Electron spin dynamics and spin-lattice relaxation of trityl radicals in frozen solutions

Stable organic radical qubits and their applications in quantum information science

The past century has witnessed the flourishing of organic radical chemistry. Stable organic radicals are highly valuable for quantum technologies thanks to their inherent room temperature quantum coherence, atomic-level designability, and fine tunability. In this comprehensive review, we highlight the potential of stable organic radicals as high-temperature qubits and explore their applications in quantum information science, which remain largely underexplored. Firstly, we summarize known spin dynamic properties of stable organic radicals and examine factors that influence their electron spin relaxation and decoherence times. This examination reveals their design principles and optimal operating conditions. We further discuss their integration in solid-state materials and surface structures, and present their state-of-the-art applications in quantum computing, quantum memory, and quantum sensing. Finally, we analyze the primary challenges associated with stable organic radical qubits and provide tentative insights to future research directions.

Large-enhancement nanoscale dynamic nuclear polarization near a silicon nanowire surface

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) has revolutionized the field of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, expanding its reach and capabilities to investigate diverse materials, biomolecules, and complex dynamic processes. Bringing high-efficiency DNP to the nanometer scale would open exciting avenues for studying nanoscale nuclear spin ensembles, such as single biomolecules, virus particles, and condensed matter systems. Combining pulsed DNP with nanoscale force-detected magnetic resonance measurements, we demonstrated a 100-fold enhancement in the Boltzmann polarization of proton spins in nanoscale sugar droplets at 6 kelvin and 0.33 tesla. Crucially, this enhancement corresponds to a factor of 200 reduction in the averaging time compared to measurements that rely on the detection of statistical fluctuations in nanoscale nuclear spin ensembles. These results substantially advance the capabilities of force-detected magnetic resonance detection as a practical tool for nanoscale imaging.

Deconvoluting Monomer- and Dimer-Specific Distance Distributions between Spin Labels in a Monomer/Dimer Mixture Using T1-Edited DEER EPR Spectroscopy

Double electron-electron resonance (DEER) EPR is a powerful tool in structural biology, providing distances between pairs of spin labels. When the sample consists of a mixture of oligomeric species (e.g., monomer and dimer), the question arises as to how to assign the peaks in the DEER-derived probability distance distribution to the individual species. Here, we propose incorporating an EPR longitudinal electron relaxation (T1) inversion recovery experiment within a DEER pulse sequence to resolve this problem. The apparent T1 between dipolar coupled electron spins measured from the inversion recovery time (τinv) dependence of the peak intensities in the T1-edited DEER-derived probability P(r) distance distribution will be affected by the number of nitroxide labels attached to the biomolecule of interest, for example, two for a monomer and four for a dimer. We show that global fitting of all the T1-edited DEER echo curves, recorded over a range of τinv values, permits the deconvolution of distances between spin labels originating from monomeric (longer T1) and dimeric (shorter T1) species. This is especially useful when the trapping of spin labels in different conformational states during freezing gives rise to complex P(r) distance distributions. The utility of this approach is demonstrated for two systems, the β1 adrenergic receptor and a construct of the huntingtin exon-1 protein fused to the immunoglobulin domain of protein G, both of which exist in a monomer-dimer equilibrium.

129Xe Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Demystified: The Influence of the Glassing Matrix on the Radical Properties

129Xe dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is a controversial topic. The gold standard technique for hyperpolarized xenon magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is spin exchange optical pumping, which received FDA approval in 2022. Nevertheless, the versatility of DNP for enhancing the signal of any NMR active nucleus might provide new perspectives for hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR/MRI. Initial publications about 129Xe DNP underlined the increased complexity in the sample preparation and lower polarization levels when compared to more conventional 13C-labeled molecules, at same experimental conditions, despite very close gyromagnetic ratios. Herein, we introduce, using a Custom Fluid Path system, a user-friendly and very robust sample preparation method. Moreover, investigating the radical properties at real DNP conditions by means of LOngitudinal Detected Electron Spin Resonance, we discovered a dramatic shortening of the electron spin longitudinal relaxation time (T1e) of nitroxyl radicals in xenon DNP samples' matrices, with respect to more commonly used water:glycerol ones. Mitigating those challenges through microwave frequency modulation, we achieved over 20% 129Xe polarization without employing any deuterated solvent.

