Personalized Metabolic Profile by Synergic Use of NMR and HRMS

A new strategy that takes advantage of the synergism between NMR and UHPLC–HRMS yields accurate concentrations of a high number of compounds in biofluids to delineate a personalized metabolic profile (SYNHMET). Metabolite identification and quantification by this method result in a higher accuracy compared to the use of the two techniques separately, even in urine, one of the most challenging biofluids to characterize due to its complexity and variability. We quantified a total of 165 metabolites in the urine of healthy subjects, patients with chronic cystitis, and patients with bladder cancer, with a minimum number of missing values. This result was achieved without the use of analytical standards and calibration curves. A patient’s personalized profile can be mapped out from the final dataset’s concentrations by comparing them with known normal ranges. This detailed picture has potential applications in clinical practice to monitor a patient’s health status and disease progression.     

Characterization of Brain Metabolism by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

The noninvasive, quantitative ability of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize small molecule metabolites has long been recognized as a major strength of its application in biology. Numerous techniques exist for characterizing metabolism in living, excised, or extracted tissue, with a particular focus on ¹H-based methods due to the high sensitivity and natural abundance of protons. With the increasing use of high magnetic fields, the utility of in vivo ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has markedly improved for measuring specific metabolite concentrations in biological tissues. Higher fields, coupled with recent developments in hyperpolarization, also enable techniques for complimenting ¹H measurements with spectroscopy of other nuclei, such as ³¹P and ¹³C, and for combining measurements of metabolite pools with metabolic flux measurements. We compare ex vivo and in vivo methods for studying metabolism in the brain using NMR and highlight insights gained through using higher magnetic fields, the advent of dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization, and combining in vivo MRS and ex vivo NMR approaches.     

The First Application of 1H NMR Spectroscopy for the Assessment of the Authenticity of Perfumes

The manufacture of counterfeit goods is one of the world’s largest underground businesses and is rapidly growing. Counterfeits can lead not only to the loss of profit for honest producers but also have a negative impact on consumers who pay excessive prices for poor quality goods that may result in health or safety problems. The perfume industry is constantly vulnerable to counterfeits, particularly in the fast developing market of “smell-alike” designer-inspired perfumes because these prompt the identification of the methods that classify their quality. In this paper, the application of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy is employed for the first time to authenticate perfumery products. The molecular composition of several types of authentic brand fragrances for women was compared with cheap inspired equivalents and fakes. Our approach offers the prospect of a fast and simple method for detecting counterfeit perfumes using ¹H NMR spectroscopy.     

Discriminant Analysis of the Nutritional Components between Organic Eggs and Conventional Eggs: A 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics Study

The difference of nutrient composition between organic eggs and conventional eggs has always been a concern of people. In this study, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique combined with multivariate statistical analyses was conducted to identify the metabolite different in egg yolk and egg white in order to reveal the nutritional components information between organic and conventional eggs. The results showed that the nutrient content and composition characteristics were different between organic and conventional eggs, among which the content of glucose, putrescine, amino acids and their derivatives were found higher in the organic eggs yolk, while phospholipids were demonstrated higher in conventional eggs yolk. Organic acid, alcohol, amine, choline and amino acids were higher in conventional eggs white, but glucose and lactate in organic egg were higher. Our study demonstrated that there are more nutritive components and higher nutritional value in organic eggs than conventional eggs, especially for the growth and development of infants and young children, and conventional eggs have more advantages in promoting lipid metabolism, preventing fatty liver, and reducing serum cholesterol. Eggs have important nutritional value to human body, and these two kinds of eggs can be selected according to the actual nutrient needs.     

稀土对大鼠代谢产物影响的核磁共振研究

以高场核磁共振技术为研究手段,通过分析腹腔注射０．２、２、１０、２０ｍｇ／ｋｇ体重剂量的Ｌａ（ＮＯ３）３后大鼠尿液中代谢物浓度、物种的变化,研究了稀土化合物在动物体内的作用情况,结果表明,稀土的引入使动物肾脏和肝脏都受到一定程度的损伤,并在代谢物中挑选出了合适的ＮＭＲ ｍａｒｋｅｒｓ,其变化可以反映稀土离子作用后大鼠的异常代谢。     

Maternal Physiological Variations Induced by Chronic Gestational Hypoxia: 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics Study

