SVC Physics and Chemistry Professors Collaborate on Groundbreaking Research Project

LATROBE, PA – A random meeting sparked a research partnership between two Saint Vincent College instructors from different departments of the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing.

While working at the same table during an Admission Office event for new students, Dr. Jason Vohs, professor of chemistry, and Fr. Michael Antonacci, O.S.B., PhD, C’07, S’14, assistant professor of physics, got to talking shop. Fr. Michael said he needed a particular molecule for a project, a request that’s physically small but hugely important. That didn’t faze Vohs, whose forte is manufacturing bespoke molecules.

“He [described] the structure, and I said, ‘My goodness, those are the types of molecules I routinely make and play with all the time,’” Vohs recalled. “I thought I was just going to make a couple of simple molecules for him to use in his studies, but it’s blossomed into a nice collaboration among us and our students.”

Over the past five years, Fr. Michael has studied signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) hyperpolarization, a method to enhance the strength of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals without high-field magnets. The project aims to develop water-soluble catalysts for contrast agents for use with the SABRE method to develop new NMR contrast agents.

Anyone who’s had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam to diagnose to a sore knee or elbow has experienced NMR spectroscopy. The method Vohs and Fr. Michael are working on would turn weak NMR imaging responses into strong signals making previously impractical measurements possible.

“SABRE selects particular atoms on a molecule, and ‘turns up the volume’ on the NMR signal,” Fr. Michael explained. “The outcome would be the molecule you are trying to see would be tagged and much brighter than it would be without the contrast agent.”

The physics side (Fr. Michael) of the project deals with the instrumentation. The chemistry side (Vohs) is concerned with building the catalyst, a molecule to make the SABRE method work.

Toward the end of the spring 2024 semester, Vohs and Fr. Michael were pleased—and a bit stunned—when their initial attempt to produce signal enhancement with standard catalysts was a success.

“Usually, there are lots of things that go wrong, and you have to tease out what's wrong in your setup,” Fr. Michael said. “So, to execute each step successfully on the first try was really shocking.”

Yet, that was merely the project’s curtain raiser. The researchers still must overcome a fundamental hurdle to ensure their method is safe to use in animals and humans.

“The method is easy to implement using a methanol solution, but you can’t safely inject a methanol solution into a living thing,” Fr. Michael said. “Our collaboration is moving towards developing catalysts that are water soluble and efficient for SABRE-enhanced NMR. That combination is rare, and it hasn’t yet been done.”

Last summer, two students—junior Tony Sparta, a chemistry and mathematics double major and physics minor from Jefferson Hills, and senior Angelina Bucci, a biochemistry major from Lower Burrell—assisted with the research.

“I learned a lot, not only about this lab but about research in general,” Bucci said. “It was quite a big molecule, so it was a lengthy synthesis. It was a six-step [process] and after each step you lose some of your percent yield, some of your product, so we had to tweak that and piece together all the information.”

The group collected more positive results using multiple non-water-soluble catalysts. “We gathered a plethora of data in just six weeks,” Vohs said.

The project initially was funded by a $5,000 faculty research grant. The successes in the lab earlier this year have given Vohs and Fr. Michael momentum to explore more grants.

“We’d like to get a setup of equipment where we don’t have to tinker as much, kind of Scotch tape it and ‘MacGyver’ it, if you will,” Vohs said. “Now, we have enough data to say, ‘This works. Give us a little bit more money and we can easily take it to the next level.’”

Vohs and Fr. Michael are seeking students to assist with the ongoing research. Anyone interested may email michael.antonacci@stvincent.edu or jason.vohs@stvincent.edu.