Chemical Shift Selective Magnetic Resonance Research Articles

Noninvasive Localization of Petroleum-derived Spray Oil in Plants with Chemical Shift Selective Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to detect petroleum-derived spray oils (PDSOs) in citrus seedlings and trees. The NMR spectrum of the phantom containing 10% (v/v) of a nC24 agricultural mineral oil (AMO) showed the resonance of the water protons at δ ≈ 5 ppm, while the resonance of the oil protons at δ = 1.3 to 1.7 ppm. The peak resolution and the chemical shift difference of more than 3.3 ppm between water and oil protons effectively differentiated water and the oil. Chemical shift selective imaging (CSSI) was performed to localize the AMO within the stems of Citrus trifoliata L. seedlings after the application of a 4% (v/v) spray. The chemical shift selective images of the oil were acquired by excitation at δ = 1.5 ppm by averaging over 400 transients in each phase-encoding step. Oil was mainly detected in the outer cortex of stems within 10 d of spray application; some oil was also observed in the inner vascular bundle and pith of the stems at this point. CSSI was also applied to investigate the persistence of oil deposits in sprayed mature Washington navel orange (Citrus ×aurantium L.) trees in an orchard. The trees were treated with either fourteen 0.25%, fourteen 0.5%, four 1.75%, or single 7% sprays of a nC23 horticultural mineral oil (HMO) 12 to 16 months before examination of plant tissues by CSSI, and were still showing symptoms of chronic phytotoxicity largely manifested as reduced yield. The oil deposits were detected in stems of sprayed flushes and unsprayed flushes produced 4 to 5 months after the last spray was applied, suggesting a potential movement of the oil via phloem and a correlation of the persistence of oil deposit in plants and the phytotoxicity. The results demonstrate that MRI is an effective method to probe the uptake and localization of PDSOs and other xenobiotics in vivo in plants noninvasively and nondestructively.

Non-invasive localization of thymol accumulation in Carum copticum (Apiaceae) fruits by chemical shift selective magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging was used to localize the site of essential oil accumulation in fruit of Carum copticum L. (Apiaceae). A chemical shift method is described that utilized the spectral properties of the aromatic monoterpene thymol, the major component of the essential oil, to image thymol selectively. The presence of essential oil secretory structures in the fruit and an essential oil containing a high proportion of thymol were confirmed with optical microscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Selective imaging of whole C. copticum fruits showed that thymol accumulation was localized to the secretory structures (canals) situated in the fruit wall. The technique was considered non-invasive as the seeds used in the imaging experiments remained intact and viable.

Magnetic resonance microscopy and spectroscopy reveal kinetics of cryoprotectant permeation in a multicompartmental biological system.

Successful cryopreservation of most multicompartmental biological systems has not been achieved. One prerequisite for success is quantitative information on cryoprotectant permeation into and amongst the compartments. This report describes direct measurements of cryoprotectant permeation into a multicompartmental system using chemical shift selective magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy and MR spectroscopy. We used the developing zebrafish embryo as a model for studying these complex systems because these embryos are composed of two membrane-limited compartments: (i) a large yolk (surrounded by the yolk syncytial layer) and (ii) differentiating blastoderm cells (each surrounded by a plasma membrane). MR images of the spatial distribution of three cryoprotectants (dimethyl sulfoxide, propylene glycol, and methanol) demonstrated that methanol permeated the entire embryo within 15 min. In contrast, the other cryoprotectants exhibited little or no permeation over 2.5 h. MR spectroscopy and microinjections of cryoprotectants into the yolk inferred that the yolk syncytial layer plays a critical role in limiting the permeation of some cryoprotectants throughout the embryo. This study demonstrates the power of MR technology combined with micromanipulation for elucidating key physiological factors in cryobiology.

Ethanol-induced fatty liver in the rat examined by in vivo 1H chemical shift selective magnetic resonance imaging and localized spectroscopic methods

In vivo 1H magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), chemical shift selective imaging (CSI), and localized (VOSY) 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) were used to study fatty infiltration in the livers of rats chronically fed an ethanol-containing all-liquid DeCarli-Lieber diet. Conventional total proton MRI showed a somewhat hyperintense liver for ethanol-fed rats, compared with pair-fed controls. CSI showed a dramatic increase in the fat signal intensity for ethanol-treated rats that was fairly homogeneous throughout the liver. However, CSI also showed a substantial decrease in the water signal intensity for the ethanol-treated rats compared to pair-fed control rats. 1H VOSY MR spectra also showed a 5.5-fold increase in the methylene resonance (1.3 ppm) of fat and a 50–70% decrease in the water resonance (4.8 ppm). Relative in vivo proton T 1 and T 2 relaxation times for the water resonance separate from the fat resonance, determined from modified VOSY experiments, were found to tend to increase and decrease, respectively, for ethanol-treated rat livers compared with controls. The decrease in hepatic water signal intensity could be accounted for by the decrease in T 2 and decrease in water density due to the presence of accumulated hepatic fat (∼250 mg/g wet weight of liver). When ethanol was withdrawn from the chronically treated rats, fatty infiltration was observed by both CSI and VOSY spectra to revert toward control values with a half-life of 2–4 days. By day 16, however, the signal intensity for hepatic fat was still significantly higher than control levels. In vitro 1H MRS studies of chloroform-methanol extracts confirmed the 5.5-fold increase in total hepatic fat induced by the chronic ethanol treatment, and showed further that triacylglycerols were increased 7.7-fold, cholesterol was increased fourfold, and phospholipids were increased 3.3-fold, compared with liver extracts from pair-fed control rats.

In Vivo Measurements of Ethanol Concentration in Rabbit Brain by 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

In vivo 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure the cerebral ethanol concentration in the rabbit after both intraarterial and intragastric administration. There was good agreement between cerebral and blood ethanol concentrations at all times after administration by either route. Cerebral ethanol levels, measured using in vivo 1H spectroscopy, agreed well with those measured in perchloric acid extracts of brain, analyzed by both high-resolution 1H spectroscopy and gas chromatography. Ethanol may be useful as an indicator to measure cerebral blood flow by 1H spectroscopy and chemical shift-selective magnetic resonance imaging.

Chemical shift selective magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerve in patients with acute optic neuritis

Chemical shift selective magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerve in patients with acute optic neuritis

Chemical Shift Selective Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Optic Nerve in Patients with Acute Optic Neuritis

Optic neuritis is often the first manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS). Sixteen patients with acute optic neuritis and one patient with benign intracranial hypertension (BIH) were investigated by magnetic resonance imaging, using a chemical shift selective double spin echo sequence. In 3 of the 16 patients, abnormalities were seen. In one patient with bilateral symptoms, signal hyperintensity and swelling of the right side of the chiasm were found. In another patient the optic nerve was found diffusely enlarged with only a marginally increased signal in the second echo. In the third patient an area of signal hyperintensity and swelling was seen in the left optic nerve. In the patient with BIH the subarachnoid space which surrounds the optic nerves was enlarged. Even using this refined pulse sequence, avoiding the major artefact in imaging the optic nerve, the chemical shift artefact, lesions were only shown in 3/16 (19%) of the patients with optic neuritis. Nevertheless, the presented chemical shift selective double spin echo sequence may be of great value for detection of retrobulbar lesions.

Chemical shift selective magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerve in patients with acute optic neuritis

Chemical shift selective magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerve in patients with acute optic neuritis