We
discuss the temperature dependence of the 1H and 13C nuclear spin–lattice relaxation rate 1/T
1 and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) performance in
β-cyclodextrins with deuterated methyl groups. It is shown that 13C DNP-enhanced polarization is raised up to 10%. The temperature
dependence of the buildup rate for nuclear spin polarization and of
1/T
1, below 4.2 K, is analyzed in the
framework of the thermal mixing regime and the origin of the deviations
from the theoretical behavior discussed. 13C 1/T
1 is determined at low temperature by the glassy
dynamics and at high temperature by the rotational molecular motions
of the deuterated methyl groups. Thanks to deuteration, relaxation
times approaching 30 s are achieved at room temperature, making this
material interesting for molecular imaging applications. The effect
of molecular dynamics on the line width of the NMR spectra is also
discussed.