Planar microcoil-based microfluidic NMR probes

Microfabricated small-volume NMR probes consisting of electroplated planar microcoils integrated on a glass substrate with etched microfluidic channels are fabricated and tested. 1H NMR spectra are acquired at 300 MHz with three different probes having observed sample volumes of respectively 30, 120, and 470 nL. The achieved sensitivity enables acquisition of an 1H spectrum of 160 microg sucrose in D2O, corresponding to a proof-of-concept for on-chip NMR spectroscopy. Increase of mass-sensitivity with coil diameter reduction is demonstrated experimentally for planar microcoils. Models that enable quantitative prediction of the signal-to-noise ratio and of the influence of microfluidic channel geometry on spectral resolution are presented and successfully compared to the experimental data. The main factor presently limiting sensitivity for high-resolution applications is identified as being probe-induced static magnetic field distortions. Finally, based on the presented model and measured data, future performance of planar microcoil-based microfluidic NMR probes is extrapolated and discussed.     

Picoliter (1)H NMR spectroscopy

In this study, a 267-microm-diameter solenoid transceiver is used to acquire localized (1)H NMR spectra and the measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at 500 MHz is shown to be within 20--30% of theoretical limits formulated by considering only its resistive losses. This is illustrated using a 100-microm-diameter globule of triacylglycerols (approximately 900mM) that may be an oocyte precursor in young Xenopus laevis frogs and a water sample containing choline at a concentration often found in live mammalian cells (approximately 33 mM). In chemical shift imaging (CSI) experiments performed using a few thousand total scans, the choline methyl line is shown to have an acceptable SNR in resolved volume elements containing only 50 pL of sample, and localized spectra are resolved from just 5 pL in the Xenopus globule. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of performing (1)H NMR on picoliter-scale sample volumes in biological cells and tissues and illustrate how the achieved SNR in spectroscopic images can be predicted with reasonable accuracy at microscopic spatial resolutions.     

1H NMR Detection of superparamagnetic nanoparticles at 1T using a microcoil and novel tuning circuit

Magnetic beads containing superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been shown to measurably change the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation properties of nearby protons in aqueous solution at distances up to approximately 50 microm. Therefore, the NMR sensitivity for the in vitro detection of single cells or biomolecules labeled with magnetic beads will be maximized with microcoils of this dimension. We have constructed a prototype 550 microm diameter solenoidal microcoil using focused gallium ion milling of a gold/chromium layer. The NMR coil was brought to resonance by means of a novel auxiliary tuning circuit, and used to detect water with a spectral resolution of 2.5 Hz in a 1.04 T (44.2MHz) permanent magnet. The single-scan SNR for water was 137, for a 200 micros pi/2 pulse produced with an RF power of 0.25 mW. The nutation performance of the microcoil was sufficiently good so that the effects of magnetic beads on the relaxation characteristics of the surrounding water could be accurately measured. A solution of magnetic beads (Dynabeads MyOne Streptavidin) in deionized water at a concentration of 1000 beads per nL lowered the T(1) from 1.0 to 0.64 s and the T2 * from 110 to 0.91 ms. Lower concentrations (100 and 10 beads/nL) also resulted in measurable reductions in T2 *, suggesting that low-field, microcoil NMR detection using permanent magnets can serve as a high-sensitivity, miniaturizable detection mechanism for very low concentrations of magnetic beads in biological fluids.     

Radiation damping in microcoil NMR probes

Radiation damping arises from the field induced in the receiver coil by large bulk magnetization and tends to selectively drive this magnetization back to equilibrium much faster than relaxation processes. The demand for increased sensitivity in mass-limited samples has led to the development of microcoil NMR probes that are capable of obtaining high quality NMR spectra with small sample volumes (nL-microL). Microcoil probes are optimized to increase sensitivity by increasing either the sample-to-coil ratio (filling factor) of the probe or quality factor of the detection coil. Though radiation damping effects have been studied in standard NMR probes, these effects have not been measured in the microcoil probes. Here a systematic evaluation of radiation damping effects in a microcoil NMR probe is presented and the results are compared with similar measurements in conventional large volume samples. These results show that radiation-damping effects in microcoil probe is much more pronounced than in 5 mm probes, and that it is critically important to optimize NMR experiments to minimize these effects. As microcoil probes provide better control of the bulk magnetization, with good RF and B0 inhomogeneity, in addition to negligible dipolar field effects due to nearly spherical sample volumes, these probes can be used exclusively to study the complex behavior of radiation damping.     

