PEAKIT: A Gaussian Process regression analysis tool for chemical exchange saturation transfer spectra.

Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) is a powerful technique for metabolic imaging, capable of exploring concentrations in the μM to mM range. However, extracting quantitative information from Z-spectra can be challenging due to the non-CEST contributions present and the limited knowledge about the exchanging pools. The PEAKIT tool is proposed as an alternative approach to quantifying CEST peaks, which requires no prior assumptions about the frequency offset or the underlying shape of the baseline. Specifically, the tool takes as input an experimental Z-spectrum and proceeds to identify peak candidates. After a baseline estimation based on Gaussian Process regression, PEAKIT outputs the chemical shift offsets, the areas, the heights and the statistical significance of the detected peaks. The performance and limitations of the PEAKIT tool are discussed for in vitro and in vivo applications.

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Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.