Nanoscience and Innovation for Materials, Biomedecine and Energy NIMBE

The laboratory is specialized in NMR instrumentation and methodology. In particular, in order to compensate for the lack of sensitivity of NMR, noble gases are hyperpolarized by optical pumping and other small molecules are hyperpolarized through use of para-hydrogen. The association between NMR of these ultra-sensitive species and materials offers a great wealth of analysis and possible applications:

• Using different probes of porous materials and thereby characterize their structure and / or their dynamics / flexibility through spectroscopy and/or imaging. Combined with other analytical techniques access to affinity constants, diffusion rates, tortuosity and pore size can be extracted; it is also possible to prove the presence of ions within the porous structure, and so on.
• Using porous material to transport large amounts of hyperpolarized gas. The laboratory has already worked on a system based on functionalized zeolites targeting thrombosis. Applications in the field of health would enable the development of new contrast agents for MRI.
• Using recent instrumental developments based on microfluidics and micro-NMR detection to study the flow of fluids through porous materials by spectroscopy and imaging.

L'utilisation de méthodes de chimie théorique nous permet de modéliser les interactions du gaz rare avec le matériau poreux et comprendre l’origine des signaux RMN observés.