Efficient design of multituned transmission line NMR probes: the electrical engineering approach

Transmission line-based multi-channel solid state NMR probes have many advantages regarding the cost of construction, number of RF-channels, and achievable RF-power levels. Nevertheless, these probes are only rarely employed in solid state-NMR-labs, mainly owing to the difficult experimental determination of the necessary RF-parameters. Here, the efficient design of multi-channel solid state MAS-NMR probes employing transmission line theory and modern techniques of electrical engineering is presented. As technical realization a five-channel ((1)H, (31)P, (13)C, (2)H and (15)N) probe for operation at 7 Tesla is described. This very cost efficient design goal is a multi port single coil transmission line probe based on the design developed by Schaefer and McKay. The electrical performance of the probe is determined by measuring of Scattering matrix parameters (S-parameters) in particular input/output ports. These parameters are compared to the calculated parameters of the design employing the S-matrix formalism. It is shown that the S-matrix formalism provides an excellent tool for examination of transmission line probes and thus the tool for a rational design of these probes. On the other hand, the resulting design provides excellent electrical performance. From a point of view of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), calibration spectra of particular ports (channels) are of great importance. The estimation of the π/2 pulses length for all five NMR channels is presented.     

Electronic characterization of lithographically patterned microcoils for high sensitivity NMR detection

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) offers a non-destructive, powerful, structure-specific analytical method for the identification of chemical and biological systems. The use of radio frequency (RF) microcoils has been shown to increase the sensitivity in mass-limited samples. Recent advances in micro-receiver technology have further demonstrated a substantial increase in mass sensitivity [D.L. Olson, T.L. Peck, A.G. Webb, R.L. Magin, J.V. Sweedler, High-resolution microcoil H-1-NMR for mass-limited, nanoliter-volume samples, Science 270 (5244) (1995) 1967–1970]. Lithographic methods for producing solenoid microcoils possess a level of flexibility and reproducibility that exceeds previous production methods, such as hand winding microcoils. This paper presents electrical characterizations of RF microcoils produced by a unique laser lithography system that can pattern three dimensional surfaces and compares calculated and experimental results to those for wire wound RF microcoils. We show that existing optimization conditions for RF coil design still hold true for RF microcoils produced by lithography. Current lithographic microcoils show somewhat inferior performance to wire wound RF microcoils due to limitations in the existing electroplating technique. In principle, however, when the pitch of the RF microcoil is less than 100 μm lithographic coils should show comparable performance to wire wound coils. In the cases of larger pitch, wire cross sections can be significantly larger and resistances lower than microfabricated conductors.     

Implementing solenoid microcoils for wide-line solid-state NMR

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probeheads using solenoid microcoils with an inner diameter of 300-400 microm are developed for the study of mass-limited solid samples. Some attention is paid to the mechanical ruggedness of the probes allowing sample changing. The performance, in terms of sensitivity and RF-characteristics, of these probeheads is studied for (1)H, (31)P, and (27)Al in different model compounds in view of the feasibility of specific applications. The results show that the sensitivity is high enough to detect approximately 10(14) spins/sqrt Hz with a signal-to-noise ratio of 1 in a single scan. A specific advantage of microcoils for solid-state NMR applications is that they can generate extremely high RF-fields if implemented in appropriate circuits. Using RF-powers in the hundreds of Watts range, RF-fields well in excess of 1MHz can be made. This allows the excitation of spectra of nuclei whose resonance lines are dispersed of several megahertz. This is particularly useful for quadrupolar nuclei experiencing large quadrupolar interactions as is demonstrated for (27)Al in single crystal and powdered minerals.     

