842. Feasibility of co-polarizing ¹³C-pyruvate and ¹³C-tert-butanol for simultaneous metabolic and perfusion imaging
Karen Dos Santos, Samuel R Calos, Qianhui Dou, Atsushi M. Takahashi, Leo L. Tsai, Aaron K. Grant, Yi-Fen Yen, npjImaging, (2026), 10.1038/s44303-026-00172-9
Altered metabolism and perfusion are hallmarks of numerous diseases, yet simultaneous evaluations in vivo remain limited. We present a dual-purpose hyperpolarized probe combining [1-¹³C]pyruvate and ¹³C-tert-butyl alcohol (13C-TBA) for concurrent metabolic and perfusion imaging. An optimized formulation produced high polarizations with short buildup times. In vivo imaging in healthy and tumor-bearing rats demonstrated robust signals of TBA and pyruvate metabolism. This co-polarized dual probe offers strong preclinical and translational potential.