Abstract
The focus of this paper is on the theoretical interpretation of Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF-NMR) data regarding hydrogels architecture and on the most interesting applications of LF-NMR presented by this research group at the 6<sup>th</sup> IAPC Symposium held in Zagreb (HR) on September 2017. Particular attention is devoted to the determination of the mesh size distribution of gels polymeric network and the determination of the pore size distribution of microporous systems such as scaffolds, bones, and porous gels. In addition, we report on a very recent application of LF-NMR for monitoring lung functioning in patients suffering from chronic pulmonary diseases like cystic fibrosis. The main findings of this work consist in providing a very simple and accurate approximation of a general theory devoted to evaluating the relation existing among four fundamental polymeric network parameters, i.e. the polymer volume fraction inside the hydrogel, mesh size, hydraulic radius, and the radius of the cylinder ideally embedding each polymeric network chain. Furthermore, we demonstrated the potentiality of LF-NMR in the characterization of different polymeric systems among which the sputum of patients suffering from chronic pulmonary diseases appears the most innovative application for its simplicity, rapidity, effectiveness, and potential impact in the everyday clinic.
Highlights
Despite the widespread use of high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (7 – 37 T) for the study of chemical structures, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR; 0.37 – 2.4 T) is quite uncommon
Many authors employed LF-NMR to characterize bones [15,16,17,18], a very particular porous material, while Grassi et al [19] and Fiorentino et al [20] focussed on the characterization of polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering
Abrami et al [21] dealt with a very new application of LF-NMR concerning the characterization of expectorate of patients affected by chronic pulmonary diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF)
Summary
Despite the widespread use of high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (7 – 37 T) for the study of chemical structures, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR; 0.37 – 2.4 T) is quite uncommon. Despite the great variety of LF-NMR applications, it is important to remember that, whatever the system considered is, the guiding principle allowing LF-NMR characterization relies on the effect of solid surfaces (polymeric chains, bones, rocks, and others) on the relaxation process of water hydrogens subjected to a sudden variation of an external magnetic field.
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