Optimal electric fields for different sample shapes in high resolution NMR spectroscopy

For many applications, reducing sample resistance, rather than increasing probe Q or filling factor, is the only way to further improve the signal-to-noise ratio of cryogenically cooled NMR probes. In this paper, bounds are calculated for the minimum sample resistance that can be achieved for various sample geometries. The sample resistance of 100 mM NaCl in H(2)O in 5 mm sample tubes was measured on a 600 MHz cold probe to be within 14% of the optimum value. The minimum sample resistance can however be lowered by altering the tube cross section. Rectangular tubes oriented with the long axis along the RF magnetic field are particularly favourable.     

Planar microresonators for EPR experiments

EPR resonators on the basis of standing-wave cavities are optimised for large samples. For small samples it is possible to design different resonators that have much better power handling properties and higher sensitivity. Other parameters being equal, the sensitivity of the resonator can be increased by minimising its size and thus increasing the filling factor. Like in NMR, it is possible to use lumped elements; coils can confine the microwave field to volumes that are much smaller than the wavelength. We discuss the design and evaluation of EPR resonators on the basis of planar microcoils. Our test resonators, which operate at a frequency of 14 GHz, have excellent microwave efficiency factors, achieving 24 ns pi/2 EPR pulses with an input power of 17 mW. The sensitivity tests with DPPH samples resulted in the sensitivity value 2.3 x 10(9) spins.G(-1) Hz(-1/2) at 300 K.     

激光感生击穿煤质实验中延迟时间的研究

激光感生击穿光谱是一种新型的物质元素分析技术,可望用于煤质分析。其信号取样的延迟时间是光谱检测中的一个重要参数。文章搭建了一套实验台架,选取江西萍乡煤、山西西山煤和贵州平寨煤为代表性煤样进行了研究。给出了三种煤样240～250和275～290 nm波段的光谱图,参考NIST数据库,定性分析了C,Mg和Si元素的特征谱线。通过计算,得出了特征谱线信噪比的时间演化曲线。结果表明,随着延迟时间的增加,信噪比都要经历一个由小到大,随后又减小的过程。随煤样不同、元素不同、谱线不同,信噪比的时间演化特性均可能存在不同。根据信噪比最高的原则,得出了三种煤样中各特征谱线的最佳延迟时间,并分析了煤样特性、元素特性和谱线特性对最佳延迟时间的影响     

基于极值统计的拉曼光谱信噪比评估方法与应用

随着近年来便携式光谱仪技术的迅速发展,CCD光谱仪相对于传统光谱仪在光谱收集方式上发生了很多变化：（1）采集到的光谱对信号进行叠加积分,传统信噪比评估方法无法通过单次检测获得探测器波动;（2）对于谱图噪声（谱线随机波动）,由探测器响应随机波动和扫描重复误差转变为CCD探测器像素响应差异、探测器随机噪声和与光学系统分辨力有关的模式噪声。噪声类型发生改变,导致原有的光谱质量评价方法适用性变差,基于实测光谱提出更具适应性的光谱质量评价方法具有很强的现实意义。根据拉曼光谱仪检测器的变化,对采集光谱信号的成分进行分析,在该分析的基础上提出了CCD光谱仪的噪声模型假设,根据该假设使用不同的信号极值点频率对不同的噪声进行像素分离,并对噪声频率模式进行了数值模拟,模拟结果与假设相符;在此基础上提出并实验验证了通过谱线极值间距评估谱线噪声的拉曼光谱信噪比评估方法,该方法包括以下两个步骤：（1）通过采集多次实测光谱进行叠加,叠加过程中对对应不同频次的光谱极值点数量进行统计,得到统计结果后基于文中规律分离光谱仪中的环境噪声和暗噪声;（2）应用上述分离结果,对实测光谱中对应暗噪声的谱线极值点作统计平均,再将该值应用于文中公式,计算得到信噪比。该方法在进行了步骤（1）的前期准备后,可以通过单张谱图评估CCD拉曼光谱仪的随机噪声,并用于评估光谱的信噪比。基于光学构架相同、CCD探测器不同的三个拉曼光谱系统进行实验,采用该方法通过设定信噪比阈值对谱图质量进行控制,获得了一致的光谱曲线;基于该方法对同步叠加平均法进行信噪比拟合,拟合优度达到98%。该方法可用于拉曼光谱仪的性能评估和获取拉曼光谱谱图的质量实时控制。理论和实验表明：对于基于CCD探测器的拉曼光谱仪器,当确定样品和特征峰时,可以基于此方法获得信噪比。该方法还可用于比对不同配置的拉曼光谱设备,以及作为控制谱图质量一致性的标准,并对基于拉曼光谱技术的智能鉴别系统的开发具有指导意义。     

