Elucidating Water Dynamics Driving T1 Relaxation in Biological Filamentous Structures below 200mT

Motivation: Fast-field cycling (FFC) NMR provides biologically relevant information linked to proton dynamics at low fields. These dynamics lack understanding, so low-field T1 diagnostic capabilities are unclear. Goal(s): Identify which dynamics are responsible for T1 relaxation dispersion and whether this provides accurate information, using a simple biological structure. Approach: Investigate if FFC-NMR T1 measurements of purified blood clots can be explained using known mathematical expressions modelling molecular motions. Results: The FFC-NMR T1 relaxation dispersion profiles of blood clots do conform to models in a specific frequency region. This can be used to accurately define the surface topology of fibrin fibres Impact: Characterising biological information inferred by FFC-NMR relaxometry will simplify non-invasive exploration into how pathology influences molecular behaviour and provides insight into new applications.