Spin qubits of Cu(II) doped in Zn(II) metal-organic frameworks above microsecond phase memory time

With the aim of creating Cu(II) spin qubits in a rigid metal-organic framework (MOF), this work demonstrates a doping of 5 %, 2 %, 1 %, and 0.1 % mol of Cu(II) ions into a perovskite-type MOF [CH6 N3 ][ZnII (HCOO)3 ]. The presence of dopant Cu(II) sites are confirmed with anisotropic g-factors (gx =2.07, gy =2.12, and gz =2.44) in the S=1/2 system by experimentally and theoretically. Magnetic dynamics indicate the occurrence of a slow magnetic relaxation via the direct and Raman processes under an applied field, with a relaxation time (τ) of 3.5 ms (5 % Cu), 9.2 ms (2 % Cu), and 15 ms (1 % Cu) at 1.8 K. Furthermore, pulse-ESR spectroscopy reveals spin qubit properties with a spin-spin relaxation (phase memory) time (T2 ) of 0.21 μs (2 %Cu), 0.39 μs (1 %Cu), and 3.0 μs (0.1 %Cu) at 10 K as well as Rabi oscillation between MS =±1/2 spin sublevels. T2 above microsecond is achieved for the first time in the Cu(II)-doped MOFs. It can be observed at submicrosecond around 50 K. These spin relaxations are very sensitive to the magnetic dipole interactions relating with cross-relaxation between the Cu(II) sites and can be tuned by adjusting the dopant concentration.

Synthesis and dark state EPR properties of PDI-trityl dyads and triads

Covalently-linked chromophore-radical systems with their unique optical and magnetic properties are useful for applications in, e. g., quantum information science. To expand the catalog of molecular systems, we synthesized and characterized six novel chromophore-radical and radical-chromophore-radical systems employing derivatives of perylene diimide (PDI) as the chromophore and trityl as the radical. The EPR properties of these compounds were evaluated in solution at cryogenic and room temperatures. In addition, the electron spin-spin coupling in the two bistrityl systems was investigated using DQC measurements. The presented results serve as a basis for further spectroscopic investigations under photoexcitation of the PDI core.

PDI-trityl dyads as photogenerated molecular spin qubit candidates

Owing to their potential applications in the field of quantum information science, photogenerated organic triplet-radical conjugates have attracted an increasing amount of attention recently. Typically, these compounds are composed of a chromophore appended to a stable radical. After initialisation of the system by photoexcitation, a highly spin-polarised quartet state may be generated, which serves as a molecular spin qubit candidate. Here, we investigate three perylene diimide (PDI)-based chromophore-radical systems with different phenylene linkers and radical counterparts by both optical spectroscopy and transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. Femtosecond transient absorption measurements demonstrate chromophore triplet state formation on a picosecond time scale for PDI-trityl dyads, while excited state deactivation is found to be slowed down considerably in a PDI-nitroxide analogue. The subsequent investigation of the coherent spin properties by transient EPR confirms quartet state formation by triplet-doublet spin mixing for all investigated dyads and the suitability of the two studied PDI-trityl dyads as spin qubit candidates. In particular, we show that using tetrathiaryl trityl as the radical counterpart, an intense spin polarisation is observed even at room temperature and quartet state coherence times of 3.0 μs can be achieved at 80 K, which represents a considerable improvement compared to previously studied systems.

