David Thomas Pilkinton1, Mark A. Elliott1, Jeremy F. Magland2, Ravinder Reddy1
1Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 2Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
In this preliminary study, spin-lock sodium MRI was used to image agarose and human brain. Although measurements of T2 or T2* are sensitive to slow motion through the spectral density at zero frequency, slow dynamics are probed more efficiently through the application of a strong RF field near the kilohertz range. We demonstrate in sodium images of brain tissue and agarose that spin-locking provides significant contrast for macromolecular content due to its sensitivity to spins in slow molecular motion regimes.