Quantum diamond sensing

Date:
June 17, 2020
Source:
University of Maryland
Summary:
Researchers report a new quantum sensing technique that allows
high- resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on small
molecules in dilute solution in a 10 picoliter sample volume --
roughly equivalent to a single cell.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a widely used tool
for chemical analysis and molecular structure recognition. Because it
typically relies on the weak magnetic fields produced by a small thermal nuclear spin polarization, NMR suffers from poor sensitivity compared to
other analytical techniques. A conventional NMR apparatus typically uses
large sample volumes of about a milliliter -- large enough to contain
around a million biological cells.


==========================================================================
In a study published in Physical Review X (PRX), researchers from the University of Maryland's Quantum Technology Center (QTC) and colleagues
report a new quantum sensing technique that allows high-resolution NMR spectroscopy on small molecules in dilute solution in a 10 picoliter
sample volume -- roughly equivalent to a single cell.

The experiments reported in the paper, entitled
"Hyperpolarization-Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy with Femtomole Sensitivity
Using Quantum Defects in Diamond," were performed by the research group of Prof. Ronald Walsworth, QTC Founding Director. Their finding is the next
step in previous results, in which Walsworth and collaborators developed
a system that utilizes nitrogen-vacancy quantum defects in diamonds
to detect the NMR signals produced by picoliter- scale samples. In
this past work, the researchers could only observe signals from pure,
highly concentrated samples. To overcome this limitation, Walsworth
and colleagues combined quantum diamond NMR with a "hyperpolarization"
method that boosts the sample's nuclear spin polarization -- and hence NMR signal strength -- by more than a hundred-fold. The results reported in
PRX realize, for the first time, NMR with femtomole molecular sensitivity.

On the impact of the research, Walsworth says, "The real-world goal is to enable chemical analysis and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the level
of individual biological cells." MRI is a type of scan that can process detailed pictures of parts of the body, including the brain. "Right now,
MRI is limited in its resolution, and it can only image volumes containing about a million cells. Seeing individual cells noninvasively with MRI
(to help diagnose illness and answer basic questions in biology) is one
of the long-term goals of quantum sensing research," says Walsworth.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Maryland. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dominik B. Bucher, David R. Glenn, Hongkun Park, Mikhail D. Lukin,
Ronald
L. Walsworth. Hyperpolarization-Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy with
Femtomole Sensitivity Using Quantum Defects in Diamond. Physical
Review X, 2020; 10 (2) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.10.021053 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200617174928.htm

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