Electronic Spin Qubit Candidates Arrayed within Layered Two-Dimensional Polymers

Molecular electronic spin qubits are promising candidates for quantum information science applications because they can be reliably produced and engineered via chemical design. Embedding electronic spin qubits within two-dimensional polymers (2DPs) offers the possibility to systematically engineer inter-qubit interactions while maintaining long coherence times, both of which are prerequisites to their technological utility. Here, we introduce electronic spin qubits into a diamagnetic 2DP by n-doping naphthalene diimide subunits with varying amounts of CoCp₂ and analyze their spin densities by quantitative electronic paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Low spin densities (e.g., 6.0 × 10¹² spins mm^-3) enable lengthy spin-lattice (T₁) and spin-spin relaxation (T₂) times across a range of temperatures, ranging from T₁ values of 164 ms at 10 K to 30.2 μs at 296 K and T₂ values of 2.36 μs at 10 K to 0.49 μs at 296 K for the lowest spin density sample examined. Higher spin densities and temperatures were both found to diminish T₁ times, which we attribute to detrimental cross-relaxation from spin-spin dipolar interactions and spin-phonon coupling, respectively. Higher spin densities decreased T₂ times and modulated the T₂ temperature dependence. We attribute these differences to the competition between hyperfine and dipolar interactions for electron spin decoherence, with the dominant interaction transitioning from the former to the latter as spin density and temperature increase. Overall, this investigation demonstrates that dispersing electronic spin qubits within layered 2DPs enables chemical control of their inter-qubit interactions and spin decoherence times.

Reverse dynamic nuclear polarisation for indirect detection of nuclear spins close to unpaired electrons

Polarisation transfer schemes and indirect detection are central to magnetic resonance. Using the trityl radical OX063 and a pulse electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer operating in the Q-band (35 GHz, 1.2 T), we show here that it is possible to use pulsed dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) to transfer polarisation from electrons to protons and back. The latter is achieved by first saturating the electrons and then simply using a reverse DNP step. A variable mixing time between DNP and reverse DNP allows us to investigate the decay of polarisation on protons in the vicinity of the electrons. We qualitatively investigate the influence of solvent deuteration, temperature, and electron concentration. We expect reverse DNP to be useful in the investigation of nuclear spin diffusion and envisage its use in electron-nuclear double-resonance (ENDOR) experiments.

Tunable Cr4+ Molecular Color Centers

The inherent atomistic precision of synthetic chemistry enables bottom-up structural control over quantum bits, or qubits, for quantum technologies. Tuning paramagnetic molecular qubits that feature optical-spin initialization and readout is a crucial step toward designing bespoke qubits for applications in quantum sensing, networking, and computing. Here, we demonstrate that the electronic structure that enables optical-spin initialization and readout for S = 1, Cr(aryl)₄, where aryl = 2,4-dimethylphenyl (1), o-tolyl (2), and 2,3-dimethylphenyl (3), is readily translated into Cr(alkyl)₄ compounds, where alkyl = 2,2,2-triphenylethyl (4), (trimethylsilyl)methyl (5), and cyclohexyl (6). The small ground state zero field splitting values (<5 GHz) for 1-6 allowed for coherent spin manipulation at X-band microwave frequency, enabling temperature-, concentration-, and orientation-dependent investigations of the spin dynamics. Electronic absorption and emission spectroscopy confirmed the desired electronic structures for 4-6, which exhibit photoluminescence from 897 to 923 nm, while theoretical calculations elucidated the varied bonding interactions of the aryl and alkyl Cr⁴⁺ compounds. The combined experimental and theoretical comparison of Cr(aryl)₄ and Cr(alkyl)₄ systems illustrates the impact of the ligand field on both the ground state spin structure and excited state manifold, laying the groundwork for the design of structurally precise optically addressable molecular qubits.

Cleavage-Resistant Protein Labeling With Hydrophilic Trityl Enables Distance Measurements In-Cell

Sensitive in-cell distance measurements in proteins using pulsed-electron spin resonance (ESR) require reduction-resistant and cleavage-resistant spin labels. Among the reduction-resistant moieties, the hydrophilic trityl core known as OX063 is promising due to its long phase-memory relaxation time (T_m). This property leads to a sufficiently intense ESR signal for reliable distance measurements. Furthermore, the T_m of OX063 remains sufficiently long at higher temperatures, opening the possibility for measurements at temperatures above 50 K. In this work, we synthesized deuterated OX063 with a maleimide linker (mOX063-d₂₄). We show that the combination of the hydrophilicity of the label and the maleimide linker enables high protein labeling that is cleavage-resistant in-cells. Distance measurements performed at 150 K using this label are more sensitive than the measurements at 80 K. The sensitivity gain is due to the significantly short longitudinal relaxation time (T₁) at higher temperatures, which enables more data collection per unit of time. In addition to in vitro experiments, we perform distance measurements in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Interestingly, the T_m of mOX063-d₂₄ is sufficiently long even in the crowded environment of the cell, leading to signals of appreciable intensity. Overall, mOX063-d₂₄ provides highly sensitive distance measurements both in vitro and in-cells.

