title: Towards Single Biomolecule Imaging via Optical Nanoscale Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
abstract: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a physical marvel in which electromagnetic radiation is charged and discharged by nuclei in a magnetic field. In conventional NMR, the specific nuclei resonance frequency depends on the strength of the magnetic field and the magnetic properties of the isotope of the atoms. NMR is routinely utilized in clinical tests by converting nuclear spectroscopy in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and providing 3D, noninvasive biological imaging. While this technique has revolutionized biomedical science, measuring the magnetic resonance spectrum of single biomolecules is still an intangible aspiration, due to MRI resolution being limited to tens of micrometers. MRI and NMR have, however, recently greatly advanced, with many breakthroughs in nano-NMR and nano-MRI spurred by using spin sensors based on an atomic impurities in diamond. These techniques rely on magnetic dipole-dipole interactions rather than inductive detection. Here, novel nano-MRI methods based on nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond are highlighted, that provide a solution to the imaging of single biomolecules with nanoscale resolution in-vivo and in ambient conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University (WVU), PO Box 6106, 325 Engineering Sciences Building, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boretti
authors.affiliation: Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Micro-Photonics (H74), PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.|University of Parma, Department of Information Engineering, Viale G.P. Usberti 181/A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.affiliation: Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Micro-Photonics (H74), PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.|School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, PO Box 71, Bundoora, VIC, 3083, Australia.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castelletto
mesh_terms: D018130:Diamond / Q000737:chemistry; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D018130:Diamond; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate
keywords: diamond; imaging; magnetic resonance; magnetic resonance imaging; nitrogen vacancies; optics