The application of novel Ir-NHC polarization transfer complexes by SABRE.

In recent years, the hyperpolarization method Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE) has developed into a powerful technique to enhance Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) signals of organic substrates in solution (mostly via binding to the nitrogen lone pair of N-heterocyclic compounds) by several orders of magnitude. In order to establish the application and development of SABRE as a hyperpolarization method for medical imaging, the separation of the Ir-N-Heterocyclic Carbene (Ir-NHC) complex, which facilitates the hyperpolarization of the substrates in solution, is indispensable. Here, we report for the first time the use of novel Ir-NHC complexes with a polymer unit substitution in the backbone of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHC) for SABRE hyperpolarization, which permits the removal of the complexes from solution after the hyperpolarization of a target substrate has been generated.