Non-uniform sampling in pulse dipolar spectroscopy by EPR: the redistribution of noise and the optimization of data acquisition

Pulse dipolar spectroscopy (PDS) in Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) is the method of choice for determining the distance distribution function for mono-, bi- or multi- spin-labeled macromolecules and nanostructures. PDS acquisition schemes conventionally use uniform sampling of the dipolar trace, but non-uniform sampling (NUS) schemes can decrease the total measurement time or increase the accuracy of the resulting distance distributions. NUS requires optimization of the data acquisition scheme, as well as changes in data processing algorithms to accommodate the non-uniformly sampled data. We investigate in silico the applicability of the NUS approach in PDS, considering its effect on random, truncation and sampling noise in the experimental data. Each type of noise in the time-domain data propagates differently and non-uniformly into the distance spectrum as errors in the distance distribution. NUS schemes seem to be a valid approach for increasing sensitivity and/or throughput in PDS by decreasing and redistributing noise in the distance spectrum so that it has less impact on the distance spectrum.

In Situ Labeling and Distance Measurements of Membrane Proteins in E. coli Using Finland and OX063 Trityl Labels

In situ investigation of membrane proteins is a challenging task. Previously we demonstrated that nitroxide labels combined with pulsed ESR spectroscopy is a promising tool for this purpose. However, the nitroxide labels suffer from poor stability, high background labeling, and low sensitivity. Here we show that Finland (FTAM) and OX063 based labels enable labeling of the cobalamin transporter BtuB and BamA, the central component of the β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM) complex, in E coli. Compared to the methanethiosulfonate spin label (MTSL), trityl labels eliminated the background signals and enabled specific in situ labeling of the proteins with high efficiency. The OX063 labels show a long phase memory time (TM ) of ≈5 μs. All the trityls enabled distance measurements between BtuB and an orthogonally labeled substrate with high selectivity and sensitivity down to a few μm concentration. Our data corroborate the BtuB and BamA conformations in the cellular environment of E. coli.

Excitation Energy Transfer and Exchange-Mediated Quartet State Formation in Porphyrin-Trityl Systems

Photogenerated multi‐spin systems hold great promise for a range of technological applications in various fields, including molecular spintronics and artificial photosynthesis. However, the further development of these applications, via targeted design of materials with specific magnetic properties, currently still suffers from a lack of understanding of the factors influencing the underlying excited state dynamics and mechanisms on a molecular level. In particular, systematic studies, making use of different techniques to obtain complementary information, are largely missing. This work investigates the photophysics and magnetic properties of a series of three covalently‐linked porphyrin‐trityl compounds, bridged by a phenyl spacer. By combining the results from femtosecond transient absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies, we determine the efficiencies of the competing excited state reaction pathways and characterise the magnetic properties of the individual spin states, formed by the interaction between the chromophore triplet and the stable radical. The differences observed for the three investigated compounds are rationalised in the context of available theoretical models and the implications of the results of this study for the design of a molecular system with an improved intersystem crossing efficiency are discussed.

Multiquantum Counting of Trityl Radicals

We demonstrate a series of multitrityl radical compounds where accurate spin-counting by pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) can be achieved at X-band (9 GHz) frequencies, even for molecules with very short and flexible linkers. Multiquantum filter experiments, well-known from NMR, were used to count the number of coupled electron spins in these compounds. The six pulse double quantum filter sequence used in EPR for distance determinations in biradicals was used. Precise phase settings to separate higher quantum coherences were achieved by an arbitrary waveform generator. The trityl radicals have narrow spectral width so that homogeneous excitation of all spins by the pulses is possible. The transversal relaxation times of higher quantum coherences of trityl radicals are sufficiently long to allow their detection. Our results on model compounds show the potential of this approach to determine oligomeric states in protein complexes in their native environment using functionalized trityl spin labels.

