The first stage of the project concerned the design and study of “core” modules which support the long-lived hyperpolarised states under ambient conditions, the development of methodology for hyperpolarising these modules, and the technology for understanding the decay of the hyperpolarised spin order and for optimising its lifetime. During the project several candidate chemical systems were synthesized and studied, including the very novel chemical systems known as endofullerenes, in which single atoms or molecules are encapsulated in closed carbon cages. In particular the novel 3He@C60 endofullerene was synthesized and studied. In this material a single atom of the helium isotope He-3 was encapsulated in a C60 cage, and a novel interaction was detected between the trapped 3He atoms and the 13C nuclei of the surrounding cage. In addition, during the project, we discovered some important deficiencies in the theory of magnetic resonance under highly non-equilibrium conditions, and developed a new theory to cover this novel but increasingly important regime. We also developed new methodology for generating long-lived nuclear spin order, and performed, in collaboration with other groups, some indicative proof-of-concept hyperpolarised MRI experiments showing that the release of strong NMR signals from long-lived nuclear spin states may be triggered by metabolism, and used for imaging. These results were disseminated in academic journals, and also received publicity through the award of research prizes for this work, including the 2021 Erwin Schrödinger award of the Helmholtz association.
