The advent of hyperpolarized magnetic resonance (MR) has provided new potential for real-time visualization of in vivo metabolic processes. The aim of the work in this thesis was to use hyperpolarized substrates to study rapid metabolic processes occurring in the healthy and diseased rat heart. Initial work, described in Chapter 2, optimized the hyperpolarization process to reproducibly generate tracers. Chapter 3 describes use of hyperpolarized 1-13C-pyruvate to investigate in vivo flux through the regulatory enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). Cardiac PDH activity was altered in several physiological and pathological states, namely fasting, type 1 diabetes, and high-fat feeding, and in vivo flux through PDH was measured using hyperpolarized MR. These measurements correlated with measurements of in vitro PDH activity obtained using a validated biochemical assay. The work in Chapter 4 investigated the physiological interaction between hyperpolarized tracer and cardiac tissue. The effect of hyperpolarized 1-13C-pyruvate concentration on its in vivo metabolism was analyzed using modified Michaelis-Menten kinetics. It was found that hyperpolarized MR could non-invasively follow mechanisms of metabolic regulation, in addition to reporting enzyme activity. In Chapter 5, hyperpolarized MR was incorporated into the isolated perfused rat heart. 1-13C-pyruvate in normal and ischaemic hearts revealed significant differences in lactate metabolism, and provided the foundation for a novel intracellular pH probe. Infusion of 2-13C-pyruvate in the isolated rat heart enabled the first real-time visualization of Krebs cycle intermediates. In summary, the work in this thesis has highlighted the potential of hyperpolarized MR to reveal novel information on heart disease.

Monitoring the early responses of tumours to treatment is a crucial element in guiding therapy and increasing patient survival. To achieve this, we are using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can provide detailed physiological information with relatively high temporal and spatial resolution. In combination with the dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) technique, high signal-to-noise is obtained, resulting in a powerful tool for in vivo 13C metabolic imaging. However, detection of hyperpolarised substrates is limited to a few seconds due to the exponential decay of the polarisation with the longitudinal relaxation time constant T1. This work aimed to improve the combination of hyperpolarisation and metabolic NMR/ MRI by extending the observation timescale of the technique. Working with quantum mechanical properties of the detected substrates, long lifetimes might be accessible by using the nuclear singlet configuration of two coupled nuclei. The singlet state is immune to intramolecular dipole-dipole relaxation processes, which is one of the main sources of signal decay in MRI. In favourable situations, the singlet relaxation time constant can be much longer than T1, so transfer of the polarisation into the singlet state may allow one to extend the usable time period of the nuclear hyperpolarisation. Here we studied the relaxation of hyperpolarised metabolites, including those found in the TCA cycle, and examined the possibility of extending their observation timescale by storing the polarisation in the long-lived singlet state. The polarisation remains in this state until it is eventually required for imaging. We also investigate how one may track polarised metabolites after injection into a subject due to the transfer of polarisation to the solvent by Overhauser cross-relaxation, so that the 13C polarisation remains untouched until imaging is required. In this way we should be able to interrogate slower metabolic processes than have been examined hitherto using hyperpolarised 13C MRS, and better understand metabolic changes induced in tumours by treatment.

