Multiple quantum coherences experiment, simulations and applications

Abstract

MULTIPLE QUANTUM COHERENCES EXPERIMENT, SIMULATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

ARMAN SAINOVITCH KUSSAINOV

Dissertation under the direction of Professor Daniel F. Gochberg

This dissertation discuses the intermolecular Multilpe Quantum Coherence (iMQC) phenomenon in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This effect originates from the coherent long range dipole-dipole interaction between spins. A short introduction to nuclear magnetic resonance and the CRAZED experiment (the primary method to observe and study iMQC) is given. We perform numerical simulations of the CRAZED experiment, including relaxation processes, instantaneous radio frequency pulses and gradients, as well as phase cycling, phantom positioning, and sample rotation. The signal dependence on the sample orientation, applied gradient strength and direction, and the underlying sample structure length scale has been determined experimentally and by numerical simulations for two biological tissues: rat sciatic nerve and mice fibrotic liver. The results indicate that the CRAZED signal may provide a unique means for elucidating sample structures at the hundreds of micrometers distance scale.