title: Nondisruptive Dissolution of Hyperpolarized (129)Xe into Viscous Aqueous and Organic Liquid Crystalline Environments.
abstract: Studies of hyperpolarized xenon-129 (hp-(129)Xe) in media such as liquid crystals and cell suspensions are in demand for applications ranging from biomedical imaging to materials engineering but have been hindered by the inability to bubble Xe through the desired media as a result of viscosity or perturbations caused by bubbles. Herein a device is reported that can be reliably used to dissolve hp-(129)Xe into viscous aqueous and organic samples without bubbling. This method is robust, requires small sample volumes (<60 μL), is compatible with existing NMR hardware, and is made from readily available materials. Experiments show that Xe can be introduced into viscous and aligned media without disrupting molecular order. We detected dissolved xenon in an aqueous liquid crystal that is disrupted by the shear forces of bubbling, and we observed liquid-crystal phase transitions in (MBBA). This tool allows an entirely new class of samples to be investigated by hyperpolarized-gas NMR spectroscopy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.|Material Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.
authors.forename: Ashley E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Truxal
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.|Material Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.
authors.forename: Clancy C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Slack
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.|Material Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.
authors.forename: Muller D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.|Material Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.
authors.forename: Christophoros C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Vassiliou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.|Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Wemmer
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA. pines@berkeley.edu.|Material Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1460, USA. pines@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pines
keywords: NMR spectroscopy; hyperpolarization; liquid crystals; phase transitions; xenon