UCSF

The topic of this research is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with remote detection for microfluidics. While NMR has long been capable of providing rich spectral information for an array of application, its primary limitation is sensitivity. To combat this in samples with poor filling factor, remote detection NMR was developed in the Pines' Lab. This work builds on this platform to achieve a substantial signal enhancement over conventional techniques. These developments focus on data acquisition schemes and novel applications, sub-Nyquist data sampling, and hardware design and fabrication. The application areas include the study of flow in microfluidic chips, chromatographic separations, and live animal measurements. The results of these developments and applications include high resolution images of flow, multidimensional velocity measurements, as well as spectral analysis.