NMR-based diffusion lattice imaging.

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) diffusion experiments are widely employed as they yield information about structures hindering the diffusion process, e.g., about cell membranes. While it has been shown in recent articles that these experiments can be used to determine the shape of closed pores averaged over a volume of interest, it is still an open question how much information can be gained in open well-connected systems. In this theoretical work, it is shown that the full structure information of connected periodic systems is accessible. To this end, the so-called "SEquential Rephasing by Pulsed field-gradient Encoding N Time intervals" (SERPENT) sequence is used, which employs several diffusion encoding gradient pulses with different amplitudes. Two two-dimensional solid matrices that are surrounded by an NMR-visible medium are considered: a hexagonal lattice of cylinders and a rectangular lattice of isosceles triangles.