Study on the impedance of aligned carbon microcoils embedded in silicone rubber matrix

This paper reports that carbon microcoils are grown through a chemical vapour deposit process, they are then embedded in silicone rubber, and manipulated to parallel with each other along their axes in the resulting composite. The impedance |Z| as well as phase angle θ of both the original carbon microcoil sheets and the aligned carbon microcoil/silicone rubber composites are measured. The results illustrate that carbon microcoils in different forms show different alternating current electric properties. The aligned carbon microcoils in the composites show stable parameters for f<10⁴ Hz but a sharp decrease in both |Z| and θ for frequencies >10⁴ Hz, which will also change as the carbon microcoils are extended. But, the original sheets have a pure resistance with their parameters stable throughout the entire alternating current frequency range investigated.     

Portable, low-cost NMR with laser-lathe lithography produced microcoils

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is unsurpassed in its ability to non-destructively probe chemical identity. Portable, low-cost NMR sensors would enable on-site identification of potentially hazardous substances, as well as the study of samples in a variety of industrial applications. Recent developments in RF microcoil construction (i.e. coils much smaller than the standard 5mm NMR RF coils), have dramatically increased NMR sensitivity and decreased the limits-of-detection (LOD). We are using advances in laser pantographic microfabrication techniques, unique to LLNL, to produce RF microcoils for field deployable, high sensitivity NMR-based detectors. This same fabrication technique can be used to produce imaging coils for MRI as well as for standard hardware shimming or "ex-situ" shimming of field inhomogeneities typically associated with inexpensive magnets. This paper describes a portable NMR system based on the use of a 2 kg hand-held permanent magnet, laser-fabricated microcoils, and a compact spectrometer. The main limitations for such a system are the low resolution and sensitivity associated with the low field values and quality of small permanent magnets, as well as the lack of large amounts of sample of interest in most cases. The focus of the paper is on the setting up of this system, initial results, sensitivity measurements, discussion of the limitations and future plans. The results, even though preliminary, are promising and provide the foundation for developing a portable, inexpensive NMR system for chemical analysis. Such a system will be ideal for chemical identification of trace substances on site.     

Reducing the NMR sample volume using a single organic liquid: Increased sensitivity for mass-limited samples with standard NMR probes

A simple inexpensive protocol for confining an aqueous sample to the active region of a standard NMR probe is examined for high-resolution NMR. The aqueous sample is sandwiched between an inert perfluorinated organic liquid that has been exploited in the design of micro-coil NMR probes. The procedure is demonstrated with 3 mm NMR tubes at ambient and elevated temperatures but should be equally applicable to smaller diameter tubes. It is shown that confinement has minimal effects on line shape and provides at least a two fold increase in sensitivity over a conventional sample, for the same mass of solute.     

核磁共振二维谱反演

核磁共振二维谱包含扩散系数 D 和横向弛豫时间 T₂ 的信息,利用核磁共振仪来测量多孔介质中物质的信息,根据其弛豫时间和扩散系数的差别来区分不同物质;利用全局反演方法,提出了核磁共振二维谱反演的物理模型和数学模型;介绍了传统的奇异值分解（SVD）和改进的奇异值分解反演算法;采用改进的奇异值分解法对核磁共振二维谱进行反演,其反演算法具有计算速度快和二维谱分布连续等优点. 它适合于信噪比较高的数据反演,当原始数据信噪比SNR≥100时,可以对二维谱图进行定量分析;当60≤SNR<100时,可以对二维谱图进行定性分析. 核磁共振二维谱可以一次性直接区分油和水,为核磁共振测井提供了新的科学技术.     

