Estimation of the in vivo decay rate of EPR signals for a nitroxide radical in rat brains by a region-selected intensity determination method

The region-selected intensity determination (RSID) method was proposed to obtain the temporal changes in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal intensity from a selected region by a stationary magnetic field gradient. To select the region, the subtraction field that was derived from the distance between the center and the projection of the selected region to the direction of the field gradient was applied to the main field. The directions of the stationary magnetic field gradient at a constant strength were systematically changed in a three-dimensional space after each acquisition of the spectrum. All spectra under the field gradient were accumulated and the resultant spectrum was deconvoluted by a spectrum without the field gradient. The center height of the deconvoluted spectrum indicates the signal intensity of the selected region. To verify this method, a phantom or in vivo study was conducted on a 700 MHz radio-frequency EPR spectrometer equipped with a bridged loop-gap resonator. In the temporal EPR measurements of phantoms including a nitroxide radical aqueous solution with and without ascorbic acid, the selected regions were alternatively changed at the position of the two phantoms. The signal intensity derived from the one phantom showed an exponential decay, and for the other phantom, no temporal changes. The spatial resolution of this method was estimated to be 2.7 mm by using a pinpoint phantom that included diphenylpicrylhydrazyl powder. In the in vivo temporal EPR measurements, the selected regions were alternatively changed at the cerebral cortex and the striatum of rats that had received a blood-brain barrier-permeative nitroxide radical. The decay rate of the signal intensity at each region obtained by this method was consistent with those previously reported.     

In vivo temporal EPR imaging for estimating the kinetics of a nitroxide radical in the renal parenchyma and pelvis in rats

The kinetics of a nitroxide radical in the renal parenchyma and pelvis in rats were investigated by employing an in vivo EPR imaging system equipped with a surface-coil-type resonator (SCR). The exposed kidney of a living rat was inserted into the single-turn coil of the SCR, with the renal major axis aligned with the direction of alternative magnetic field (B(1)). After the injection of nitroxide radical via the tail vein, EPR measurements were repeated. From the temporal EPR images of the kidney on the 2-D projection to the plane which is perpendicular to the direction of B(1,) the decay rate of nitroxide radical in the renal parenchyma and pelvis was estimated. The parenchymal decay rate was found to be significantly shorter than that for the pelvis.     

EPR imaging to estimate the in vivo intracerebral reducing ability of mature rats after neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury

A rat model of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (Rice's model) was obtained by unilateral ligation of the common carotid artery of 7-day-old rats with hypoxia (exposure to 8% oxygen). To estimate the in vivo intracerebral reducing ability of the mature rats (8 weeks old) of Rice's model, temporal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging of the brain of a rat receiving a blood-brain barrier-permeable nitroxide radical, 3-hydroxymethyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl, was performed. In this imaging technique, the decay rate of the EPR signal intensity in a selected region of the brain is indicative of region-specific reducing ability. The effect of neonatal treatment of an antioxidant agent, 3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one (MCI-186), after a hypoxic-ischemic insult was also tested. It was found that the reducing ability had been depleted in the contralateral hemisphere of Rice's model rats; this depletion was suppressed by administering MCI-186.     

In vivo temporal EPR imaging of the brain of rats by using two types of blood-brain barrier-permeable nitroxide radicals

In vivo temporal EPR imaging was conducted on the brain of rats that received one of two kinds of blood-brain barrier-permeable nitroxide radicals via the tail vein-one is a water-soluble 3-hydroxymethyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl (hydroxymethyl-PROXYL); and the other is a non-water-soluble 3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl (PCAM). From temporal EPR imaging data, temporal changes in the distribution of the nitroxide radical in the cerebral cortex, striatum, and hippocampus in the brain were investigated. It was found that the half-lives of the three parts in the brain of hydroxymethyl-PROXYL are longer and their EPR signal intensities are greater than those of PCAM.     

