Karl F. Stupic1, Nancy D. Elkins2,
Galina E. Pavlovskaya3, John E. Repine2, Thomas
Meersmann, 1,3
1Department of Chemistry, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States; 2Health Science
Center, Webb-Waring Institute, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United
States; 3School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham,
United Kingdom
Hyperpolarized
(hp) 83Kr has been previously shown to provide T1 relaxation weighted MRI
contrast that is highly sensitive to the surface chemistry in low
surface-to-volume model surface systems In the present work 83Kr T1
relaxation in excised rat lungs is investigated as a function of lung
inflation. Surprisingly, the relaxation in ex vivo lungs does not change with
increased lung inflation (when the effects of airways are eliminated) despite
the presumably changing surface to volume ratios in the alveoli. The measured
relaxation times are long enough to permit future in vivo studies.
Keywords