In this award to New York University, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Alexej Jerschow of the Chemistry Department and his graduate research students will work to develop new magnetic resonance methods for enhancing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast of quadrupolar nuclei in soft condensed matter systems. The initial studies will focus on sodium-23 nuclei in model soft matter systems as well as in cartilage tissues. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop general magnetic resonance imaging methods that can be used with other half-integer quadrupolar nuclei. Ultimately, the research may lead to powerful methods that could be used in magnetic resonance imaging of metal-binding to DNA/RNA and proteins, tumor detection in tissues, quality control of food and materials, and void-space imaging.
Besides the broader technological, scientific and societal impacts of the research being supported, the research students working on these projects will be trained in the development of cutting-edge nuclear magnetic resonance methods. In addition, Prof. Jerschow plans to continue his collaboration with Dr. Eleonora Del Federico from the Pratt Institute on nuclear magnetic resonance of art pigments. Prof. Jerschow will also continue his mentoring of undergraduate students and high-school teachers.