In vivo EPR imaging of the distribution and metabolism of nitroxide radicals in human skin

While altered cellular free radical and redox metabolism are critical factors in many human diseases, it has not been previously possible to both measure and image these processes in humans. The development and application of electron paramagnetic resonance instrumentation capable of in vivo spectroscopy and imaging of free radicals in human skin are reported. The instrumentation uses a specially designed topical resonator and a 2.2-GHz microwave bridge. Noninvasive measurements of the distribution and metabolism of the topically applied nitroxide, (15)N-perdeuterated tempone (100 mM), in forearm skin were performed. A single broad peak due to the concentrated label at the skin surface was initially observed, followed by a sharp doublet from the diluted label that permeated the skin. The penetration of the label into the skin and its metabolic clearance were modeled using kinetic equations. It was observed that the penetration process from the skin surface into the dermis and subcutaneous regions, as well as its clearance from these regions, could be described by single exponential functions. Phantom imaging experiments using the nitroxide showed that a spatial resolution of up to 50 microm could be achieved. The skin imaging measurements showed two bands in the distribution of the label along the skin depth. The first band appeared in the outer 400 microm of the skin, the epidermis region, whereas the second band was centered at a depth of 1000 microm in the subcutaneous region with a thickness about 400 microm. These two bands decayed and merged into a single band with time. The results are important in the understanding of the permeability and metabolism of free radicals in human skin.     

In vivo temporal EPR study using a region-selected intensity determination method to estimate cerebral reducing ability in rats treated with olanzapine

Region-selected intensity determination (RSID) is a method for obtaining the temporal changes in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal intensity from a target region, without the use of complicated procedures employed in the conventional imaging methods. An in vivo 700-MHz radio frequency EPR spectrometer equipped with a bridged loop-gap resonator was used with the RSID method to estimate intracerebral reducing ability in the rat following acute administration of olanzapine (OZP) or haloperidol (HPD). To this end, temporal changes in EPR signal intensity of target regions (the striatum and the prefrontal cortex) of rats which had received a blood-brain-barrier-permeable nitroxide radical (3-hydroxymethyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl) via an intravenous route were observed. The half-lives of EPR signal intensity in both regions of OZP- or HPD-treated rats were significantly longer than in control animals. This indicated that reducing abilities of the striatum and cerebral cortex decreased in the rats to which either OZP or HPD had been acutely administered.     

Ex vivo measurement of tissue distribution of a nitroxide radical after intravenous injection and its in vivo imaging using a rapid scan ESR-CT system

To establish the usefulness of ESR-CT imaging with 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5, 5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl (carbamoyl-PROXYL) in living animals, we investigated the tissue distribution of carbamoyl-PROXYL after i. v. injection. Ten minutes after injection of carbamoyl-PROXYL, its concentrations in the liver, spleen, kidney, and plasma were higher than those in the small intestine and stomach. However, the inter-organ differences in concentrations were not striking. We selected the liver as a representative organ and attempted to measure the concentration of carbamoyl-PROXYL in it after washing out all of the blood by in situ perfusion with saline. The ESR spectrum of the liver homogenate after complete blood washout revealed that the concentration of carbamoyl-PROXYL was significantly reduced. Thus, at this time, carbamoyl-PROXYL was distributed predominantly in the plasma and/or loosely attached to the surfaces of cells. We obtained high-quality ESR-CT images of the murine abdomen at a measurement time of 40 s and found that a high-intensity area of carbamoyl-PROXYL appeared in the liver and kidneys, indicating an abundant blood circulation. Although the organ specificity of carbamoyl-PROXYL was weak, we consider that ESR-CT imaging with carbamoyl-PROXYL will be a powerful new tool for non-invasive anatomic analysis of the liver and the kidneys.     

Excited quartet and doublet states in the complex of tetraphenylporphine zinc (II) and a nitroxide radical in solution: X- and W-band time-resolved EPR studies

The photoexcited quartet (Q₁) and doublet (D₁) states of the complex of tetra-phenyl-porphine zinc (II) and a nitroxide radical have been studied in toluene solution by X-(9.4 GHz) and W-band (94 GHz) time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The spin-polarized signals of the Q₁ and D₁ states are observed and assigned by analysis of theg-values. Line broadening and spin polarization mechanisms in this system are discussed.     

A novel approach to the simulation of nitroxide spin label EPR spectra from a single truncated dynamical trajectory

A simple effective method for calculation of EPR spectra from a single truncated dynamical trajectory of spin probe orientations is reported. It is shown that an accurate simulation can be achieved from the small initial fraction of a dynamical trajectory until the point when the autocorrelation function of re-orientational motion of spin label has relaxed. This substantially reduces the amount of time for spectra simulation compared to previous approaches, which require multiple full length trajectories (normally of several microseconds) to achieve the desired resolution of EPR spectra. Our method is applicable to trajectories generated from both Brownian dynamics and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations. Simulations of EPR spectra from Brownian dynamical trajectories under a variety of motional conditions including bi-modal dynamics with different hopping rates between the modes are compared to those performed by conventional method. Since the relatively short timescales of spin label motions are realistically accessible by modern MD computational methods, our approach, for the first time, opens the prospect of the simulation of EPR spectra entirely from MD trajectories of real proteins structures.     