Trehalose as an alternative to glycerol as a glassing agent for in vivo DNP MRI

PURPOSE

In dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), the solution needs to form a glass to attain significant levels of polarization in reasonable time periods. Molecules that do not form glasses by themselves are often mixed with glass forming excipients. Although glassing agents are often essential in DNP studies, they have the potential to perturb the metabolic measurements that are being studied. Glycerol, the glassing agent of choice for in vivo DNP studies, is effective in reducing ice crystal formation during freezing, but is rapidly metabolized, potentially altering the redox and adenosine triphosphate balance of the system.

METHODS

DNP buildup curves of ¹³ C urea and alanine with OX063 in the presence of trehalose, glycerol, and other polyol excipients were measured as a function of concentration. T₁ and T_m relaxation times for OX063 in the presence of trehalose were measured by EPR.

RESULTS

Approximately 15-20 wt% trehalose gives a glass that polarizes samples more rapidly than the commonly used 60%-wt formulation of glycerol and yields similar polarization levels within clinically relevant timeframes.

CONCLUSIONS

Trehalose may be an attractive biologically inert alternative to glycerol for situations where there may be concerns about glycerol's glucogenic potential and possible alteration of the adenosine triphosphate/adenosine diphosphate and redox balance.

Photochemistry of tris(2,3,5,6-tetrathiaaryl)methyl radicals in various solutions

A detailed mechanism of TAM photolysis was studied and includes photoionization of the TAM radical with the formation of carbocation and further conversion of the carbocation under aerobic conditions into quinone-methide and under anaerobic conditions supposedly into an aromatic carbene.

Structural insights for vanadium catecholates and iron‑sulfur clusters obtained from multiple data analysis methods applied to electron spin relaxation data

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) inversion recovery curves for vanadium catecholates and iron‑sulfur clusters were analyzed with three models: the sum of two exponentials, a stretched exponential, and a model-free distribution of exponentials (UPEN). For all data sets studied fits with a stretched exponential were statistically indistinguishable from the sum of two exponentials, and were significantly better than for single exponentials. UPEN provides insights into the structures of the distributions. For a vanadium(IV) tris catecholate the distribution of relaxation rates calculated with UPEN shows the contribution from spectral diffusion at low temperatures. The energy of the local mode for this complex, found from the temperature dependence of the spin lattice relaxation, is consistent with values expected for a metal-ligand vibration. For the [2Fe-2S]+ cluster in pyruvate formate lyase activating enzyme (PFL-AE) the small stretched exponential β values (0.3) at low temperature and the distributions calculated with UPEN reflect the contribution from a second rapidly relaxing species that could be difficult to detect by continuous wave EPR. The distributions in 1/T1 for the [4Fe-4S]+ clusters in Mycofactocin maturase were about a factor of four wider than for the three other systems studied. The very broad distribution of relaxation rates may be due to protein mobility and distributions in electronic energies and local environments for the clusters. UPEN provides insight into several situations that can result in low values of stretch parameter β including contributions from spectral diffusion, overlapping signals from distinguishable clusters, or very wide distributions.

Gadolinium Effect at High-Magnetic-Field DNP: 70% 13C Polarization of [U-13C] Glucose Using Trityl

We show that the trityl electron spin resonance (ESR) features, crucial for an efficient dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) process, are sample-composition-dependent. Working at 6.7 T and 1.1 K with a generally applicable DNP sample solvent mixture such as water/glycerol plus trityl, the addition of Gd³⁺ leads to a dramatic increase in [U-¹³C] glucose polarization from 37 ± 4% to 69 ± 3%. This is the highest value reported to date and is comparable to what can be achieved on pyruvic acid. Moreover, performing ESR measurements under actual DNP conditions, we provide experimental evidence that gadolinium doping not only shortens the trityl electron spin-lattice relaxation time but also modifies the radical g-tensor. The latter yielded a considerable narrowing of the ESR spectrum line width. Finally, in the frame of the spin temperature theory, we discuss how these two phenomena affect the DNP performance.

Metal-ligand covalency enables room temperature molecular qubit candidates

Metal–ligand covalency enables observation of coherent spin dynamics to room temperature in a series of vanadium(iv) and copper(ii) catechol complexes.

