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Imaging Inside Out

Like a cross between Thomas the Tank Engine and a thermos flask on steroids, HortResearch's superconducting cryomagnet is the heart of a new facility at Massey University.

The recently opened nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) laboratory features a 200 mm widebore horizontal superconducting magnet, bought with a grant from the Lotteries Science Board.

Normally, a commercial imaging instrument would cost in excess of $1.5 million. However, with typical Kiwi ingenuity, Massey University's Physics Department designed and constructed the spectrometer side of the system for less than $100,000. This includes funds provided by Massey University and HortResearch.

The new instrument will be used by Massey University for materials science studies and will contribute to HortResearch's programmes in carbohydrate and postharvest storage research.

The nuclear magnetic resonance microscopy (NMR) research programme at Massey University involves the development and application of non-destructive methods of investigating the properties of complex, soft materials.

Imaging Inside Out Figure A (12KB)
Dr Chris Clark looks forward to learning more about apples with the new facility.

NMR microscopy permits the measurement of molecular positions and molecular motion to high resolution. Researchers use combinations of these methods to test molecular dynamics in polymer liquids and in porous and soft materials.

The technique is based on interactions between radio waves and the magnetic "spin" properties of atomic nuclei. It enables scientists to determine the static and dynamic properties of species such as aqueous protons in biological tissues (such as fruit), without destroying the sample in the process. This makes it ideal for investigating the appearance of physiological disorders in fruit during storage, or the flow of xylem and phloem in stem tissue of plants.

An apple image was the first to be collected on the instrument, part of HortResearch scientist Dr Chris Clark's experiments on fruit and postharvest physiology.

Professor Paul Callaghan says that researchers have compared the results of mechanical rheological measurements with those obtained by NMR, in studies on both model fluid systems and on food products.

"This comparison has shown that NMR provides new insights."