A spatiotemporal study on the distribution of intraperitoneally injected nitroxide radical in the rat head using an in vivo ESR imaging system

We have developed a rapid-scan in vivo electron spin resonance (ESR) imaging system operating at 700 MHz based on an air-cored two-coil Helmholtz designed resistive magnet. Using this system, we performed ESR-CT for the intraperitoneally injected nitroxide radical, 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl, in the rat head. The imaging data were collected over the time course range from 5 to 47 min after injection at an interval of 3 min and a series of ESR-CT images were reconstructed at the same slice plane (1 cm anterior to interaural line). The series of ESR-CT images thus obtained by rapid scans provided detailed spatiotemporal information on the distribution of the injected nitroxide radical in the rat head. The brain was imaged as a nitroxide-deficient area while the blood vessels and/or extracranium tissues as a nitroxide-rich area. During periods when high intensities of ESR signals were maintained, spots of nitroxide-accumulation were imaged at the central part of the brain. The spots were assigned to the middle sized blood vessels in the brain.     

Pair exchange interaction in a crystalline nitroxide radical ESR study of dimers in the triplet state

The dimerization of the 9-aza-bicyclo (3,3,1) nonan-3-one-9-oxyl in the solid state is investigated by use of ESR spectroscopy. The ESR spectrum of a single crystal is characteristic of symmetric pairs of exchange-coupled radicals in a thermally accessible triplet state. The presence of well-resolved hyperfine structure is evidence for strongly localized excitations with a jumping rate lower than 10⁷ Hz.

The ESR spectrum is well described by the spin hamiltonian

At 35 GHz the observed splitting of the m _s=+ 1?0 transition has been found to be slightly different from that of the m _s=0?-1 one; this anomaly is explained by the mixing of the m _s electronic states.

The parameters and the principal directions of the zero-field splitting, spectroscopic and hyperfine tensors are determined and discussed. The principal directions of the dipolar tensor indicate a nearly equal spin density on the nitrogen and oxygen atoms; from the fine structure parameters D and E, determined to be (-0·0723 ± 0·0005) cm^-1 and (-0·0044±0·0003) cm^-1 at T=293 K respectively, it is suggested that the unpaired electron is partly delocalized on the molecule.

The singlet-triplet energy gap (J) and the zero-field splitting parameters are shown to be linearly temperature-dependent. These variations with temperature are attributed to the thermal expansion of the crystal lattice.     

Thermal enhancement of the quantum decay rate in a dissipative system

The quantum decay of a metastable system which interacts with an environment at temperatureT is considered. A general formula for the decay rate at finite temperatures is obtained by a method which is based on the framework recently described by Caldeira and Leggett. The thermal enhancement of the tunnelling rate at low temperatures is discussed for arbitrary metastable potentials, and it is found that the exponent of the rate obeys a power law in a dissipative system. The power law exponent is shown to be a characteristic feature of the dissipative mechanism. Finally, a universally valid formula for the thermal enhancement factor is given, where the form of the potential enters only through the frequency of small oscillations about the metastable minimum and the length of the zero temperature bounce trajectory.     

Nonsecular contribution to the decay of spin-echo signals of quadrupolar nuclei in magnetically ordered materials

We analyze the influence of fluctuations of the nonsecular part of the spin Hamiltonian on the decay of ordinary and multiquantum signals of the two-pulse spin echo in a quadrupole spin system with an inhomogeneously broadened spectral line. Expressions are obtained for the rate of decay of an echo in the case of selective excitation of a signal from quadrupole nuclei with arbitrary spin. These expressions are then used to analyze the experimentally observed ordinary and multiquantum echo signals from quadrupole nuclei with spin I=3/2 (⁵³Cr, ⁶³Cu, and ⁶⁵Cu) in ferromagnetic chromium chalcogenide spinels. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 204–216 (July 1999)     

Sensitivity of the power-law exponent in gene expression distribution to mRNA decay rate

Large-scale acquisition technologies in mRNA abundance (gene expression) have provided new opportunities to better understand many complex biological processes. Lately, it has been reported that the observed gene expression data in several organisms significantly deviates from a Poisson distribution and follows a power-law or fat-tailed distribution. Here, we show that a simple stochastic model of gene expression with intrinsic and extrinsic noise derives the stationary power-law distribution using the Stratonovich calculus. Furthermore, we connect the experimental measure of the power-law exponent with the value of the mRNA decay. Finally, we compare the results with other models where stochastic equations were used within the Ito interpretation.     

