Ex-situ and remote detection nuclear magnetic resonance

For more than 50 years the research fields of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have developed valuable tools for the study of atomic structures and internal physiology. The limitations of these research areas are that very high magnetic fields must be used in order to gain sufficient signal sensitivity and very high resolution magnetic fields must be used in order to achieve spectroscopic resolution. These stringent experimental requirements have limited the applicability of magnetic resonance techniques due to the inordinate cost of superconducting magnets. In my graduate research, I challenged the long-standing paradigm that the high magnetic field and homogeneity requirements are necessary for the performance of useful NMR/MRI measurements in several ways. I performed low magnetic field experiments using a highly sensitive detector called a Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID). I also developed pulse sequences that counteract the effects of known inhomogeneities without loss of spectroscopic information, ultimately allowing Ex-situ NMR analysis. Finally I conducted experiments that allow low field encoding and remote high field detection, which allows the favorable properties of both low and high fields to be exploited in the course of a single experiment. As a complete discussion of the SQUID experiments has been provided in the thesis of Annjoe Wong-foy, this text will cover only Ex-situ NMR spectroscopy and Remote Detection NMR spectroscopy and imaging.