Patent ID: 7492154

Claim:
A method of carrying out Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) on a sample with a molecular structure containing at least two J-coupled non-integer spin nuclear species, the method comprising the steps of: hyperpolarizing the sample in a cooled, solid form while it is exposed to a homogeneous magnetic field of suitable strength; dissolving or melting the hyperpolarized sample; subjecting the sample to a polarization holding RF pulse sequence while the sample is exposed to a suitably homogeneous magnetic field of sufficient strength to ensure the spin's chemical shift is greater than the J-coupling, where the pulse sequence causes the nuclear spin populations in the sample to be redistributed between a plurality of energy levels in a non-equilibrium manner; and causing the nuclear spin populations to transfer adiabatically to stable, equilibrium levels, following a time less than the T 1 relaxation time constant of the molecular species.