Simultaneous spectral editing for gamma-aminobutyric acid and taurine using double quantum coherence transfer

Conventional double quantum (DQ) editing techniques recover resonances of o ne metabolite at a time and are thus inefficient for monitoring metabolic c hanges involving several metabolites. A DQ coherence transfer double editin g sequence using a dual-band DQ coherence read pulse is described here. The sequence permits simultaneous spectral editing for two metabolites with si milar J coupling constants in a single scan. Simultaneous editing for tauri ne and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is demonstrated using solution phanto ms and rat brain tissue. Selectivity of the double editing sequence for the target metabolites is as good as that achieved using conventional DQ editi ng which selects each metabolite individually. With experimental parameters of the double editing sequence chosen to optimize GABA editing, the sensit ivity for GABA detection is the same as that with GABA editing only, while the sensitivity for taurine detection is decreased slightly compared to tha t with taurine editing only. (C) 2000 Academic Press.