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D F Gochberg

Publications and source records attributed to D F Gochberg.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Studies of magnetization transfer and relaxation in irradiated polymer gels--interpretation of MRI-based dosimetry.

Magnetization transfer and NMR relaxation rates were measured for water protons in two types of polymer gels developed for radiation dosimetry with MRI in order to quantify the contributions of different relaxation processes to the radiation response in such gels. Measurements included the rate of magnetization transfer between proton pools and the ratio of the sizes of exchanging pools, R1 and R2. A model of relaxation in irradiated gels is presented to explain their properties. The model incorporates three proton pools: free water, macromolecular and interfacial. Two pools are insufficient to model the data. In these systems, radiation-induced polymerization appears to increase the size of a solid-like macromolecular proton pool but does not affect the rate constant of magnetization transfer per proton from macromolecular protons to the free water protons. The relation between R1 and the pool size ratio is consistent with free water exchanging with a macromolecular pool with an R1 of approximately 8 Hz. In addition, the rate of magnetization transfer is not limited by the rate of chemical exchange between the free water and the interfacial protons, and magnetization transfer most probably occurs via labile proton exchange rather than via bound water molecules.

Acrylamide↗

Quantitative imaging of magnetization transfer using multiple selective pulses.

New spectroscopic and imaging methods have been developed for quantitatively measuring magnetization transfer (MT). These methods use trains of radiofrequency (rf) pulses with pulse separations much longer than 1/k(mf) and pulse durations much shorter than 1/k(mf), where k(mf) is the rate of MT from the immobile (macromolecular) protons to the mobile (free water) protons. Signal sensitivity to MT occurs when these pulses affect the mobile and immobile proton pools to different degrees. The signal from water may be quantitatively related to the macromolecular content of the sample using theory. The method has been used to make quantitative measurements of macromolecular content in cross-linked bovine serum albumin and employed in conjunction with echoplanar imaging to produce maps of the spatial distribution of the macromolecular content.

Algorithms↗

The role of specific side groups and pH in magnetization transfer in polymers.

The nature of water-macromolecule interactions in aqueous model polymers has been investigated using quantitative measurements of magnetization transfer. Cross-linked polymer gels composed of 94% water, 3% N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide, and 3% functional monomer (acrylamide, methacrylamide, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, 2-hydroxyethyl-acrylate, or 2-hydroxyethyl-methacrylate) were studied. Water-macromolecule interactions were modified by varying the pH and specific functional group on the monomer. The magnitudes of the interactions were quantified by measuring the rate of proton nuclear spin magnetization exchange between the polymer matrix and the water. This rate was highly sensitive to the presence of carboxyl side groups on the macromolecule. However, the dependence of the rate on pH was not consistent with simple acid/base-catalyzed chemical exchange, and instead, the data suggest that multiequilibria proton exchange, a wide distribution in surface group pK values, and/or a macromolecular structural dependence on pH may play a significant role in magnetization transfer in polymer systems. These model polymer gels afford useful insights into the relevance of chemical composition and chemical dynamics on relaxation in tissues.

Acrylamides↗

Quantitative studies of magnetization transfer by selective excitation and T1 recovery.

Water proton longitudinal relaxation has been measured in agar and cross-linked bovine serum albumin (BSA) using modified selective excitation (Goldman-Shen and Edzes-Samulski) pulse sequences. The resulting recovery curves are fit to biexponentials. The fast recovery rate gives magnetization transfer (MT) information, which is complementary to that given by steady-state saturation methods. This rate provides an estimate of the strength of the coupling of the immobile proton pool to the mobile proton pool. Near their optimal pulse power values, the Goldman-Shen and Edzes-Samulski sequences give fast recovery rates that agree with each other. However, these measured fast recovery rates are dependent on the pulse power, an effect not predicted by the coupled two-pool model. For 8% agar and 17% BSA, both methods (at optimal pulse powers) give rates in the neighborhoods of 210 and 64 Hz, respectively. The Goldman-Shen and Edzes-Samulski pulse sequences have several advantages over those techniques based on steady state saturation: no long saturating pulses, shorter measurement time, and reduced necessity for making lineshape or fitting technique assumptions. The principle disadvantages are smaller effects on the NMR signal, less complete characterization of the MT system, and, in the case of the Goldman-Shen sequence, greater pulse power.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging↗

The relationship of problems in biomedical MRI to the study of porous media.

The NMR methods that are used to characterize inanimate porous media measure relaxation times and related phenomena and material transport, fluid displacement and flow. Biological tissues are comprised of multiple small, fluid-filled compartments, such as cells, that restrict the movement of the bulk solvent water and whose constituents influence water proton relaxation times via numerous interactions with macromolecular surfaces. Several of the methods and concepts that have been developed in one field of application are also of great value in the other, and it may be expected that technical developments that have been spurred by biomedical applications of MR imaging will be used in the continuing study of porous media. Some recent specific studies from our laboratory include the development of multiple quantum coherence methods for studies of ordered water in anisotropic macromolecular assemblies, studies of the degree of restriction of water diffusion in cellular systems, multiple selective inversion imaging to depict the ratios of proton pool sizes and rates of magnetization transfer between proton populations, and diffusion tensor imaging to depict tissue anisotropies. These illustrate how approaches to obtain structural information from biological media are also relevant to porous media. For example, the recent development of oscillating gradient spin echo techniques (OGSE), an approach that extends our ability to resolve apparent diffusion changes over different time scales in tissues, has also been used to compute surface to volume measurements in assemblies of pores. Each of the new methods can be adapted to provide spatially resolved quantitative measurements of properties of interest, and these can be efficiently acquired with good accuracy using fast imaging methods such as echo planar imaging. The community of NMR scientists focused on applications to porous media should remain in close communication with those who use MRI to study problems in biomedicine, to their mutual benefits.

Animals↗