La spectroscopie de RMN des solides est une méthode de choix pour la caractérisation de la structure et de la dynamique à l'échelle atomique des matériaux ordonnés et désordonnés. Cependant, l'utilisation de cette technique est limitée par son manque de sensibilité qui empêche l'observation de la surface des matériaux, souvent responsable de leurs propriétés chimiques. Il a été récemment montré que la Polarisation Nucléaire Dynamique (en anglais, Dynamic Nuclear Polarization, DNP) dans les conditions de rotation à l'angle magique (en anglais Magic-Angle Spinning, MAS) permet de surmonter cette limitation. Cette technique permet d'augmenter la sensibilité de la RMN de plusieurs ordres de grandeur. Elle consiste à transférer la polarisation élevée des électrons non-appariés vers les noyaux grâce une irradiation micro-onde. L'objectif de cette thèse consiste à appliquer la MAS-DNP pour sonder la structure de matériaux nanostructurés inorganiques et hybrides. Ces nouvelles informations faciliteront l'amélioration raisonnée de leurs propriétés. Deux classes de matériaux ont été étudiées : des nanoparticules (NP) de silice fonctionnalisées avec des chaînes siloxane et deux formes d'alumine. Les NP de silice fonctionnalisées permettent d'accroître la durée de vie des piles à combustible. Grâce au gain en sensibilité offert par la DNP, il a été possible de sonder les connectivités et les proximités 29Si-29Si dans ces matériaux et ainsi d'élucider le mode de condensation des chaînes siloxane à la surface des NP de silice. La seconde classe de matériaux étudiés comprend deux formes d'alumine : l'alumine- et l'alumine mésoporeuse. La première est largement utilisée dans l'industrie comme catalyseur, support de catalyseur et adsorbant, tandis que la seconde est un matériau prometteur du fait de sa porosité contrôlée et de son accessibilité élevée. Néanmoins, la structure de ces alumines est toujours largement débattue car elles ne forment pas des monocristaux. Grâce à une meilleure compréhension des performances de la MAS-DNP, conduisant notamment à une optimisation de la préparation des échantillons, il a été possible de compenser la très faible efficacité des expériences 27Al sélectives de la surface. La structure de la surface d'alumine a été sondée par des expériences RMN avancées à deux dimensions et une nouvelle expérience a été proposée pour l'observation sélective du cœur de l'alumine. Afin d'obtenir davantage d'informations sur les proximités 27Al-27Al, nous avons cherché à mieux comprendre les séquences de recouplage dipolaire homonucléaire pour des noyaux 27Al. Pour ce faire, la dynamique de spin au cours de ces séquences a été analysée par la théorie de l'hamiltonien moyen et des simulations numériques. En résumé, au cours de cette thèse, nous avons montré comment la MAS-DNP ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour l'étude des matériaux nanostructurés. / Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique to characterize the atomic-level structure and dynamics of both ordered and disordered materials. However, its main limitation is the lack of sensitivity, particularly preventing studies on the surface of materials, an important region determining their chemical properties. It has been recently shown that Magic Angle Spinning Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (MAS-DNP) could overcome this difficulty. This technique can provide an enhancement of NMR sensitivity of many orders of magnitude. It is based on the partial microwave-driven transfer of the large intrinsic polarization of electron spins to nuclear spins, making impractical NMR experiments feasible. The aim of this work is to use this MAS-DNP technique to help gain new insights into the structure of inorganic and hybrid nanostructured materials. Such knowledge will facilitate the rational improvement of their properties. Two classes of materials are investigated. The first ones are siloxane-functionalized silica nanoparticles (NPs), which can be used to extend the working durability of fuel cells. Owing to the sensitivity enhancement achieved by MAS-DNP, the condensation network structure of siloxanes bound to the surface of silica NPs could be elucidated using 29Si-29Si homonuclear correlation NMR experiments. The second class of investigated systems encompasses two forms of aluminas, -alumina and mesoporous alumina. The former is widely used in industry as a catalyst, catalyst support, and adsorbent, whereas the latter is a promising material owing to its highly controlled porosity and its high surface accessibility. Nevertheless, their structures are still under heavy investigation since they do not form single crystals. Due to an improved comprehension of MAS-DNP performance, including optimized sample preparation, the obstacle of extremely low efficiency for surface-selective 27Al NMR experiments is circumvented. Sophisticated two-dimensional NMR experiments are employed to provide selective insights into structures on the surface and a new experiment is proposed to study only the bulk of these materials. For achieving further information on the spatial proximities between different 27Al sites, a thorough understanding of homonuclear dipolar recoupling pulse sequences for half-integer quadrupolar nuclei is required. In order to do this, Average Hamiltonian theory and numerical simulations are used to analyze the spin dynamics resulting from these pulse sequences, giving insights into their relative performances. Overall, it is shown that the use of MAS-DNP can be crucial for the characterization of state-of-the-art materials, highlighting the future importance of this technique.

