stretched gelatin phantom for detection of residual dipolar couplings in mr spectra and data analysis of carnosine

Peak splitting due to the residual dipolar coupling (RDC) represents a potentially applicable spectral parameter for diagnostic purposes. Several of the skeletal muscle metabolites were previously reported to display the RDC splitting in in vivo MR spectra. We constructed an in vitro model consisting of mechanically stretched gelatin cylinder soaked with the muscle metabolite carnosine. We describe the preparation procedure of an upscaled 50 mL stretched gelatin sample with carnosine that can be used as a phantom for setting-up and testing of spectroscopic measurements of RDC in a MR scanner. We also report on analysis of the RDC splittings in 1H and 13C high resolution MR spectra of carnosine.