Supersensitive nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus

Abstract

A supersensitive nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus includes a superconducting magnet, a gradient magnetic field coil, a high frequency emitting coil, and a receiving coil, wherein a biosample, including at least one of cells, organic tissues, and laboratory small animals, is inserted in a sample chamber of generally 1 to 30 mm in diameter. The superconducting magnet is formed of laterally divided split magnets, and the direction of the magnetic field generated by the magnet is generally horizontal. The receiving coil is in the form of a solenoid coil, and the biosample is inserted from a direction orthogonal to the direction of the magnetic field in a generally vertical direction. The spatial resolution in imaging of the biosample is not more than one-tenth of a cell that forms the biosample.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 326,085, filed Dec. 23, 2002, the subject matter of which is incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a supersensitive nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus; and, more particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for effecting a high resolution imaging of biosamples, such as cells, organic tissues, laboratory small animals, or the like, and to growth of a high-grade protein crystal using high resolution imaging, on-site observation of the process of growth, and a method of growth. [0003] In recent years, rapid advances have been made in an imaging method utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging. If an analysis of the metabolism of cells or a protein information network in living organisms, such as human bodies, small animals, or cellular structures, can be made possible in the future by combining the ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020] The object of the present invention is to provide a novel nuclear magnetic resonance analyzing apparatus, in which a sampling chamber of 1 to 30 mm in diameter that can accommodate the needs of biological study, is used, and in which the sensitivity for measuring the NMR signal is increased to a value in the order of at least three times the conventional value at least at 600 MHz (14.1 T), and in which a time-based stability and spatial uniformity of the superconducting magnet required for imaging analysis in the cell can be provided.

[0021] In the construction of the present invention, the operating temperature of the system is not limited to 4.2 K. It is also possible to achieve extreme performance by the application of the present invention, and, depending on the applications, operation at 1.8K at 21. 1 T or 900 MHz, which used to be the limit of the magnetic field, is also possible. In such a case, improvement of the sensitivity to a value three times that currently available is possible, and thus breakthrough of the limit of detection sensitivity by the magnetic field strength, which used to be impossible, can be achieved for the first time.

[0022] The inventors have investigated the problems common to the present high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatuses, and they have devised a countermeasure therefor by persevering in their study. The present nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus has been developed on the basis of a method in which a solution sample is placed at the center of a multi-layer hollow solenoid coil having superior uniformity in the generation of magnetic fields, which are detected by a saddle-type or a birdcage antenna, in order to successfully balance the considerations of cost and installability. Historically, with the development of NMR from a magnetic field of less than 400 MHz in association with the development of a measurement technology and an analytical technique, the measurement sensitivity has been improved by intensifying the central magnetic field while maintaining the basic system of the NMR. Recently, an example of using a superconducting birdcage antenna to reduce heat noise also has been reported. We have repeatedly studied a method of intensifying the signal strength more remarkably than that of the prior apparatuses, while maintaining the magnetic field strength at the same level. As a consequence, we found that this problem can be solved according to a novel method, which will be described below.

[0026] There is no example of a high resolution NMR apparatus using split magnets. After repeated studies, the inventors have found that the construction of this apparatus can achieve a time-based stability and spatial stability that can be applied to bioinfomatic analysis on the cell scale for the first time in the world, that is, 1.0 Hz or less in the sample space and 1.0 Hz or less per hour in Proton nuclear magnetic resonance frequencies. With the magnet optimization technology that we have developed, the design of a complicated split coil system capable of producing a uniform magnetic field, which has been difficult heretofore, was made possible. We found that the size of the magnet portion, including the lower temperature container, can be arranged within generally 1 m in width and 1 m in height per set, and thus an experimental apparatus having a high degree of positioning and occupying only a small space can be constructed, while keeping the leakage of magnetic fields as low as possible. Thus, a “nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus” having a high throughput and enjoying generally 10 times the data accumulation time can be provided.

[0030] The problem heretofore encountered can be solved by a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus including a superconducting magnet, a gradient magnetic field coil, a high frequency emitting coil, and a receiving coil, wherein a protein sample dissolved into water or the like is inserted into a sample tube, the superconducting magnet consists of laterally divided split magnets, the direction of the magnetic field generated by the magnet is generally horizontal, the receiving coil is a solenoid coil, and the sample is inserted from a direction orthogonal to the direction of the magnetic field in a generally vertical direction. With this apparatus, a high-grade protein crystal can be grown in the magnetic field, the spatial resolution being sufficient for observing the surface property of the protein crystal when the protein dissolved in the liquid is crystallized; and, the growing velocity and growing surface of the crystal can be observed on-site by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and the crystal growth conditions can be adequately controlled by obtained information.

Problems solved by technology

According to this publication, however, when the sensitivity is important, as in the case of measuring a minute amount of protein dissolved in an aqueous solution, it is impossible to wind a solenoid coil around a sample tube placed with a vertical orientation with respect to the magnetic field in the currently available superconducting magnet structure as a matter of fact, and thus such a coil is not generally used.

However, a method of improving the detection sensitivity required for high resolution imaging and a technical application for obtaining a uniformity of the magnetic fields or time-based stability of the magnetic field are not disclosed.

Remarkable progress has been made in recent years in the life sciences, but an understanding of the correlation between the function and the structure of a protein molecule at the biocellular level is not sufficient.

In addition, it is quite important for the progress of the life sciences to obtain a high-quality monocrystal of protein, but the growth of a high-quality protein crystal that can be analyzed sufficiently is still difficult, and the growth thereof requires several months to several years.

However, the spatial resolution of the current nuclear magnetic resonance analyzing apparatus is generally 0.2 mm, and thus a minute area in the order of 1 to 10 micron, which represents the sizes of cells, cannot be imaged.

When the magnetic fields are not uniform, problems, such as difficulty in identification of images, may occur.

Therefore, the performance of the NMR apparatus that has been generally used to date is not sufficient, and thus a stability and uniformity of the magnetic field that is one digit higher are required.

In the currently available apparatus, there arose a problem of installability such that a specific building was necessary because the apparatus was increased in size as the sensitivity was improved, relying mainly upon the improvement of the strength of the magnetic field, and thus leakage of the magnetic field and the necessity of providing a strong floor to support the apparatus had to be considered.

In addition, there arose considerations that caused the costs of the superconducting magnet to increase.

As has been described above, a method of supersensitive measurement using a solenoid coil can be performed only with a minute quantity of a specific sample and with the use of a specific detector probe, but it cannot be applied to cell imaging due to the issue of resolution.

Further, in using this method, it was very difficult to achieve a time-based stability of 1.0 Hz / h or less, that is required for the imaging of cells, due to the effect of a magnetic flux creeping phenomenon of the high temperature superconducting body.

As regards the uniformity of the magnetic field required for analysis of protein, it was also difficult to achieve a uniformity of the magnetic field in the level less than 1.0 Hz in Proton nuclear magnetic resonance frequencies in a space of 10 mm (diameter)×10 mm (length), because of the non-uniformity caused by the process of manufacture of the high temperature superconducting bulk body material.

Images