Scalable Hyperpolarized MRI Enabled by Ace-SABRE of[1-13C]Pyruvate

Hyperpolarized (HP) MRI using [1- 13C]pyruvate is emerging as a promising molecular imagingapproach. Among hyperpolarization methods, Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE) isattractive because SABRE polarizes the substrates directly in room-temperature solutions avoidingcomplex hardware. Most SABRE experiments have historically been performed in methanol, a relativelytoxic and difficult to remove solvent. Here we demonstrate the use of a 80/20 acetone-water-solvent system(Ace-SABRE) to provide hyperpolarized [1- 13C]pyruvate with up to 17 % polarization, then implement asolvent processing protocol to achieve injectable solutions retaining 74 % of the initial polarization, andlastly we demonstrate HP in vivo spectroscopy and imaging using the Ace-SABRE platform to showcasemetabolic tracking in a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor as well as HP-MRI, both in directcomparison to dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (d-DNP) experiments. The Ace-SABRE techniquepromises faster adoption of SABRE hyperpolarization in biological experiments, overall lowering thebarriers to entry for HP-NMR and HP-MRI