The transmembrane sodium gradient (difference between extracellular and intracellular concentrations) is necessary for the proper functioning of many bodily mechanisms, including action potential propagation and osmoregulation. While unbound sodium-23 (23Na) is fully detectable by NMR, it is not possible to discriminate between compartments because all 23Na signals resonate at the same frequency. Our objective is to induce 23Na chemical shift differences across cellular compartments with exogenous contrast agents that occupy the interstitial space. We applied this approach successfully in vivo to determine the variation of the transmembrane gradient in glioblastoma.
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