Over the past fifty years, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have become essential tools in analytical chemistry and medical diagnostics but the technique remains intrinsically limited by low signal intensity. Hyperpolarization methods have therefore come to the forefront, offering a way to enhance magnetic resonance signals by several orders of magnitude. Among them, dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (dDNP) stands out as the most powerful, capable of boosting signals up to one hundred thousand times. It enables real-time observation of biochemical processes such as metabolism or tumor response to therapy and is widely regarded as a potential game-changer for non-invasive cancer monitoring.
Yet the path to broad adoption is limited as hyperpolarization is short-lived. The specialized dDNP equipment needed to generate it is costly, complex, and must be operated directly next to the MRI scanner, since the enhanced signal typically decays within a minute. As a result, hyperpolarized MRI remains confined to a handful of research sites, slowing down its translation to hospitals and patients.
The TRYP project (Transportable Hyperpolarization for Imaging) proposes to overcome this barrier by transforming short-lived hyperpolarized tracers into long-lived transportable consumables. The vision is to produce these tracers in centralized facilities and deliver them to MRI centers on demand, like the industrial distribution of radioactive tracers for PET imaging.
This concept builds directly on results from the ERC Starting Grant HP4all, where the team developed a new family of porous polymer matrices (HYPOP) capable of sustaining hyperpolarization for several hours at cryogenic temperatures. Within these materials, free radicals are covalently grafted inside a porous framework that can be filled with water-based solutions of metabolites. Polarization builds up within minutes, then decays extremely slowly, allowing the hyperpolarized molecules to be transported over long distances while retaining their signal.
TRYP goals are to :
Establish standardized and biocompatible protocols to generate pure injectable hyperpolarized solutions.
Modify existing DNP polarizers to enable sample extraction and transfer in a compact cryostat, maintaining cryogenic temperature and magnetic field during transport.
Achieve preclinical metabolic imaging after the remote delivery of hyperpolarized tracers over distances exceeding 200 km.
