Sensitivity and Repeatability of Hyperpolarized NMR in Dissolution-DNP Experiments

Sensitivity is central to nuclear magnetic resonance. Its quantitative measure is the signal-to-noise ratio that can be attained within a specified time using a given mass or concentration of an analyte. In this lecture we derive expressions for the signal-to-noise ratio in both time- and frequency-domain when working at thermal equilbirium. We then turn to the Dissolution-Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (D-DNP) experiment, an experiment which can enhance the signal-to-noise ratio by boosting the nuclear spin polarization by orders of magnitude. However, the gains in nuclear spin polarization do not always translate into equally sized sensitivity gains. We argue that human operators are a key culprit, and show how stringent automation of the bullet-DNP experiment may be used to record repeatable results around the clock.

8:00 AM California or 11:00 AM Boston or 5:00 PM Paris or 9:30 PM Delhi