Harnessing synthetic chemistry to design electronic spin-based qubits, the smallest unit of a quantum information system, enables us to probe fundamental questions regarding spin relaxation dynamics. We sought to probe the influence of metal–ligand covalency on spin–lattice relaxation, which comprises the upper limit of coherence time. Specifically, we studied the impact of the first coordination sphere on spin–lattice relaxation through a series of four molecules featuring V–S, V–Se, Cu–S, and Cu–Se bonds, the Ph₄P⁺ salts of the complexes [V(C₆H₄S₂)₃]^2– (1), [Cu(C₆H₄S₂)₂]^2– (2), [V(C₆H₄Se₂)₃]^2– (3), and [Cu(C₆H₄Se₂)₂]^2– (4). The combined results of pulse electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and ac magnetic susceptibility studies demonstrate the influence of greater M–L covalency, and consequently spin-delocalization onto the ligand, on elongating spin–lattice relaxation times. Notably, we observe the longest spin–lattice relaxation times in 2, and spin echos that survive until room temperature in both copper complexes (2 and 4).

A high-spin ground-state donor-acceptor conjugated polymer

Interest in high-spin organic materials is driven by opportunities to enable far-reaching fundamental science and develop technologies that integrate light element spin, magnetic, and quantum functionalities. Although extensively studied, the intrinsic instability of these materials complicates synthesis and precludes an understanding of how fundamental properties associated with the nature of the chemical bond and electron pairing in organic materials systems manifest in practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a conjugated polymer semiconductor, based on alternating cyclopentadithiophene and thiadiazoloquinoxaline units, that is a ground-state triplet in its neutral form. Electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetic susceptibility measurements are consistent with a high-to-low spin energy gap of 9.30 × 10^-3 kcal mol^-1. The strongly correlated electronic structure, very narrow bandgap, intramolecular ferromagnetic coupling, high electrical conductivity, solution processability, and robust stability open access to a broad variety of technologically relevant applications once thought of as beyond the current scope of organic semiconductors.

A concentrated array of copper porphyrin candidate qubits

Synthetic chemistry offers a pathway to realize atomically precise arrays of qubits, the smallest unit of a quantum information science system. We harnessed framework chemistry to create an array of qubit candidates, featuring one qubit every 13.6 Å, by synthesizing the new copper(ii) variant of the porphyrinic metal-organic framework PCN-224. We subjected the framework to pulse-electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements, establishing spin coherence at temperatures up to 80 K within a fully spin concentrated framework. Observation of Rabi oscillations further support the viability of the qubits within these arrays. To interrogate the spin dynamics of qubit arrays, we investigated spin-lattice relaxation, T 1, through a combination of pulse-EPR and alternating current (ac) magnetic susceptibility measurements. These data revealed distinct vibrational environments within the frameworks that contribute to spin dynamics. The aggregate results establish a pathway for a synthetic approach to create spatially precise networks of qubits.

Dynamic nuclear polarization via the cross effect and thermal mixing: B. Energy transport

The fundamental process of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) via the cross effect (CE) and thermal mixing (TM) is a triple spin flip, in which two interacting electron spins and a nuclear spin interacting with one of these electron spins flip together. In the previous article (Wenckebach, 2018) these triple spin flips were treated by first determining the eigenstates of the two interacting electron spins exactly and next investigating transitions involving these exact eigenstates and the nuclear spin states. It was found that two previously developed approaches-the scrambled states approach and the fluctuating field approach-are just two distinct limiting cases of this more general approach. It was also shown that triple spin flips constitute a single process causing two flows of energy: a flow originating in the electron Zeeman energy and a flow originating in the mutual interactions between the electron spins. In order to render their definitions more precise, the former flow was denoted as the CE and the latter as TM. In this article the treatment is extended to a glass containing N_I equivalent nuclear spins I=12 and N_S randomly distributed and oriented electron spins S=12. Rate equations are derived for the two flows of energy to the nuclear spins. The flow originating in the electron Zeeman energy-i.e. the CE-is found to lead to the same stationary state as was previously predicted by the scrambled states approach, though the rate may be smaller due to limitations imposed by conservation of energy. The flow originating in the mutual interactions between the electron spins-i.e. TM-is found to involve the full spectrum of the mutual interactions between the electron spins, while the fluctuating field approach only accounts for the component of this spectrum at the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) frequency. Still, TM is found to induce equal spin temperature for different nuclear spin species during nuclear spin-lattice relaxation and, at least in some cases also during polarization. It is also confirmed that TM couples local nuclear spins near the electron spins so strongly to the mutual interactions between electron spins, that they may constitute a single energy reservoir (Cox et al., 1973). Hence such local nuclear spins may have to be included in treatments of the dynamics of the electron spins.

