PNNL

Abstract

A RF probe that fits inside the bore of a small gradient coil package is described for routine 1H-NMR microscopy measurements on small samples. The probe operates at 500 MHz and houses a 267-um-diameter solenoid transceiver. When used in three dimensional chemical shift imaging (3D-CSI) experiments, the measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is shown to be within 20-30 percent of theoretical limits formulated by only considering the solenoid's resistive losses. This is illustrated using a 100-um-diameter globule of triacylglycerols (~900mM) that may be an oocyte precursor in young Xenopus Laevis frogs, and water sample containing choline at a concentration often found in live cells (~33mM). In chemical shift images generated using a few thousand scans, the choline methyl line is found to have an acceptable SNR in resolved from just 5 picoliters in the Xenopus globule. It is concluded that the probe's sensitivity is sufficient for performing 1H-NMR on picoliter-scale volumes in biological cells and tissues.