Hyperpolarization of N-heterocycles with signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) induces NMR sensitivity gains for biological molecules. Substitutions with functional groups, in particular in the ortho-position of the heterocycle, however, result in low polarization using a typical Ir catalyst with a bismesityl N-heterocyclic carbene ligand for SABRE, presumably due to steric hindrance. With the addition of allylamine or acetonitrile as coligands to the precatalyst chloro(1,5-cyclooctadiene)[4,5-dimethyl-1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene] iridium, the 1 H signal enhancement increased in several substrates with ortho NH 2 substitutions. For example, for a proton in 2,4-diaminopyrimidine, the enhancement factors increased from À 7 � 1 to À 210 � 20 with allylamine or to À 160 � 10 with acetonitrile. CH 3 substituted molecules yielded maximum signal enhancements of À 25 � 7 with acetonitrile addition, which is considerably less than the corresponding NH 2 substituted molecules, despite exhibiting similar steric size. With the more electron-donating NH 2 substitution resulting in greater enhancement, it is concluded that steric hindrance is not the only dominant factor in determining the polarizability of the CH 3 substituted compounds. The addition of allylamine increased the signal enhancement for the 290 Da trimethoprim, a molecule with a 2,4-diaminopyrimidine moiety serving as an antibacterial agent, to À 70.