Ultrafast Laplace NMR

Thesis event information

Date and time of the thesis defence

Place of the thesis defence

Remote Connection: https://oulu.zoom.us/j/63476057734

Topic of the dissertation

Ultrafast Laplace NMR

Doctoral candidate

Master of Science Otto Mankinen

Faculty and unit

University of Oulu Graduate School, Faculty of Science, NMR Research Unit

Subject of study

Physics

Opponent

Associate Professor John Seland, University of Bergen

Custos

Professor Ville-Veikko Telkki, University of Oulu

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Novel ultrafast Laplace NMR methods for monitoring dynamic processes

Traditional multidimensional NMR spectroscopy is time consuming, as the measurement needs to be repeated as much as hundreds of times, in order to collect multidimensional data. Another major drawback of NMR is its low sensitivity, which requires the use of high sample concentrations.

Laplace NMR (LNMR) comprises relaxation and diffusion measurements, which reveal detailed information about the dynamics of the molecules. With LNMR, it may be possible to separate different physical and chemical environments of molecule, even if they are not resolved in spectra. Like traditional NMR spectroscopy, multidimensional LNMR measurements suffer also from the long experiment time and low sensitivity, and, therefore monitoring fast processes is challenging.

In this study, several ultrafast LNMR experiments were developed. The method tackles the above mentioned drawbacks of traditional NMR. The ultrafast LNMR method is based on the spatial encoding of multidimensional information, making it possible to read the data with a single shot. This reduces the duration of the experiments to a fraction compared to conventional experiments and opens unprecedented possibilities to study fast processes in real time. Furthermore, the method makes it viable to enhance the sensitivity of the experiments by so-called hyperpolarization techniques. Thus, the method allows the study of samples with a low concentration.

The methods introduced are applicable in various disciplines, such as in chemistry, biochemistry, geology and medicine. For example, the method enables one to monitor the dynamics of cancer cell metabolomics in real time. Furthermore, the method is also applicable with low-field NMR devices, which are also much more affordable compared to the high field instruments. The mobile instruments are utilized, for example, in well-logging and in the non-invasive study of precious cultural heritage locations. Because of the low price of the devices and novel methods, the high-quality NMR analysis may become widely available, even in the developing countries.
Last updated: 1.3.2023