Fremy's Salt as a Low-Persistence Hyperpolarization Agent: Efficient Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Plus Rapid Radical Scavenging

Nudear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a key technique for molecular structure determination in solution. However, due to its low sensitivity, many efforts have been made to improve signal strengths and reduce the required substrate amounts. In this regard, dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DDNP) is a versatile approach as signal enhancements of over 10 000-fold are achievable. Samples are signal-enhanced ex situ by transferring electronic polarization from radicals to nuclear spins before dissolving and shuttling the boosted sample to an NMR spectrometer for detection. However, the applicability of DDNP suffers from one major drawback, namely, paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (PREs) that critically reduce relaxation times due to the codissolved radicals. PREs are the primary source of polarization losses canceling the signal improvements obtained by DNP. We solve this problem by using potassium nitrosodisulfonate (Fremy's salt) as polarization agent (PA), which provides high nuclear spin polarization and allows for rapid scavenging under mild reducing conditions. We demonstrate the potential of Fremy's salt, (i) showing that both H-1 and C-13 polarization of similar to 30% can be achieved and (ii) describing a hybrid sample shuttling system (HySSS) that can be used with any DDNP/NMR combination to remove the PA before NMR detection. This gadget mixes the hyperpolarized solution with a radical scavenger and injects it into an NMR tube, providing, within a few seconds, quantitatively radical-free, highly polarized solutions. The cost efficiency and broad availability of Fremy's salt might facilitate the use of DDNP in many fields of research.

Automated summary

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a crucial technique for molecular structure determination in solution. Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DDNP) is a versatile approach that can achieve signal enhancements of over 10,000-fold. However, the applicability of DDNP is limited by paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (PREs) caused by co-dissolved radicals. Using potassium nitrosodisulfonate (Fremy's salt) as a polarization agent can solve this problem and has shown promising potential.