Maximizing NMR signal per unit time by facilitating the e-e-n cross effect DNP rate

The dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) efficiency is critically dependent on the properties of the radical, solvent, and solute constituting the sample system. In this study, we focused on the three spin e-e-n cross effect (CE)'s influence on the nuclear longitudinal relaxation time constant T1n, the build-up time constants of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal, TDNP and DNP-enhancement of NMR signal. The dipolar interaction strength between the electron spins driving the e-e-n process was systematically modulated using mono-, di-, tri-, and dendritic-nitroxide radicals, while maintaining a constant global electron spin concentration of 10 mM. Experimental results showed that an increase in electron spin clustering led to an increased electron spin depolarization, as mapped by electron double resonance (ELDOR), and a dramatically shortened T1n and TDNP time constants under static and magic angle spinning (MAS) conditions. A theoretical analysis reveals that strong e-e interactions, caused by electron spin clustering, increase the CE rate. The three spin e-e-n CE is a hitherto little recognized mechanism for shortening T1n and TDNP in solid-state NMR experiments at cryogenic temperatures, and offers a design principle to enhance the effective CE DNP enhancement per unit time. Fast CE rates will benefit DNP at liquid helium temperatures, or at higher magnetic fields and pulsed DNP, where slow e-e-n polarization transfer rate is a key bottleneck to achieving maximal DNP performance.

Cryogen-free dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization polarizer operating at 3.35 T, 6.70 T, and 10.1 T

PURPOSE

A novel dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (dDNP) polarizer platform is presented. The polarizer meets a number of key requirements for in vitro, preclinical, and clinical applications.

METHOD

It uses no liquid cryogens, operates in continuous mode, accommodates a wide range of sample sizes up to and including those required for human studies, and is fully automated.

RESULTS

It offers a wide operational window both in terms of magnetic field, up to 10.1 T, and temperature, from room temperature down to 1.3 K. The polarizer delivers a ¹³ C liquid state polarization for [1-¹³ C]pyruvate of 70%. The build-up time constant in the solid state is approximately 1200 s (20 minutes), allowing a sample throughput of at least one sample per hour including sample loading and dissolution.

CONCLUSION

We confirm the previously reported strong field dependence in the range 3.35 to 6.7 T, but see no further increase in polarization when increasing the magnetic field strength to 10.1 T for [1-¹³ C]pyruvate and trityl. Using a custom dry magnet, cold head and recondensing, closed-cycle cooling system, combined with a modular DNP probe, and automation and fluid handling systems, we have designed a unique dDNP system with unrivalled flexibility and performance.

Magnetic-Field-Dependent Lifetimes of Hyperpolarized 13C Spins at Cryogenic Temperature

Using a home-built cryogen-free dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) system with a variable magnetic field capability, ¹³C spin-lattice T₁ relaxation times of hyperpolarized [1-¹³C] carboxylates (sodium acetate, glycine, sodium pyruvate, and pyruvic acid) doped with trityl OX063 free radical were systematically measured for the first time at different field strengths up to 9 T at T = 1.8 K. Our data reveal that the ¹³C T₁ values of these frozen hyperpolarized ¹³C samples vary drastically with the applied magnetic field B according to an apparent empirical power-law dependence (¹³C T₁ ∝ B^α, 2.3 < α < 3.1), with relaxation values ranging from a few hundred seconds at 1 T to over 200,000 s at fields close to 9 T. This low temperature relaxation behavior can be ascribed approximately to a model that accounts for the combined effect of ¹³C-¹H intramolecular dipolar interaction and the relaxation contribution from the paramagnetic impurities present in the DNP sample. Since the lifetime or T₁ storage of the hyperpolarized state is intimately linked to DNP efficiency, these ¹³C relaxation data at cryogenic temperature have important theoretical and experimental implications as the DNP of ¹³C-labeled biomolecules is pushed to higher magnetic fields.