(De)coding SABRE of [1-13C]Pyruvate

These data corresponds to the paper in: Journal: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Year: 2025 DOI: 10.1039/D5CP01773D Authors: Salvatore Mamone1†, Federico Floreani2†, Ahmed Mohammed Faramawy2, Claudia Graiff3, Lorenzo Franco2, Marco Ruzzi2, Cristina Tubaro2 and Gabriele Stevanato2* 1. Dept. MESVA (Life, Health & Environmental Sciences), Università dell’Aquila, Via Vetoio SNC, Localita' Coppito, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy 2. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy 3. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, della Vita e della Sostenibilità Ambientale, Università di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17/a, 43124, Parma, Italy † These authors contributed equally. ABSTRACT: Hyperpolarized pyruvate is a key molecular probe for biomedical imaging but achieving efficient ¹³C Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE) enhancement remains elusive. Here, we report a comprehensive study integrating catalyst design, systematic experimentation, and advanced theoretical modelling. We synthesized and tested seven Ir-NHC catalysts, spanning the main families of carbene ligands, including previously unexplored variants for pyruvate SABRE. IMes remains the benchmark, delivering ~3% ¹³C polarization at 50% parahydrogen enrichment (extrapolated to ~10% at 100% parahydrogen), but structurally distinct alternatives such as IPr and SIPr achieve only ~20% lower performance, allowing detection of natural abundance ¹³C signals in one scan at 1.4 T. DFT calculations indicate that J-couplings between hydrides and ¹³C nuclei are similar across binding geometries and catalysts, indicating that exchange dynamics—rather than coupling strength—govern polarization efficiency. To clarify this, we performed variable-temperature experiments on both free and catalyst-bound pyruvate. To interpret the observed trends, we developed a detailed mechanistic model that incorporates species concentrations, parahydrogen fraction, exchange kinetics, spin couplings, and relaxation. By leveraging molecular symmetry to reduce Liouville space dimensionality, the model serves as an efficient and predictive tool for SABRE systems. Finally, we apply this framework to devise a SABRE protocol based on a temperature jump designed to selectively enhance free pyruvate signal. This approach yields a ~30% increase in free pyruvate polarization at the expense of Ir catalyst-bound forms, with potential for further optimization. Altogether, our work bridges molecular design, theoretical modelling, and protocol development, offering a blueprint for the rational optimization of SABRE hyperpolarization of pyruvate and beyond. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by the European Union – NextGenerationEU under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Mission 4 “Education and Research” – Component 2 “From Research to Business,” Investment 1.2 “Funding for projects submitted by young researchers,” through the project HYPMAR BIO (MSCA 0000053, CUP C93C22007600006). In addition, this research has been funded/co-funded by the European Union (ERC StG, HYPMET, 101117082). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.