An analysis on convergence and convergence rate estimate of elitist genetic algorithms in noisy environments

Random noise perturbs objective functions in many practical problems, and genetic algorithms (GAs) have been widely proposed as an effective optimization tool for dealing with noisy objective functions. However, little papers for convergence and convergence speed of genetic algorithms in noisy environments (GA-NE) have been published. In this paper, a Markov chain that models elitist genetic algorithms in noisy environments (EGA-NE) was constructed under the circumstance that objective function is perturbed only by additive random noise, and it was proved to be an absorbing state Markov chain. The convergence of EGA-NE was proved on the basis of the character of the absorbing state Markov chain, its convergence rate was analyzed, and its upper and lower bounds for the iteration number expectation were derived when EGA-NE first gets a globally optimal solution.     

Multifrequency (X-band to W-band) CW EPR of the organic free radical in petroleum asphaltene

Petroleum of Arabian and Colombian origin was studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at X- (9 GHz), Q- (34 GHz) and W-bands (94 GHz). The experiments were performed at room temperature (about 300 K) and at 77 K (W-band only). The asymmetry in the lines corresponding to free radicals was observed more intensely in the W-band spectra. The values of the line width ΔH in the spectra increased linearly with the microwave frequency utilized in the EPR experiments. A mathematical simulation of the free radical signal for the EPR spectra in three bands with a set of parameters corresponding to a single species was attempted, but this was not exactly coincident with the experimental signals, suggesting that the hyperfine interaction of the unpaired electron with its neighborhood corresponds to more than one species of radical in the molecular structure of the petroleum asphaltene.     

Strongly coupled matter field and nonanalytic decay rate of dipole molecules in a waveguide

The decay rate gamma of an excited dipole molecule inside a waveguide is evaluated for the strongly coupled matter-field case near a cutoff frequency omegac without using perturbation analysis. Because of the singularity in the density of photon states at the cutoff frequency, we find that gamma depends nonanalytically on the coupling constant g as g4/3, which leads to a vast increase in the decay rate.     

Spin polarization in fullerene derivatives containing a nitroxide group. Observation of the intermediate photoexcited quartet state in radical triplet pair interaction

A series of C₆₀ fullerene derivatives containing a nitroxide group has been photoexcited by short LASER pulses in the microwave cavity of a cw-EPR spectrometer. Strongly spin polarized signals have been observed, in glassy matrix as well as in liquid solution, for both the ground electronic state and the excited quartet state. In the quartet state the excitation resides in the fullerene part and the molecule constitutes a triplet-radical pair with the partner covalently linked. The absorptive or emissive character of the transitions is explained in terms of the mechanism of radicaltriplet interaction producing spin polarization. Opposite initial sign and polarization patterns are observed for molecules with different spacer between nitroxide and fullerene. The time evolution of the relevant sublevel populations is fitted by a kinetic model taking into account quartet decay constants, quartet and doublet spin-lattice relaxation rates and branching ratios.     

Development of a resonator with automatic tuning and coupling capability to minimize sample motion noise for in vivo EPR spectroscopy

EPR spectroscopy has been applied to measure free radicals in vivo; however, respiratory, cardiac, and other movements of living animals are a major source of noise and spectral distortion. Sample motions result in changes in resonator frequency, Q, and coupling. These instabilities limit the applications that can be performed and the quality of data that can be obtained. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop resonators with automatic tuning and automatic coupling capability. We report the development of automatic tuning and automatic coupling provisions for a 750-MHz transversely oriented electric field reentrant resonator using two electronically tunable high Q hyperabrupt varactor diodes and feedback loops. In both moving phantoms and living mice, these automatic coupling control and automatic tuning control provisions resulted in an 8- to 10-fold increase in signal-to-noise ratio.