Metabolomics have been widely used in pregnancy-related diseases. However, physiological variations induced by chronic hypoxia during pregnancy are not well characterized. We aimed to investigate physiological variations induced by chronic hypoxia during pregnancy. A Sprague–Dawley (SD) pregnant rat model of chronic hypoxia was established. Plasma and urine metabolite profiles at different stages of the pregnancy were detected by ¹H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance). Multivariate statistical analysis was used to analyze changes in plasma and urine metabolic trajectories at different time-points. We identified hypoxia-induced changes in the levels of 30 metabolites in plasma and 29 metabolites in urine during different stages of pregnancy; the prominently affected metabolites included acetic acid, acetone, choline, citric acid, glutamine, isoleucine, lysine, and serine. Most significant hypoxia-induced changes in plasma and urine sample metabolites were observed on the 11th day of gestation. In summary, chronic hypoxia has a significant effect on pregnant rats, and may cause metabolic disorders involving glucose, lipids, amino acids, and tricarboxylic acid cycle. Metabolomics study of the effect of hypoxia during pregnancy may provide insights into the pathogenesis of obstetric disorders.     

Assessment of the Extent of Starch Dissolution in Dimethyl Sulfoxide by 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Complete dissolution is needed for the separation, characterization, or homogeneous labeling of whole starch molecules. A method is presented to quantify the extent of starch dissolution in DMSO for the first time; it is validated on a commercial rice starch. It is used directly on starch dispersions containing possible undissolved or co‐dissolved species. High‐amylose maize starches, known to be digested slowly in vivo, only quantitatively dissolve in the presence of high concentrations of an H‐bond disrupter, LiBr, although they form clear dispersions at low LiBr concentrations. Starch quantitatively dissolves from waxy rice flours; non‐starch components partially co‐dissolve but do not interfere with the dissolution quantification.

     

核磁共振法测定片剂中西咪替丁

建立以核磁共振技术测定片剂中西咪替丁含量的方法。采用Agilent DD2-500型核磁共振波谱仪,以氘代甲醇为溶剂、对苯二甲酸二甲酯为内标,测试温度25℃,弛豫时间为20 s,脉冲角为45°,采集时间为2 s,扫描次数为16次,采集核磁共振氢谱。该方法线性范围为0.1~5.0 mg/mL,相关系数r=0.999 8,测定结果的相对标准偏差为0.11%(n=6),平均加标回收率在100.03%~100.58%之间。用该方法测定不同厂家片剂中西咪替丁的含量,测定结果与药典方法相吻合。该方法简单快速、样品用量少,适用于西咪替丁的质量控制。     

Quality Control of Krill Oil by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy: Composition and Detection of Foreign Species

Krill oil is currently among the most highly promoted products in the dietary supplement market, which, due to its high price, can be potentially adulterated with fish species and artificial oil. For a holistic control of krill oil quality, ¹H, ¹³C, and ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies were used. The fatty acid and phospholipid composition as well as secondary ingredients, such as homarine, amino acids, and chitin, were examined. The following phospholipid species were detected: phosphatidylcholine (75–85?mol %), phosphatidylethanolamine (4–7?mol%) and their lyso derivatives 1-lysophosphatidylcholine (1–2?mol%)–2-lysophosphatidylcholine (10–16?mol%) and lysophosphatidylethanolamine (1?mol%). In the -2 position of phospholipids, the content of eicosapentaenoic acid (mean 68.23%; relative standard deviation 2.23%) was twice as high as the content of docosahexaenoic acid (mean 31.77%; relative standard deviation 4.79%). ¹³C NMR spectroscopy was used to distinguish between krill and fish oil-based dietary supplements. The adulteration of krill oil can be detected by fatty acid distribution in the sn-2 triacylglycerol position. The sensitivity of the method is about 10% (w/w) of fish content in blends, which is enough to detect deliberate adulteration. The same methodology can be used to recognize synthetically modified krill oil. The method was successfully applied to 30 commercially available krill and fish oil supplements.     

ChemInform Abstract: NMR Chemical Shifts in the Fluorocarbonate Ion FCO-2: A Comparative Study of Experimental and Theoretical IGLO NMR Results.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.     

二维NMR确定吡喃酮衍生物C_9H_（12）O_4的结构

利用Ｈ－ＨＣＯＳＹ和Ｃ－ＨＣＯＳＹ谱实现对~１Ｈ和~（１３）Ｃ谱的指认和归属；利用ＨＭ－ＢＣ谱确定分子的骨架；根据~１Ｈ－~１Ｈ标量偶合常数的大小推出相邻碳原子上质子的相对位置；并结合其它谱学数据，确定了从天然产物分离得到的吡喃酮衍生物Ｃ_９Ｈ_（１２）－Ｏ_４的化学结构并命名为２－（１’，２’－环氧丙烷基）－４－羟基－５－甲基－２－戊烯－５－酸内酯。     

A Pilot Metabolomic Study on Myocardial Injury Caused by Chronic Alcohol Consumption—Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy

