Molecular dynamics simulations of $^1$H NMR relaxation in Gd$^{3+}$--aqua

Philip M. Singer; Arjun Valiya Parambathu; Thiago J. Pinheiro dos Santos; Yunke Liu; Lawrence B. Alemany; George J. Hirasaki; Walter G. Chapman; Dilip Asthagiri

arXiv · 2102.10763

Molecular dynamics simulations of $^1$H NMR relaxation in Gd$^{3+}$--aqua

Philip M. Singer·Arjun Valiya Parambathu·Thiago J. Pinheiro dos Santos·Yunke Liu·Lawrence B. Alemany·George J. Hirasaki·Walter G. Chapman·Dilip Asthagiri

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Abstract

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate $^1$H NMR $T_1$ relaxation of water from paramagnetic Gd$^{3+}$ ions in solution at 25$^{\circ}$C. Simulations of the $T_1$ relaxivity dispersion function $r_1$ computed from the Gd$^{3+}$--$^1$H dipole--dipole autocorrelation function agree within $\simeq 8$\% of measurements in the range $f_0 \simeq $ 5 $\leftrightarrow$ 500 MHz, without any adjustable parameters in the interpretation of the simulations, and without any relaxation models. The simulation results are discussed in the context of the Solomon-Bloembergen-Morgan inner-sphere relaxation model, and the Hwang-Freed outer-sphere relaxation model. Below $f_0 \lesssim $ 5 MHz, the simulation overestimates $r_1$ compared to measurements, which is used to estimate the zero-field electron-spin relaxation time. The simulations show potential for predicting $r_1$ at high frequencies in chelated Gd$^{3+}$ contrast-agents used for clinical MRI.

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Philip M. Singer, Arjun Valiya Parambathu, Thiago J. Pinheiro dos Santos, Yunke Liu, Lawrence B. Alemany, George J. Hirasaki, Walter G. Chapman, Dilip Asthagiri. 2021-02-22. Molecular dynamics simulations of $^1$H NMR relaxation in Gd$^{3+}$--aqua. https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.10763

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