11B magnetic resonance imaging and MAS spectroscopy of trimethylborate-treated radiata pine wood

Boron-11 nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy have been used to characterise the nature and distribution of boron compounds after preservative treatment of radiata pine wood with trimethylborate (TMB). One day after treatment, 11B magnetic resonance imaging microscopy showed significant differences in the morphological distribution of boron species, with there apparently being no treatment penetration of the latewood. 11B MAS NMR spectroscopy of freshly preservative-treated radiata pine wood, which had been separated into latewood and earlywood, showed the only boron species present in the latewood to be boric acid while in the earlywood both TMB and boric acid were initially present. Due to quadrupolar broadening and a short T2 value, the boric acid signal relaxed too quickly to be observable and this caused the apparent lack of 11B in the image when only boric acid was present. TMB undergoes hydrolysis to form boric acid and in radiata pine latewood, this hydrolysis reaction is rapid.

Taylor dispersion and molecular displacements in Poiseuille flow

We have used pulsed gradient spin echo (PGSE) NMR to measure longitudinal displacements of octane molecules undergoing Poiseuille flow in a 150 microm diameter pipe, accessing time scales which approach the Taylor dispersion limit. We monitor the change in displacement distribution which occurs as molecules undergoing Brownian motion sample an increasing proportion of the ensemble of streamlines, observing the effects of wall collisions and the gradual transition of the propagator from Poiseuille to Taylor-Aris behavior. The further use of a double PGSE sequence allows the direct measurement of the stochastic part of the motion alone.

Multiple echoes, multiple quantum coherence, and the dipolar field: demonstrating the significance of higher order terms in the equilibrium density matrix

It is well known that dipolar field effects lead to multiple spin echoes in a simple two-RF pulse experiment (the MSE experiment). We show here that coherence transfer echoes (which identify the existence of multiple quantum coherences in liquid NMR) and multiple spin echoes have a common origin. Using density matrix theory we have calculated the phase and timing of multiple spin echoes from all quadrature phase combinations of RF pulses. We show for the MSE experiment that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the time domain echo order and the multiple quantum coherence order. The experimental confirmation of these phase predictions shows that multiple spin echoes provide independent evidence for the breakdown of the high temperature approximation as proposed by Warren et al. (Science 262, 2005 (1993)).

Spin Echo Analysis of Restricted Diffusion under Generalized Gradient Waveforms: Planar, Cylindrical, and Spherical Pores with Wall Relaxivity

A simple matrix formalism presented by Callaghan [J. Magn. Reson. 129, 74-84 (1997)], and based on the multiple propagator approach of Caprihan et al. [J. Magn. Reson. A 118, 94-102 (1996)], allows for the calculation of the echo attenuation, E(q), in spin echo diffusion experiments, for practically all gradient waveforms. We have extended the method to the treatment of restricted diffusion in parallel plate, cylindrical, and spherical geometries, including the effects of fluid-surface interactions. In particular, the q-space coherence curves are presented for the finite-width gradient pulse PGSE experiment and the results of the matrix calculations compare precisely with published computer simulations. It is shown that the use of long gradient pulses (delta approximately a2/D) create the illusion of smaller pores if a narrow pulse approximation is assumed, while ignoring the presence of significant wall relaxation can lead to both an underestimation of the pore dimensions and a misidentification of the pore geometry. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

High magnetic field gradient PGSE NMR in the presence of a large polarizing field

A description is given of pulsed gradient spin echo (PGSE) NMR experiments in which large pulsed magnetic field gradients may be required. The design contraints are discussed and, in particular, the problem of the use of large pulsed magnetic field gradients in conjunction with large polarizing fields is considered. Issues addressed concern probe mechanical assembly, current supply requirements, and pulse shape design. We describe a quadrupolar coil with a gradient amplitude of 1.65 T m-1 A-1 which has been used successfully up to a maximum gradient of around 40 T m-1. A diffusion coefficent of 7.5 x 10(-16) m2 s-1 has been measured using this system, the lowest yet achieved by PGSE NMR methods. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Earth's field NMR in antarctica: A pulsed gradient spin echo NMR study of restricted diffusion in sea Ice

