MRI on ion exchange resins at different length scales

Ion exchange resins were studied on different length scales by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the focus on their interactions with nanoparticles (NP) and molecular clusters. On the length scale of resin beds (bed diameters <20 mm), the behavior of NP and of molecular clusters was shown to depend on the kind of ion exchange resin and nanoscale moiety. The kinetics of absorption and penetration into the resin beads was quantified on a smaller length scale of a stack of resin beads (sample with an outer diameter of 1.7 mm). Finally, using an MRI μ-coil (3D spatial resolution ≥8 μm), adsorption of superparamagnetic NP on individual resin beads was observed via the magnetic field disturbance characteristic for magnetic dipoles. As a result, this allows the detection of NP (diameter ≤100 nm) by MRI on much larger length scales of several micrometers.