Feasibility of co-polarizing ¹³C-pyruvate and ¹³C-tert-butanol for simultaneous metabolic and perfusion imaging
Abstract Altered metabolism and perfusion are hallmarks of numerous diseases, yet simultaneous evaluations in vivo remain limited. We present a dual-purpose hyperpolarized probe combining [1-¹³C]pyruvate and ¹³C- tert -butyl alcohol ( 13 C-TBA) for concurrent metabolic and perfusion imaging. An optimized formulation produced high polarizations with short build-up times. In vivo imaging in healthy and tumor-bearing rats demonstrated robust signals of TBA and pyruvate metabolism. This co-polarized dual probe offers strong preclinical and translational potential.
Authors
- Atsushi Takahashi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5182-4320)
- Karen Dos Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1233-8490)
- Qianhui Dou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2418-4858)
- Aaron K. Grant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2605-8062)
- Samuel R Calos
- Yi-Fen Yen
- Leo L. Tsai
Institutions
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research (US)
- Copenhagen Business School (DK)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Imaging
- Published
- 2026-05-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44303-026-00172-9
- Primary Topic
- Advanced NMR Techniques and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- National Institutes of Health