Single-scan longitudinal relaxation measurements in high-resolution NMR spectroscopy

Several single-scan experiments for the measurement of the longitudinal relaxation time (T-1) are proposed. These experiments result in fast and accurate determinations of the relaxation rate, are relatively robust to pulse imperfections, and preserve information about the chemical shift. The method used in these experiments is to first encode the T-1 values as a spatial variation of the magnetization and then to read out this variation either by applying a weak gradient during acquisition or by sequentially observing different slices of the sample. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time necessary to determine the T-1 values by one or two orders of magnitude. This time saving comes at the expense of the signal-to-noise level of the resulting spectrum and some chemical shift resolution. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.