Production of hyperpolarized [1,4- ¹³ C ₂ ]malate from [1,4- ¹³ C ₂ ]fumarate is a marker of cell necrosis and treatment response in tumors

Dynamic nuclear polarization of (13)C-labeled cell substrates has been shown to massively increase their sensitivity to detection in NMR experiments. The sensitivity gain is sufficiently large that if these polarized molecules are injected intravenously, their spatial distribution and subsequent conversion into other cell metabolites can be imaged. We have used this method to image the conversion of fumarate to malate in a murine lymphoma tumor...