Search for the Unknown
A new NMR spectroscopy system could help researchers get to grips with the metabolome
Getting to know our metabolomes is tricky. We have to contend with a high diversity of molecular structures and concentrations, as well as a lack of standardized or automated methods for data collection and reporting. But a team of researchers think they can help (1).
Their multidimensional platform for identifying NMR-generated biomarkers involves eight different steps – from statistical spectroscopic tools and two-dimensional NMR analysis to separation techniques like solid-phase extraction. Although the full protocol can take up to a month, an alternative approach with fewer steps could take just two or three days to perform. This could not only speed up metabolic phenotyping studies, but also offer a cost-effective and efficient way to cover more of the metabolome.
- I Garcia-Perez et al., Nature Protocols, 15, 2538 (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-0343-3
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