Hydration and Water Distribution Studies of Heart Muscle by Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation

183 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1993.The multinuclear magnetic relaxation behavior of heart muscle from chicken, pork, and beef is investigated. Nonlinear regression analysis of the $\sp1$H transverse magnetization decay yields the best fit with three exponential components that are likely to correspond to three separate types of water proton compartments in the heart muscle. A deuterium exchange study is undertaken to obtain additional information concerning the chemical exchange of water protons/deuterium within these compartments, and the effects of proton intermolecular dipolar interactions on proton transverse relaxation of water. The $\sp2$H and $\sp $O multinuclear magnetic relaxation measurements are also resolved into multiple relaxation components. A simplified model in terms of pore sizes which represents intercellular, intracellular and trapped water provides a helpful representation of the multiple relaxation of heart muscle. These findings have implications for quality control of meat products by NMR, and indicate the possibility of accurate monitoring of water loss from meat as a result of processing or storage. These results are also likely to influence the analysis and interpretation of MRI data for myocardium since it provides details of the microscopic water distribution in the myocardium which is important to the heart function.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD