Effect of lithium on the double‐quantum behavior of 23na in normal human erythrocytes

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Abstract
The doublé‐quantum behavior of 23Na in the presence of different concentrations of Li in human erythrocytes was investigated. The 23Na double‐quantum signal was quenched in both the extracellular and the intracellular compartments with increasing concentration of Li in each compartment, along with an increase in the 23Na T1 both intra‐ and extracellularly. Some extracellular quenching could be observed at the near therapeutic concentration of 2 mM Li. The ratio of slow to fast spin‐spin (T2) relaxation times, obtained from the dependence of the double‐quantum signal on creation time, approached unity at an overall Li concentration of 40 mM. These results provide evidence that Li and Na compete for both intra‐ and extracellular binding sites in erythrocytes.