Hyper Diamond

Project description

HYPERDIAMOND used the unique properties of NV centres in diamonds to hyperpolarize ¹³C nuclear spins, either inside the diamond or in external molecules, thus bringing innovation from this field to offer radical improvements over the existing technologies for hyperpolarization, enabling cost-effective molecular imaging with nanomolar sensitivity with conventional MRI systems.

Project Objective

 

The HYPERDIAMOND project will develop and commercialise two platforms for hyperpolarized, MRI-based molecular imaging, by leveraging revolutionary progress in quantum- and nano-technology.

To achieve its global mission HYPERDIAMOND pursues the following scientific and technical objectives:

  1. Realisation of a diamond-based hyperpolarization system operating at room temperature (Diamond Hyperpolarizer), achieving >1,000-fold increase of signal in MRI magnetic fields over an unpolarised probe
  2. Developing the novel ND-probe as a targeted, multipurpose hyperpolarization platform
    • Hyperpolarization duration of dozens of minutes to potentially over 1 hour for targeted, non-metabolic imaging
    • Surface-functionalization to allow for attachment to a multitude of antibodies, peptides, and other proteins
    • Multimodality with fluorescent imaging and as oncology drug carriers
  3. First proof-of-principle animal studies demonstrating:
    • ND-probe – targeted tumour imaging of glioblastomas, inflammation imaging, cancer theranostic capabilities and synergies with fluorescent imaging
    • Small molecules (polarized via the Diamond Hyperpolarizer) for 1) visualization of metabolism in viable tissue slices from healthy rodents – glucose, deoxyglucose, and choline molecular imaging probes and 2) visualization of pyruvic acid metabolism in breast cancer and glioma models in rodents.
  4. Evaluation of the new techniques in direct comparison with the current golden standards of:
    • positron emission tomography (PET) for the ND-probes
    • existing dissolution-DNP hyperpolarization systems (Hypersense) for the Diamond Hyperpolarizer
  5. Developing a fully functional prototype of the Diamond Hyperpolarizer – portable and low cost
  6. Preclinical assessing in vitro and in ovo the biocompatibility and acute toxicity of the optimized nanodiamond particles, as well as clearance mechanisms

https://www.hyperdiamond-project.eu/