L-band electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer for use in vivo and in studies of aqueous biological samples

The development of L-band (∼1.2GHz) frequency EPR spectrometers has made feasible many in vivo studies in laboratory animals and, recently, in human volunteers. The lower dielectric and eddy current losses that occur at L-band balance the lower Zeeman splitting so useful measurements can be made in conductive aqueous samples. We describe typical resonators used in such studies and provide details on the construction of the spectrometer, including the bridge, the automatic frequency control subsystem, the low-noise high-stability tunable L-band frequency source, as well as the low-frequency components—the signal receiver and the modulation unit. The application of EPR spectroscopy to larger subjects requires special care in the design of an appropriate magnet with sufficient homogeneity and stability, yet with dimensions that allow operation with a wide range of subject sizes. We describe our solution, which involves a permanent magnet, air-core scan coils to provide the field sweep and offset, and field s...