This study is presented in nine chapters as follows: Chapter one reviews the reported literature on the NMR of natural diamond. The NMR signal of diamond consists on a single line at 39 ppm from TMS and two hyperfine lines due to 13C interactions. The reported relaxation times, measured in natural diamond, synthetic diamonds and 13C enriched diamonds, are discussed. The second chapter introduces the apparatus used, which included a Bruker Avance NMR spectrometer, a Bruker ESP380E pulsed EPR spectrometer and a high powersband DNP system. The availability of this excellently equiped laboratory presented a unique opportunity to perform this investigation. Chapter three outlines the experimental techniques used as well as the manner in which the acquired data was processed. The fourth chapter presents an overview of the most common defects found in diamond. Proposed models of these defects are presented and the resulting EPR spectra displayed. The methods developed to determine the paramagnetic impurity concentration from the EPR line width and the spin-spin relaxation times are presented in the fifth chapter. The line width gives the total paramagnetic impurity concentration to about 10 ppm. The spin-spin relaxation time allows the determination of Pl and P2 paramagnetic impurity concentrations individually, to much lower levels from measurements on the central and hyperfine lines. This information was used in the explanation of the relaxation behaviour for the various diamonds investigated. The temperature dependence of the paramagnetic electron relaxation times is reported in the sixth chapter. The results obtained are consistent with the findings in prior work that Pl impurities are typical Jahn Teller centres. Two diamonds, however, display trends that depart from this theory. These diamonds contain N3 defect centres, which appear to be responsible for this behaviour. It was found in these experiments that, bar thermal expansion effects, the spin-spin relaxation time is essentially independent of temperature. The seventh chapter deals with the solid state and thermal mixing effects. The relevant theory, results obtained and a discussion of these results, are presented. The effect of impurity concentration, defect types, microwave power, the exposure time and the offset from resonance on the polarisation rates and the 13C polarisation are investigated in depth. Finally the effect of applying the DNP treatment on the central and hyperfine lines is discussed. The pulsed DNP process is presented in the eighth chapter. The relevant theory, the effects of matching of the Hartmann-Hahn condition, impurity concentrations and types, on the polarisation rate and signal enhancement of JJC nuclei is given. A comparison to the continuous wave techniques is then made. The ninth chapter summarises the achievements and recommendations for further work. / Physics / D. Phil. (Physics)

Les protéines membranaires en hélices alpha forment le tiers des protéines codées par notre génome. D’autres protéines membranaires sont formées typiquement de feuillets bêta. Leur fonction varie de la formation de pores, la transmission de signaux à l’activité antibiotique. Elles sont aussi capables de transporter de larges cargos comme les protéines ou les acides nucléiques au travers de la membrane. Récemment, les peptides ont émergé comme un moyen prometteur pour le transport de médicaments vers leurs cibles.Les protéines membranaires peuvent être synthétisées chimiquement ou exprimées et marquées isotopiquement dans les bactéries, isolées, purifiées et reconstituées dans les bicouches lipidiques hydratées. Elles présentent une variété de configurations en interagissant avec ces bicouches lipidiques. Ceci dépend de la composition et de l’épaisseur de ces bicouches. L’orientation des bicouches lipidiques est maintenue mécaniquement en les disposant entre des plaques de verre. La RMN du solide des échantillons orientés est un des moyens possibles pour accéder à la topologie des peptides associés à des membranes phospholipidiques. Les échantillons sont difficiles à exprimer dans les bactéries en grande quantités et possède une solubilité réduite en dehors des membranes. En outre leur taille est trop importante pour la RMN du liquide et il est difficile de les cristalliser. Un des inconvénients majeur de la spectroscopie RMN est sa faible sensibilité. Cela résulte du faible moment magnétique nucléaire qui résulte en un décalage Zeeman faible et donc une polarisation réduite. Par ailleurs, l’intensité du signal RMN dépend de plusieurs facteurs comme la quantité d’échantillon la polarisation et le champ magnétique B0. Et le temps d’acquisition de certaines expériences peut être très long. Le but de ce projet est d’obtenir plus de signal des protéines membranaires. Dès lors, nous avons développé une cryosonde DNP (dynamic nuclear polarization) / RMN du solide. La DNP est une technique ingénieuse qui est utilisée pour le transfert de polarisation des noyaux hautement polarisés à des noyaux moins polarisés par irradiation microonde. Les microondes vont exister sélectivement les électrons qui transfèreront leur polarisation à l’ensemble des protons voisins, le signal proton peut ainsi être augmenté de 660 fois.Pour cela la cryosonde DNP RMN du solide qui opère à 100 K et 9,4 T a été utilisée. Une sonde est la pièce mécanique qui maintient l’échantillon dans le centre magnétique de l’aimant du spectromètre. C’est une antenne modulable qui irradie et détecte des champs radiofréquence. La pièce centrale de la sonde est une bobine solénoïdale ou une bobine en forme de selle enveloppant l’échantillon. La faisabilité de ces expériences DNP a été validée sur les échantillons orientés en rotation à l’angle magique. Ces expériences ont été menées sur des échantillons enroulés dans un rotor. Même si leur orientation par rapport au champ magnétique B0 est perdue, une valeur d’augmentation de 17 a été obtenue.