Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy facility

The platform provides studies on small animals and/or the analysis and quantification of spectra and MRI images.

Contacts :

SZEREMETA Frédéric, Technical manager - +33 2.38.25.55.43

MEME Sandra, Scientific manager - +33 2.38.25.51.07

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is now recognized to be a non invasive and atraumatic biomedical and pharmaceutical technique largely used in clinical and preclinical research. Two different and  complementary methods based on the principles of NMR allow biological investigation:

Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) uses the signal of the protons of water molecules. Thus, access to quantitative anatomical information is possible which inquires about the morphology and the physiology of tissues.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) can detect signals endogenous molecules whose concentrations are much lower than that of water. We then access to information about the metabolism under physiologicla or pathophysiological conditions.

Services platform is an open access to academic or non-academic structures, private or public laboratories. It offers imaging sequences (angiography morphological, diffusion…) and 1D or 2D spectroscopy (1H, 13C-filtered 1H) suitables for in vivo longitudinal studies on small animals (rabbit, rat, mouse, Drosophila) of pathologies developpment or therapeutic monitoring. It also provides analyses and quantification of in vivo MR spectra and images. An engineer is available to optimize and perform the experiments. Potential users can follow a rapid formation proposed in the team or can acquire their own images and their spectra if independent on imaging spectrometers.

Experimental facilities:

- 2 isoflurane anesthesia systems for small animals,
- Stereotaxy system,
- Ventilated cabinet for small animals (16 cages).