection of bSSFP to ubSSFP is shown, and potential T₂^∗-sensitivity of bSSFP is examined based on numerical simulations. It is shown that ubSSFP signals with negative dephasing order have a refocusing character and behave similar to spin-echo signals. Conversely, ubSSFP signals with zero or positive dephasing order can be regarded as T₂^∗-weighted. The behavior of bSSFP depends largely on the exact distribution of frequencies. For instance, for a narrow spherical distribution, bSSFP acts like a spin-echo sequence, while for a Lorentzian distribution a refocusing behavior does not occur.

Nitroxide biradicals have been prepared with electron-electron spin-spin exchange interaction, J, ranging from weak to very strong. EPR spectra of these biradicals in fluid solution depend on the ratio of J to the nitrogen hyperfine coupling, A_N, and the rates of interconversion between conformations with different values of J. For relatively rigid biradicals EPR spectra can be simulated as the superposition of AB splitting patterns arising from different combinations of nitrogen nuclear spin states. For more flexible biradicals spectra can be simulated with a Liouville representation of the dynamics that interconvert conformations with different values of J on the EPR timescale. Analysis of spectra, factors that impact J, and examples of applications to chemical and biophysical problems are discussed.

In this tribute to our friend, mentor and colleague Alexander Davidson Bain we have collectively recapitulated the milestones of his career at McMaster university. We start from Alex's scientific and educational achievements and continue with his accomplishments as a community and infrastructure builder. We attempt to provide a sense of the breadth and depth of his seemingly endless scientific contributions while at McMaster by briefly summarizing selected representative examples from his body of work. Following Alex's lead, the scientific account is mixed with anecdotes and “bits of wisdom” we fondly remember from our interactions and collaborations with him. We also touch upon his brilliant and nurturing educational style and his “aggregator” role within the McMaster and wider NMR communities. We conclude with a more personal picture of Alex D. Bain, in which his scientific excellence and profound intellect are inextricably tied to his kind, nurturing and optimistic character and to his uniquely wry humor. He was not just a “good guy,” he was the epitome of the “good guy.”

Here we describe the selective inversion methodology for quantifying the rates of site-specific ion exchange in materials such as lithium ion battery cathode frameworks. This strategy is shown to be robust in the presence of paramagnetic centers and viable and efficient for the evaluation of hopping rates, in spite of varying initial conditions for the NMR experiment. This is contrasted with 2D EXSY methodology, and selective inversion is shown to be preferable for a number of reasons articulated herein. Work in this area in our group was guided by insights into chemical exchange processes provide by our friend and colleague, Prof. Alex D. Bain. We dedicate this short review to him.

Using a Cartesian operator basis set, precession equations have previously been derived for spin-1 systems using some 23 Cartesian operator commutators. We avoid the explicit evaluation of these commutators, and use instead fundamental properties of irreducible tensor operators (ITO) to obtain these precession equations. First, advantage is taken of the angle-axis parametrization of the rotation matrices that transform second-rank ITO under rotation to define the unitarily equivalent rotation matrix that transforms second-rank Cartesian tensors. From this latter transformation, and using simple matrix analysis techniques, all the equations that describe spin-1 precession in the presence of radiofrequency fields and resonance offsets are obtained. Second, information on the ITO commutation relations can be encoded in angular momentum coupling coefficients in a generalized spin precession equation. In the case of spin-1, this leads to a set of coupled differential equations for the statistical tensor components . After transformation of these components to their Cartesian counterparts, the corresponding vector differential equations that define the time evolution of the Cartesian operator expectation values are easily solved, again using simple matrix analysis. This solution yields all the equations that describe spin-1 precession in the presence of radiofrequency fields, resonance offsets, and the quadrupolar interaction.