¹H-localized broadband ¹³C NMR spectroscopy of the rat brain in vivo at 9.4 T

Localized ¹³C NMR spectra were obtained from the rat brain in vivo over a broad spectral range (15-100 ppm) with minimal chemical-shift displacement error (<10%) using semi-adiabatic distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT) combined with ¹H localization. A new gradient dephasing scheme was employed to eliminate unwanted coherences generated by DEPT when using surface coils with highly inhomogeneous B ₁ fields. Excellent sensitivity was evident from the simultaneous detection of natural abundance signals for N-acetylaspartate, myo-inositol, and glutamate in the rat brain in vivo at 9.4 T. After infusion of ¹³C-labeled glucose, up to 18 ¹³C resonances were simultaneously measured in the rat brain, including glutamate C2, C3, C4, glutamine C2, C3, C4, aspartate C2, C3, glucose C1, C6, N-acetyl-aspartate C2, C3, C6, as well as GABA C2, lactate C3, and alanine C3. ¹³C- ¹³C multiplets corresponding to multiply labeled compounds were clearly observed, suggesting that extensive isotopomer analysis is possible in vivo. This unprecedented amount of information will be useful for metabolic modeling studies aimed at understanding brain energy metabolism and neurotransmission in the rodent brain.