Ellena, S., et al., Para-hydrogen induced polarization of Si-29 NMR resonances as a potentially useful tool for analytical applications. Magn. Reson. Chem., 2012. 50(8): p. 529-533.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrc.3832
Para-hydrogen–induced polarization effects have been observed in the 29Si NMR spectra of trimethylsilyl para-hydrogenated molecules. The high signal enhancements and the long T1 values observed for the 29Si hyperpolarized resonances point toward the possibility of using 29Si for hyperpolarization applications. A method for the discrimination of multiple compounds and/or complex mixtures of hydroxylic compounds (such as steroids), consisting of the silylization of alcoholic functionalities with an unsaturated silylalkyl moiety and subsequent reaction with para-H2, is proposed.