Objective: This study examines the influence of the environmental factor temperature on the 19F NMR characteristics of fluorinated compounds in phantom studies and in tissue.
Materials and methods: 19F MR mapping and MR spectroscopy techniques were used to characterize the 19F NMR characteristics of perfluoro-crown ether (PFCE), isoflurane, teriflunomide, and flupentixol. T1 and T2 mapping were performed, while temperature in the samples was changed (T = 20-60 °C) and monitored using fiber optic measurements. In tissue, T1 of PFCE nanoparticles was determined at physiological temperatures and compared with the T1-measured at room temperature.
Results: Studies on PFCE, isoflurane, teriflunomide, and flupentixol showed a relationship between temperature and their physicochemical characteristics, namely, chemical shift, T1 and T2. T1 of PFCE nanoparticles was higher at physiological body temperatures compared to room temperature.
Discussion: The impact of temperature on the 19F NMR parameters of fluorinated compounds demonstrated in this study not only opens a trajectory toward 19F MR-based thermometry, but also indicates the need for adapting MR sequence parameters according to environmental changes such as temperature. This will be an absolute requirement for detecting fluorinated compounds by 19F MR techniques in vivo.
Keywords: 19F MR; Fluorine MR; Magnetic resonance; Spin–lattice relaxation; Thermometry.