Clinical Instrument for Para-Hydrogen (pH2) Based Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange (SABRE) for Hyperpolarizing 13C-Pyruvate and Other Probes for MRI Imaging

Budget and number of awards: Fast-Track proposals will be accepted. Direct-to-Phase II proposals will be accepted Number of anticipated awards: 1 Phase I, 1 Phase II Budget (total costs per award): Phase I: $350,000 for 12 months; Phase II: $3,000,000 for 2 years It is strongly suggested that proposals adhere to the above budget amounts and project periods. Proposals with budgets exceeding the above amounts and project periods may not be funded. Summary Hyperpolarized carbon 13 (13C) MRI is a rapid, noninvasive, and pathway-specific investigation of dynamic metabolic and physiologic processes. This emerging molecular imaging enables real-time in vivo investigations of metabolism in a variety of diseases, including cancer (13C-ketogutarate, 13C-pyruvate), cardiovascular disease (15N-metronidazole), lung fibrosis (15Nisoniazide), inflammation (13C-NAcetyl cysteine), and diseases of the liver and kidney. Current hyperpolarized imaging with dissolution DNP and superconducting MRI scanners is very powerful, but experiments are burdensome, slow, and expensive. The SABRE (Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange) approach allows transfer of the 100% pure singlet spin order of parahydrogen (para-H2) into a target molecule with impressive levels of polarization, short signal build-up times, low cost, and scalability making SABRE promising modalities for studying metabolism in vivo using MR techniques. This method requires the design, implementation and fabrication of a dedicated clinical instrument.