Efficient Scavenging of TEMPOL Radical by Ascorbic Acid in Solution and Related Prolongation of C and H Nuclear Spin Relaxation Times of the Solute.

Dynamic nuclear polarization for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and imaging uses free radicals to strongly enhance the NMR signal of a compound under investigation. At the same time, the radicals shorten significantly its nuclear spin relaxation times which reduces the time window available for the experiments. Radical scavenging can overcome this drawback.