Chronic alcohol consumption leads to myocardial injury, ventricle dilation, and cardiac dysfunction, which is defined as alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM). To explore the induced myocardial injury and underlying mechanism of ACM, the Liber-DeCarli liquid diet was used to establish an animal model of ACM and histopathology, echocardiography, molecular biology, and metabolomics were employed. Hematoxylin-eosin and Masson’s trichrome staining revealed disordered myocardial structure and local fibrosis in the ACM group. Echocardiography revealed thinning wall and dilation of the left ventricle and decreased cardiac function in the ACM group, with increased serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and expression of myocardial BNP mRNA measured through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively. Through metabolomic analysis of myocardium specimens, 297 differentially expressed metabolites were identified which were involved in KEGG pathways related to the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin digestion and absorption, oxidative phosphorylation, pentose phosphate, and purine and pyrimidine metabolism. The present study demonstrated chronic alcohol consumption caused disordered cardiomyocyte structure, thinning and dilation of the left ventricle, and decreased cardiac function. Metabolomic analysis of myocardium specimens and KEGG enrichment analysis further demonstrated that several differentially expressed metabolites and pathways were involved in the ACM group, which suggests potential causes of myocardial injury due to chronic alcohol exposure and provides insight for further research elucidating the underlying mechanisms of ACM.     

两个穿心莲内酯苷的波谱学研究

利用柱色谱对穿心莲地上部分的提取物进行分离,得到3,14-二去氧穿心莲内酯苷和14-去氧穿心莲内酯苷。利用核磁共振氢谱(1H-NMR)、碳谱(13C-NMR)以及双量子滤波相关谱(DQFCOSY)、总相关谱(TOCSY)、异核多量子相干谱(HMQC)、异核多键相关谱(HMBC),解析这两个化合物的结构。确定了1H-NMR的氢信号和13C-NMR的碳信号的归属,并且用NOESY对3,14-二去氧穿心莲内酯苷的立体结构进行了研究。     

Longitudinal Relaxation Enhancement in 1H NMR Spectroscopy of Tissue Metabolites via Spectrally Selective Excitation

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is governed by longitudinal (T₁) relaxation. For protein and nucleic acid experiments in solutions, it is well established that apparent T₁ values can be enhanced by selective excitation of targeted resonances. The present study explores such longitudinal relaxation enhancement (LRE) effects for molecules residing in biological tissues. The longitudinal relaxation recovery of tissue resonances positioned both down‐ and upfield of the water peak were measured by spectrally selective excitation/refocusing pulses, and compared with conventional water‐suppressed, broadband‐excited counterparts at 9.4 T. Marked LRE effects with up to threefold reductions in apparent T₁ values were observed as expected for resonances in the 6–9 ppm region; remarkably, statistically significant LRE effects were also found for several non‐exchanging metabolite resonances in the 1–4 ppm region, encompassing 30–50 % decreases in apparent T₁ values. These LRE effects suggest a novel means of increasing the sensitivity of tissue‐oriented experiments, and open new vistas to investigate the nature of interactions among metabolites, water and macromolecules at a molecular level.     

溶剂对氟烷基卤代烷^1^9FNMR 化学位移的影响

长期以来,溶剂对反应途径和反应物的影响及他们之间的关系是物理和有机化学家一个十分感兴趣的课题。溶剂影响氟烷基碘的~(19)F NMR 曾有文献报道。我们在研究氟烷基碘与铜反应中的溶剂作用时,发现,在配位能力较小的溶剂中反应经自由基中间体,而在配位能力较大的溶剂中反应是通过氟烷基铜中     

Enantiotropy of Simvastatin as a Result of Weakened Interactions in the Crystal Lattice: Entropy-Driven Double Transitions and the Transient Modulated Phase as Seen by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

In crystalline molecular solids, in the absence of strong intermolecular interactions, entropy-driven processes play a key role in the formation of dynamically modulated transient phases. Specifically, in crystalline simvastatin, the observed fully reversible enantiotropic behavior is associated with multiple order–disorder transitions: upon cooling, the dynamically disordered high-temperature polymorphic Form I is transformed to the completely ordered low-temperature polymorphic Form III via the intermediate (transient) modulated phase II. This behavior is associated with a significant reduction in the kinetic energy of the rotating and flipping ester substituents, as well as a decrease in structural ordering into two distinct positions. In transient phase II, the conventional three-dimensional structure is modulated by periodic distortions caused by cooperative conformation exchange of the ester substituent between the two states, which is enabled by weakened hydrogen bonding. Based on solid-state NMR data analysis, the mechanism of the enantiotropic phase transition and the presence of the transient modulated phase are documented.