In vivo 2D magnetic resonance spectroscopy of small animals.

Localized in vivo NMR spectroscopy, chemical shift imaging or multi-voxel spectroscopy are potentially useful tools in small animals that are complementary to MRI, adding biochemical information to the mainly anatomical data provided by imaging of water protons. However the contribution of such methods remains hampered by the low spectral resolution of the in vivo 1D spectra. Two-dimensional methods widely developed for in vitro studies have been proposed as suitable approaches to overcome these limitations in resolution. The different homonuclear and heteronuclear sequences adapted to in vivo studies are reviewed. Their specific contributions to the spectral resolution of spectroscopic data and their limitations for in vivo investigations are discussed. The applications to experimental models of pathological processes or pharmacological treatment in mainly brain and muscle are presented. According to their combined sensitivity, acquisition duration and spatial resolution, the heteronuclear 2D experiments, which are mainly used for 1H detected-13C spectroscopy after administration of 13C-labeled compounds, appear to be less efficient than 1H detected-13C 1D methods at high field. However, the applications of 2D proton homonuclear methods show that they remain the best tools for in vivo studies when an improved resolution is required.