Crystal Harrison1,2, Matthew E. Merritt1, A Dean Sherry1,3, Craig Malloy1,4
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA; 2Physics Department, UT Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA; 3Department of Chemistry, UT Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA; 4Veterans Affairs, North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX, USA
Experiments using hyperpolarized substrates suffer from depolarization of the tracer by each detection pulse. The use of selective excitation Gaussian 90-degree pulses can increase the signal of [13C]bicarbonate derived from [1-13C]pyruvate in an isolated perfused mouse heart, allowing detection of metabolism through two enzyme catalyzed steps. Mouse hearts were perfused with 5 mM glucose and injected with a bolus of hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate. 13C spectra were acquired every 5 seconds using either a hard 90-degree pulse or with a Gaussian 90-degree pulse. Enhanced [13C]bicarbonate signal is observed in the case of the Gaussian pulse.