Extending the Scope of 19F Hyperpolarization through Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange in MRI and NMR Spectroscopy

Fluorinated ligands have a variety of uses in chemistry and industry, but it is their medical applications as F-18-labelled positron emission tomography (PET) tracers where they are most visible. In this work, we illustrate the potential of using F-19-containing ligands as future magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents and as probes in magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies by significantly increasing their magnetic resonance detectability through the signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) hyperpolarization method. We achieve F-19 SABRE polarization in a wide range of molecules, including those essential to medication, and analyze how their steric bulk, the substrate loading, polarization transfer field, pH, and rate of ligand exchange impact the efficiency of SABRE. We conclude by presenting F-19 MRI results in phantoms, which demonstrate that many of these agents show great promise as future F-19 MRI contrast agents for diagnostic investigations.