[...] / Helical membrane proteins comprise one third of the expressed proteins encoded in a typical genome. Other membrane proteins are typically beta sheets. Their function varies from pore formation, signaling to antimicrobial activity. They are also capable of transporting large cargo such as proteins or nucleic acids across the cell membrane. Recently, peptides have emerged as promising tools in drug delivery. Membrane proteins can be synthesized chemically or expressed and isotopically labeled in bacteria, isolated, purified and reconstituted into fully hydrated lipid bilayers. The bilayer orientation is kept mechanically by putting them between glass plates. While interacting with these bilayers they exhibit a variety of configurations depending on the lipids composition and thickness. Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) on oriented bilayers is one way to access the topology of peptides associated with phospholipid membranes. Oriented membrane protein are difficult to study with analytical techniques because of their poor solubility outside the lipid membrane, difficulty of expression in bacteria in big quantities, difficulty to crystallize, and they are too large for solution NMR study. The intensity of an NMR signal depends on several factors such as polarization P and magnetic field magnitude B0. One of the major drawbacks of NMR spectroscopy is low sensitivity. This is caused by the small magnetic moment of the nuclear spins which results in a modest Zeeman splitting of the nuclear spin energy levels and therefore in a limited Boltzmann Polarization. The aim of this project is to obtain a better signal from membrane proteins. Thus a Low temperature (LT) solid state NMR with Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) probe head was created. DNP is an ingenious technique that is used to transfer polarization from highly polarized targets to less polarized nuclei using microwave irradiation. Microwaves will excite selectively the electron spins which will transfer their polarization to the pool of proton nuclei, the proton NMR signal can be enhanced by 660 times. A probe head for DNP enhanced solid state NMR at 100 K and 9.4 T is described. A probe head includes the mechanical piece that holds the sample in the magnetic center of the NMR magnet. It is a tunable antenna that irradiates and detects the rf fields used in NMR. The centerpiece of the probe is the solenoidal or saddle coil surrounding the sample. The feasibility of such a DNP experiment is proven on magic angle oriented sample spinning. These experiments are conducted on oriented samples wrapped into a rotor. Through their orientation with regards to B0 is lost, enhancement values as high as 17 are obtained. [...]

This study is presented in nine chapters as follows: Chapter one reviews the reported literature on the NMR of natural diamond. The NMR signal of diamond consists on a single line at 39 ppm from TMS and two hyperfine lines due to 13C interactions. The reported relaxation times, measured in natural diamond, synthetic diamonds and 13C enriched diamonds, are discussed. The second chapter introduces the apparatus used, which included a Bruker Avance NMR spectrometer, a Bruker ESP380E pulsed EPR spectrometer and a high powersband DNP system. The availability of this excellently equiped laboratory presented a unique opportunity to perform this investigation. Chapter three outlines the experimental techniques used as well as the manner in which the acquired data was processed. The fourth chapter presents an overview of the most common defects found in diamond. Proposed models of these defects are presented and the resulting EPR spectra displayed. The methods developed to determine the paramagnetic impurity concentration from the EPR line width and the spin-spin relaxation times are presented in the fifth chapter. The line width gives the total paramagnetic impurity concentration to about 10 ppm. The spin-spin relaxation time allows the determination of Pl and P2 paramagnetic impurity concentrations individually, to much lower levels from measurements on the central and hyperfine lines. This information was used in the explanation of the relaxation behaviour for the various diamonds investigated. The temperature dependence of the paramagnetic electron relaxation times is reported in the sixth chapter. The results obtained are consistent with the findings in prior work that Pl impurities are typical Jahn Teller centres. Two diamonds, however, display trends that depart from this theory. These diamonds contain N3 defect centres, which appear to be responsible for this behaviour. It was found in these experiments that, bar thermal expansion effects, the spin-spin relaxation time is essentially independent of temperature. The seventh chapter deals with the solid state and thermal mixing effects. The relevant theory, results obtained and a discussion of these results, are presented. The effect of impurity concentration, defect types, microwave power, the exposure time and the offset from resonance on the polarisation rates and the 13C polarisation are investigated in depth. Finally the effect of applying the DNP treatment on the central and hyperfine lines is discussed. The pulsed DNP process is presented in the eighth chapter. The relevant theory, the effects of matching of the Hartmann-Hahn condition, impurity concentrations and types, on the polarisation rate and signal enhancement of JJC nuclei is given. A comparison to the continuous wave techniques is then made. The ninth chapter summarises the achievements and recommendations for further work. / Physics / D. Phil. (Physics)