SpinAligner by Polarize

Clinical SpinAligner

We expect to launch a SpinAligner that is capable of supporting clinical research in 2027. It will deliver a safe-to-inject clinical dose of 13C-pyruvate, and Polarize will provide the documentation required to apply national authorities for human use. The project is supported by the European Union (EIC Transition project RESPONSE). We are taking orders.

UV induced radicals

Non-persistent radicals can be generated with UV light from e.g. pyruvic acid, alpha-ketoglutaric acid, or alpha-ketoisocaproic acid. These radicals are stable at liquid nitrogen temperature and provide strong DNP. Moreover, these radicals are labile and quench into diamagnetic species at the moment of dissolution, with a positive effect on the relaxation time of the hyperpolarized molecule and no need for filtration of the radical. Polarize can offer a complete solution to produce “UV-DNP” samples and use them on the SpinAligner. The image shows hyperpolarized CSI in awake mice using UV-irradiated [d4, 1-13C]pyruvic acid (courtesy of Dr Yuhei Takado, QST, Shiba, Japan).

SpinAligner mini

At Polarize we are committed to innovation. Dissolution DNP is not only in vivo hyperpolarized metabolic imaging. Cells cultures are great systems to investigate metabolism and test drugs by means of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. In this case high throughput is more important than high polarization. To this regard, we are developing a new product (i.e. the SpinAligner mini): a small footprint and portable polarizer based on permanent magnets that can enhance the 13C liquid-state NMR signal on a benchtop spectrometer by 5 orders of magnitude in tens of seconds.

Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI

One of the strengths of DNP is that many NMR active nuclei can be hyperpolarized, even compounds that are in the gas state at room temperature. Hyperpolarized 129-Xenon gas is widely used for lung ventilation and perfusion imaging. The SpinAligner is also capable of hyperpolarizing 129-Xenon, and we succeeded in recording the first in vivo dDNP hyperpolarized 129Xe lung imaging in a pig (courtesy of Prof Christoffer Laustsen, MR Research Center, Aarhus, Denmark).

Polarimeter for liquid-state polarization measurement

Measuring the liquid polarization right after dissolution can be useful quality assurance prior to any in vivo application. Polarize can offer a compact polarimeter based on a permanent magnet that allows online measurement of the liquid-state polarization of your compound right after dissolution, and without delaying or interfering with the main experiment.

Hyperpolarized water (1H)

Hyperpolarized water (1H) provide high contrast angiographic and perfusion images in animal models and may supplement conventional contrast agents with paramagnetic metallic ions (e.g., Gd3+).

Moreover, hyperpolarized water may provide information about proton exchange dynamics in protein NMR that cannot be seen otherwise.

Pinon, A.C., Capozzi, A. and Ardenkjær-Larsen, J.H. Hyperpolarized water through dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization with UV-generated radicals. Commun Chem 3, 57 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-020-0301-6

F.Hecker, K.Teilum, A.Capozzi, and M. H.Lerche, “Residue-Specific Signatures of Structural Water Identified by Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization With UV-Generated Radicals” Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2026) https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202523739

15N-betaine, a long-lived tracer

Hyperpolarized [15N,d9]-betaine is a metabolite with a long T1. With in vivo detectability exceeding 14 min and high polarization, [15N,d9]-betaine supports real-time and late-phase imaging from a single injection, enabling flexible, multistage imaging. This extended imaging window facilitates tracking molecular distribution, assessing tissue perfusion, and monitoring cellular uptake relevant to betaine’s roles in cellular protection.

Skre et al, “Dynamic 13C-MRI of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Metabolism Using Hyperpolarized [1-13C]2-Ketoisocaproate: A Multiband IDEAL Spiral Approach in Rodents and Pigs,” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 95, no. 4 (2026): 1986–1997, https://doi.org/10.1002/mrm.70167

Ashikaga et al. ChemRxiv (2025); DOI:10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-0qxks

13C-KIC, branched-chain amino acid metabolism

[1-13C]-2-ketoisocaproate (KIC) enables imaging of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism. KIC is converted to the essential amino acid [1-13C]leucine via the branched-chain amino acid transaminase (BCAT), a reaction that has been imaged in vivo in rodents in both healthy tissue and in cancer models. KIC also exhibits favourable polarization characteristics and scalable dosing, supporting its potential for clinical translation. The ability to image BCAA metabolism is particularly relevant, since its dysregulation has been implicated in cancer and neurodegenerative disease.