PreprintCC BYChemRxiv
A Broadly Deployable Method for Repeated Hyperpolarized ¹³ C Metabolic Imaging in Living Animals
14 affiliations
- 1Division of Medical Physics, Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- 2German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Freiburg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- 3University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Freiburg, Germany
- 4Institute for Molecular Medicine and Cell Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- 5Scientific Workshop, Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- 6NVision Quantum Technologies GmbH, Ulm, Germany
- 7Department of Cardiology and Angiology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- 8Laboratory of Engineering, Informatics and Imaging (ICube), Integrative Multimodal Imaging in Healthcare (IMIS) research team, CNRS, UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- 9Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine, Strasbourg University Hospitals, Strasbourg, France
- 10Federation of Translational Medicine of Strasbourg (FMTS), Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
- 11Section Biomedical Imaging (SBMI), Molecular Imaging North Competence Center (MOINCC), Department of Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany
- 12Pure Devices GmbH, Rimpar, Germany
- 13Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- 14German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
Abstract
Hyperpolarized 13 C-MRI enables real-time imaging of metabolic conversions in vivo, but remains largely restricted to specialized sites with superconducting high-field MRI and polarization infrastructure. Here we present a broadly deployable method for preclinical hyperpolarized 13 C-metabolic imaging, which combines signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE), a parahydrogen-based hyperpolarization technique, with detection of [1- 13 C]pyruvate-d 3 in a compact 436 mT permanent-magnet small-animal MRI system. SABRE yields 13 C-pyruvate polarization of 13% at ~30 mM in a purified, biocompatible solution, with a T 1 relaxation time of 140 s. In a transgenic breast cancer mouse model, 13 C-chemical shift imaging after injection resolves pyruvate, pyruvate hydrate and lactate in vivo, maps elevated lactate-to-pyruvate ratios in mammary tumors and images three freshly prepared pyruvate doses sequentially in the same animal in less than one hour. This compact SABRE-to-low-field method makes repeated hyperpolarized 13 C-metabolic imaging mobile and accessible in standard preclinical research environments.
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BibTeX
@misc{elsasser2026broadly,
title = {{A Broadly Deployable Method for Repeated Hyperpolarized ¹³ C Metabolic Imaging in Living Animals}},
author = {Josef Elsasser and Stefan Sell and Philipp Groß and Moritz Weigt and Zirun Wang and Lisa Heß and Gerd Strohmeier and Behnam Shamshiri and Henri de Maissin and Sebastian Lucas and Alexander Maier and Laura Harsan and Caroline Bund and Jan-Bernd Hövener and Maxim Zaitsev and Markus Mützel and Michael Distler and Toni Driessle and Leif Schröder and Thomas Reinheckel and Martin Pichotka and Andreas B. Schmidt},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010524/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010524/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A Broadly Deployable Method for Repeated Hyperpolarized ¹³ C Metabolic Imaging in Living Animals
AU - Josef Elsasser
AU - Stefan Sell
AU - Philipp Groß
AU - Moritz Weigt
AU - Zirun Wang
AU - Lisa Heß
AU - Gerd Strohmeier
AU - Behnam Shamshiri
AU - Henri de Maissin
AU - Sebastian Lucas
AU - Alexander Maier
AU - Laura Harsan
AU - Caroline Bund
AU - Jan-Bernd Hövener
AU - Maxim Zaitsev
AU - Markus Mützel
AU - Michael Distler
AU - Toni Driessle
AU - Leif Schröder
AU - Thomas Reinheckel
AU - Martin Pichotka
AU - Andreas B. Schmidt
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010524/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010524/v1
AB - Hyperpolarized 13 C-MRI enables real-time imaging of metabolic conversions in vivo, but remains largely restricted to specialized sites with superconducting high-field MRI and polarization infrastructure. Here we present a broadly deployable method for preclinical hyperpolarized 13 C-metabolic imaging, which combines signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE), a parahydrogen-based hyperpolarization technique, with detection of [1- 13 C]pyruvate-d 3 in a compact 436 mT permanent-magnet small-animal MRI system. SABRE yields 13 C-pyruvate polarization of 13% at ~30 mM in a purified, biocompatible solution, with a T 1 relaxation time of 140 s. In a transgenic breast cancer mouse model, 13 C-chemical shift imaging after injection resolves pyruvate, pyruvate hydrate and lactate in vivo, maps elevated lactate-to-pyruvate ratios in mammary tumors and images three freshly prepared pyruvate doses sequentially in the same animal in less than one hour. This compact SABRE-to-low-field method makes repeated hyperpolarized 13 C-metabolic imaging mobile and accessible in standard preclinical research environments.
ER -