Multinuclear NMR

Current preclinical research projects

In our preclinical studies, we perform in vitro ¹H and ²³Na spectroscopy using an MR-compatible bioreactor to

• Monitor cellular heat shock response by 1H chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST)
• Acquire 23Na triple-quantum spectra with time-proportional phase incrementation (TQTPPI)
• analyze the influence of protein properties on the TQ signal

Furthermore, we perform in vivo ²³Na and ³⁵Cl imaging in rodents to

• Quantify Na+ and Cl+ concentration in the kidney and in animal stroke models
• Acquire B1 reference maps in volume and surface coil setups
• Obtain localized single- and triple-quantum images and relaxation time maps

Current clinical research projects

The clinical research focuses on the quantification of tissue sodium concentration and is investigating ²³Na MRI at different pathologies. We conduct research on new imaging and image acquisition techniques.

• Tissue sodium concentration (TSC) quantification and exploring different referencing techniques
• Application of convolutional neural Networks for the data acquisition time reduction and SNR improvement
• Advancing ²³Na multi-quantum coherences MRI by sequence optimization
• Implementation of advanced reconstruction techniques

We are currently conducting multiple studies with clinical cooperation partners, investigating different pathologies, e.g.

• Ischemic stroke
• Brain tumors and metastases
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Dementia
• Prostate carcinoma

Group members

• Dr. Simon Reichert
• Christian Licht, M. Sc.
• Safa Özdemir, M. Sc.

Collaborations

• Institute for Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany
• Department of Neuroradiology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany
• Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany
• Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany
• Center for Magnetic Resonance in Biology and Medicine, Medical Faculty Marseille, Aix-Marseille University, France
• Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG1), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
• National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State University, USA

Recent publications

• A. Adlung, N.K. Paschke, A. Golla, D. Bauer, S. Mohamed, M. Samartzi, M. Fatar, E. Neumaier Probst, F. Zöllner, and L.R. Schad
  23Na MRI in ischemic stroke: Acquisition time reduction using postprocessing with convolutional neural networks.
  NMR Biomed, 34 (4), p.e4474 (2021).
• A. Adlung, M. Samartzi, L.R. Schad, E. Neumaier Probst, M. Fatar and S. A. Mohamed.
  Tissue Sodium Concentration within White Matter Correlates with the Extent of Small Vessel Disease.
  Cerebrovasc Dis, 50, pp.347-355 (2021).
• C. Weber, K. Nagel, A. Ebert, C. Roßmanith, N. Paschke, A. Adlung, M. Platten, L.R. Schad, A. Gass and P. Eisele.
  Diffusely appearing white matter in multiple sclerosis: insights from sodium (23Na) MRI.
  Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 49, p.102752 (2021).
• S. Mohamed, K. Herrmann, A. Adlung, N. Paschke, L. Hausner, L. Frölich, L. Schad, C. Groden and H. Kerl.
  Evaluation of Sodium (23Na) MR-imaging as a Biomarker and Predictor for Neurodegenerative Changes in Patients With Alzheimer Disease.
  In Vivo, 35 (1), pp.429-435 (2021).
• M.A.U. Hoesl, L.R. Schad, and S. Rapacchi.
  Effcient (23) Na triple-quantum signal imaging on clinical scanners: Cartesian imaging of single and triple-quantum (23) Na (CRISTINA).
  Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 84 (5), pp. 2412–2428 (2020).
• R. Hu, D. Kleimaier, M. Malzacher, M.A.U. Hoesl, N.K. Paschke, and L.R. .
  X-nuclei imaging: Current state, technical challenges, and future directions.
  J Magn Reson Imaging, 51 (2), pp. 355–376 (2020).
• D. Kleimaier, S. Goerke, C. Nies, M. Zaiss, P. Kunz, P. Bachert, M.E. Ladd, E. Gottwald, and L.R. Schad
  The cellular heat shock response monitored by chemical exchange saturation transfer MRI.
  Sci Rep, 10 (1), p. 11118 (2020)
• S.A. Mohamed, A. Adlung, A.M. Ruder, M.A.U. Hoesl, L.R. Schad, C. Groden, F.A. Giordano and E. Neumaier Probst.
  MRI Detection of Changes in Tissue Sodium Concentration in Brain Metastases after Stereotactic Radiosurgery: A Feasibility Study.
  Journal of Neuroimaging, 31 (2), pp.297-305 (2020).
• D. Kleimaier, V. Schepkin, C. Nies, E. Gottwald, and L.R. Schad
  Intracellular sodium changes in cancer cells using a microcavity array-based bioreactor system and sodium triple-quantum MR signal.
  Processes, 8 (10), p. 1267 (2020)
• D. Kleimaier, V. Schepkin, R. Hu, and L.R. Schad.
  Protein conformational changes affect the sodium triple-quantum MR signal.
  NMR Biomed, 33 (10), p.e4367 (2020).
• M.A.U. Hoesl, D. Kleimaier, R. Hu, M. Malzacher, C. Nies, E. Gottwald, and L.R. Schad
  (23) Na Triple-quantum signal of in vitro human liver cells, liposomes, and nanoparticles: Cell viability assessment vs. separation of intra- and extracellular signal.
  J Magn Reson Imaging, 50 (2), pp. 435–444. (2019).
• M. Malzacher, J. Chacon-Caldera, N.K. Paschke and L.R. Schad.
  Feasibility study of a double resonant (1 H/ 23Na) abdominal RF setup at 3T.
  Z Med Phys, 29 (4), pp.359-367 (2019).
• M. Malzacher, J. Chacon-Caldera, N.K. Paschke and L.R. Schad.
  Feasibility study of a double resonant 8-channel 1H/ 8-channel 23Na receive-only head coil at 3 Tesla.
  Magn Reson Imaging, 59, pp.97-104 (2019).