Relaxometry is a technique which makes use of a specific crystal lattice defect in diamond, the so-called NV center. This defect consists of a nitrogen atom, which replaces a carbon atom in the diamond lattice, and an adjacent vacancy. NV centers allow converting magnetic noise into optical signals, which dramatically increases the sensitivity of the readout, allowing for nanoscale resolution. Analogously to T1 measurements in conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), relaxometry allows the detection of different concentrations of paramagnetic species. However, since relaxometry allows very local measurements, the detected signals are from nanoscale voxels around the NV centers. As a result, it is possible to achieve subcellular resolutions and organelle specific measurements.

中文翻译：

---

钻石中氮空位 (NV) 中心的弛豫测量

弛豫法是一种利用金刚石中特定晶格缺陷（即所谓的 NV 中心）的技术。该缺陷由一个氮原子和一个相邻的空位组成，氮原子取代了金刚石晶格中的碳原子。NV 中心允许将磁噪声转换为光信号，从而显着提高读出的灵敏度，从而实现纳米级分辨率。类似于传统磁共振成像 (MRI) 中的 T1 测量，弛豫测量法允许检测不同浓度的顺磁性物质。然而，由于弛豫测量允许非常局部的测量，检测到的信号来自 NV 中心周围的纳米级体素。因此，有可能实现亚细胞分辨率和细胞器特异性测量。