Bacterial spore detection and analysis using hyperpolarized 129Xe chemical exchange saturation transfer (Hyper-CEST) NMR

Previously, we reported hyperpolarized 129Xe chemical exchange saturation transfer (Hyper-CEST) NMR techniques for the ultrasensitive (i.e., 1 picomolar) detection of xenon host molecules known as cryptophane. Here, we demonstrate a more general role for Hyper-CEST NMR as a spectroscopic method for probing nanoporous structures, without the requirement for cryptophane or engineered xenon-binding sites. Hyper-CEST 129Xe NMR spectroscopy was employed to detect Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus subtilis spores in solution, and interrogate the layers that comprise their structures. 129Xe–spore samples were selectively irradiated with radiofrequency pulses; the depolarized 129Xe returned to aqueous solution and depleted the 129Xe-water signal, providing measurable contrast. Removal of the outermost spore layers in B. anthracis and B. subtilis (the exosporium and coat, respectively) enhanced 129Xe exchange with the spore interior. Notably, the spores were invisible to hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR direct detection methods, highlighting the lack of high-affinity xenon-binding sites, and the potential for extending Hyper-CEST NMR structural analysis to other biological and synthetic nanoporous structures.