Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
We use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy to image biological structures and soft tissues at sub-hundred micrometer resolution.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy are powerful, non-invasive techniques that help us see both structure and chemistry inside biological systems. MRI is best known from medical imaging, where signals from water molecules in tissues are used to create detailed images. NMR spectroscopy, widely used by chemists, identifies chemical compounds and reveals the molecular environment of different atoms such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, fluorine and phosphorus.
Collaboration
By combining MRI and NMR at very high magnetic field strengths, we can now produce images with sub-hundred-micrometre resolution and even track specific chemical compounds within soft tissues and other biological materials. We use this technique in research carried out in close collaboration with Biophysics, the Wageningen NMR Centre (WNMRC), and the national ultrahigh-field NMR facility (uNMR-NL).