Spectral simplification for resolved glutamate and glutamine measurement using a standard STEAM sequence with optimized timing parameters at 3, 4, 4.7, 7, and 9.4T.

The C4 multiplet proton resonances of glutamate (Glu) around 2.35 ppm and glutamine (Gln) around 2.45 ppm usually overlap in MR spectra, particularly at low- and mid-field strengths (1.5-4.7T). A spectral simplification approach is introduced that provides unobstructed Glu and Gln measurement using a standard STEAM localization sequence with optimized interpulse timings. The underlying idea is to exploit the dependence of response of a coupled spin system on the echo time (TE) and mixing time (TM) to find an optimum timing set (TE, TM), at which the outer-wings of C4 "pseudo-triplet" proton resonances of Glu and Gln are significantly suppressed while the central peaks are maintained. The spectral overlap is thus resolved as the overlap exists exclusively at the outer-wings and the central peaks are readily separated due to the approximate 0.1-ppm difference in chemical shift. Density matrix simulation for Glu, Gln, and other overlapping metabolites at 2.3-2.5 ppm was conducted to predict the optimum timing sets. The simulated, phantom, and in vivo results demonstrated that the C4 multiplet proton resonances of Glu and Gln can be resolved for unobstructed detection at 3T, 4T, and 4.7T. For simplicity, only simulated data are illustrated at 7T and 9.4T. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.