Magnets, molecules and medicine

Abstract

This article provides an introduction to high-resolution NMR with discussion of some of the important hardware considerations related to applying high-resolution NMR in medicine and biology. Experience has shown that multidisciplinary groups usually have to be formed to run NMR spectrometers dedicated for biological use, to cope with the demands imposed by the living systems under investigation and use of the spectrometer system. NMR imaging has obviously had a tremendous impact in medicine and many NMR imagers are being installed in hospitals throughout the world. In comparison to the already well established imaging techniques using CT, radioisotopes and ultrasound the overall experience gained so far is limited and there is undoubtedly a lot of work to be carried out before the usefulness of NMR imaging is fully assessed. The usefulness of NMR spectroscopy as a tool in in vivo biological research is clearly established. Originally based on 31P NMR studies the scope and extent of this type of investigation have now been enhanced by the use of 1H, 13C and 19F NMR and therefore will continue to extend our knowledge of metabolism, especially if NMR tracer studies with 13C and 19F can be shown to have real utility in an analogous fashion to radioisotopes. All of the nuclei discussed can be used to study the metabolism of various types of disease including carcinogenesis. With regard to medicine, the results obtained so far are certainly interesting and undoubtedly contributions will be made to the understanding of disease and related metabolism. At this stage, however, it is perhaps too early to say that NMR spectroscopy will become a routine tool in medicine but the rate of progress over the last ten years does suggest that the use of in vivo spectroscopy in medicine does have a significant future.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in the investigation of cancer at The Royal Marsden Hospital and The Institute of Cancer Research

“…Several papers examined aspects of highresolution NMR spectroscopy (Kimmich et al 1984(Kimmich et al , 1987. A review by Gordon in 1985 provided an introduction to the growing field of MRS, providing a valuable reference for those in this developing field (Gordon 1985). Papers reporting applications of MRS to biological tissues (Grunder et al 1989, Klammler andKimmich 1990), or methodological aspects of measurements, including spectroscopic quantification (Harpen et al 1987), the properties of RF pulses (Van Cauteren et al 1992) and localized shimming were published in the 1980s and early 1990s.…”

NMR imaging in theory and in practice

“…The chemical shift interaction between the nucleus and the surrounding electron charge distribution forms the basis for N M R spectroscopy (Gordon 1985).…”

“…Bo. The interest in the parameter, aside from spectroscopy (Gordon 1985) is two-fold; the first is the possible production of artefacts at tissue boundaries, a topic considered later, and secondly to aid contrast by the differentiation between water and fat protons. Water protons and lipid protons have differing chemical shifts due to their differing chemical environment.…”