We report on the use in Antarctica of a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer which utilizes the terrestrial magnetic field. Free induction decay data are used to obtain estimates of brine content, in samples of sea ice extracted from the annual ice of McMurdo Sound, in the vicinity of Cape Evans, Ross Island. Pulsed gradient spin echo experiments were performed on these samples in which the orientation of the gradient with respect to the ice growth axis was varied and the separation time between the gradient pulses was varied. Anisotropic restricted diffusion effects are apparent and we use these to tentatively model the brine pocket morphology. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Generalised calculation of NMR imaging edge effects arising from restricted diffusion in porous media

The theoretical problem of how to describe apparent image spin density under conditions of restricted diffusion, given any general gradient sequence, is intrinsically complex. Here we demonstrate a simple approach to calculating the signal and the corresponding density in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging experiments by means of an impulse-propagator method based on matrix multiplication. The multiplication scheme bears a natural and straightforward relationship to the k-space sampling, while the matrices themselves are calculated from the eigenmodes of the pore diffusion equation. Good agreement is found between theoretical predictions and the results of micro-imaging experiments on water trapped in rectangular pores whose walls are spaced by 100 microns along the read direction.

A simple matrix formalism for spin echo analysis of restricted diffusion under generalized gradient waveforms

A simple mathematical formalism is presented which allows closed form expressions for the echo attenuation, E(q), in spin echo diffusion experiments, for practically all gradient waveforms and for the case of restricted diffusion in enclosing pores, with or without wall relaxation. The method, which derives from the multiple propagator approach of A. Caprihan et al. (1996, J. Magn. Reson. A 118, 94), depends on the representation of the gradient waveform by a succession of sharp gradient impulses. It leads to E(q) being expressed as a product of matrix operators corresponding quite naturally to the successive sandwich of phase evolution and Brownian migration events. Simple expressions are given for the case of the finite width gradient pulse PGSE experiment, the CPMG pulse train used in frequency-domain modulated gradient spin echo NMR, and the case of a sinusoidal waveform. The finite width gradient pulse PGSE and CPMG pulse trains are evaluated for the case of restricted diffusion between parallel reflecting planes. The former results agree precisely with published computer simulations while the latter calculation provides useful insight regarding the spectral density approach to impeded Brownian motion. Copyright 1997 Academic Press. Copyright 1997Academic Press

NMR imaging, NMR diffraction and applications of pulsed gradient spin echoes in porous media

Diffraction ideas were first introduced to NMR by Mansfield and Grannell. Here we compare "Mansfield (k-space) diffraction" with the "diffusive (q-space) diffraction," noting their similarities and differences. The diffusive-diffraction concept is extremely helpful in elucidating the Pulsed Gradient Spin Echo NMR experiment for fluid molecules in porous media and has been applied successfully to the model isolated pore (the "single slit" case) and the orientationally disordered interconnected pore glass (the "powder grating" case). This picture is based on the idea that the PGSE experiment has a scattering analogy in which a wavevector (q) is conjugate to the displacement of the spins over the time, D, between the gradient pulses. Recently, the theory has been extended to allow for both wall relaxation effects and finite gradient pulse width effects.

A method to distinguish between chemical shift and susceptibility effects in NMR microscopy and its application to insect larvae

We propose a simple method of distinguishing Zeeman broadening arising from susceptibility inhomogeneity and chemical shift variation, applicable to NMR microscopy. The method is based on the use of a specially built probe-head in which orthogonal sample alignment is possible using the same radiofrequency (RF) coil. This allows the investigation of alignment effects in image distortion and relies on the fact that the isotropic chemical shift is invariant under reorientation, whereas the susceptibility-related local field will depend strongly on relative orientation of bounding surfaces with the external polarizing field. We apply this approach to the study of a simple phantom, and an insect larva (Spodoptera litura Fabricius), demonstrating in the latter case that susceptibility variations are sufficiently small to allow chemical shift imaging on a scale greater than 1 ppm.