Bayesian Estimation of NMR Spectral Parameters Under Low Signal-to-Noise Conditions

The Bayesian statistical method of spectral estimation is applied to NMR free induction decay signals at various values of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The frequency and amplitude estimates from the Bayesian calculations are more accurate than those from the commonly used fast Fourier transformation (FFT) of the same data sets. Both real and synthetic data sets are examined with the Bayesian results being superior in all cases. In addition to the superior performance at low SNR the Bayesian derived amplitudes and frequency estimates were not as affected by signal decay as in Fourier Transformed spectra. Finally, the amplitudes obtained are equal to the FFT integrated intensities resulting in an apparent frequency domain signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) greater than the FFT SNR by a factor proportional to the FFT frequency domain linewidth. For typical high resolution spectra this improvement was approximately a factor of 2.5. Even greater improvement is obtained when rapidly decaying signals are analyzed. Bayesian computation time for the 6 line p-chloroanaline and chloroform spectrum was approximately 12 minutes on a modern computer work station.     

Auxiliary probe design adaptable to existing probes for remote detection NMR, MRI, and time-of-flight tracing

A versatile, detection-only probe design is presented that can be adapted to any existing NMR or MRI probe with the purpose of making the remote detection concept generally applicable. Remote detection suggests freeing the NMR experiment from the confinement of using the same radio frequency (RF) coil and magnetic field for both information encoding and signal detection. Information is stored during the encoding step onto a fluid sensor medium whose magnetization is later measured in a different location. The choice of an RF probe and magnetic field for encoding can be made based solely on the size and characteristics of the sample and the desired information quality without considering detection sensitivity, as this aspect is dealt with by a separate detector. While early experiments required building probes that included two resonant circuits, one for encoding and one for detection, a modular approach with a detection-only probe as presented here can be used along with any existing NMR probe of choice for encoding. The design of two different detection-only probes is presented, one with a saddle coil for milliliter-sized detection volumes, and the other one with a microsolenoid coil for sub-microliter fluid quantities. As example applications, we present time-of-flight (TOF) tracing of hyperpolarized (129)Xe spins in a gas mixture through coiled tubing using the microsolenoid coil detector and TOF flow imaging through a nested glass container where the gas flow changes its direction twice between inlet and outlet using the saddle coil detector.     

Noise figure characterization of preamplifiers at NMR frequencies

A method for characterizing the noise figure of preamplifiers at NMR frequencies is presented. The noise figure of preamplifiers as used for NMR and MRI detection varies with source impedance and with the operating frequency. Therefore, to characterize a preamplifier's noise behavior, it is necessary to perform noise measurements at the targeted frequency while varying the source impedance with high accuracy. At high radiofrequencies, such impedance variation is typically achieved with transmission-line tuners, which however are not available for the relatively low range of typical NMR frequencies. To solve this issue, this work describes an alternative approach that relies on lumped-element circuits for impedance manipulation. It is shown that, using a fixed-impedance noise source and suitable ENR correction, this approach permits noise figure characterization for NMR and MRI purposes. The method is demonstrated for two preamplifiers, a generic BF998 MOSFET module and an MRI-dedicated, integrated preamplifier, which were both studied at 128MHz, i.e., at the Larmor frequency of protons at 3 Tesla. Variations in noise figure of 0.01dB or less over repeated measurements reflect high precision even for small noise figures in the order of 0.4dB. For validation, large sets of measured noise figure values are shown to be consistent with the general noise-parameter model of linear two-ports. Finally, the measured noise characteristics of the superior preamplifier are illustrated by SNR measurements in MRI data.     

气体火花开关放电的数值模拟

 基于Rompe-Weizel火花动态电阻公式,数值计算了电容器经火花开关放电时负载电阻上的输出电压。在相同电参数条件下,计算所得的峰值电压为54 kV,前沿为2.0 ns,与实验所得的55 kV和2.3 ns基本吻合。基于Braginskii火花动态电阻公式,在假定火花开关电导率恒定与电导率渐变的条件下,利用传输线放电电路数值计算了气体火花开关的非线性动态电阻。与已有实验测量结果(0.7～0.9 Ω)对比,发现电导率渐变模型(0.5～0.8 Ω)更适合用于反映火花开关的动态电阻变化过程。进而在此模型中引入了负载电阻项,通过计算负载端的透射电流,数值计算得单脉冲形成线对负载放电时的电压脉冲前沿为7～9 ns,而利用单线经高压氢气自击穿火花开关放电得到初步实验结果为8 ns。