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Show Faculty Sponsor Gernot Laicher Ph.D. DETERMINATION OF HYPERPOLARIZED 3HELIUM SPIN-LATTICE RELAXATION IN THE PRESENCE OF PARAMAGNETIC MICROBEADS Douglas S. Wiseman, (Gernot Laicher, PhD., Brian Saam PhD.) Department of Physics, University of Utah Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spin-lattice relaxation (Tl) of hyperpolarized 3He gas is very sensitive to small quantities of paramagnetic, or ferromagnetic impurities. Research was con-ducted to determine the quantitative effects for various quantities of paramagnetic microbeads residing on the surface of glass cells on the Tl of hyperpolarized 3He gas. Such microbeads could po-tentially be used to visualize small particle flow and deposition in lungs with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), by acting as contrast agents. The Tl measurement of hyperpolarized 3He gas in an isolated, evacuated, and valved glass cell was 23 min-utes. The Tl of hyperpolarized 3He was reduced to 15 minutes in a glass cell containing approximately 650,000 paramagnetic microbeads. We found that the valve material on these cells pro-vides a competing relaxation mechanism and must be chosen carefully. Faculty Sponsor Brian Saam Ph.D. |