Application of NMR-Based metabolomics to biomedical problems

Abstract

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) nowadays is an important tool in the study of metabolites and has been used for over 20 years to determine metabolic profiles. Metabolic research is usually divided into metabolomics (the identification and quantification of biological system or organism's metabolites, kept under normal conditions) and metabonomics (the analysis of these metabolites when these biological systems or organisms undergo changes in response to pathophysiological stimuli or genetic modification). A great advantage of the technique is that sample preparation for NMR metabolomics experiments is relatively minimal. Using a simple technique, it is possible to identify 20 to 40 metabolites in tissue extracts, 30 to 100 metabolites in urine and up to 65 metabolites in blood plasma or serum. For metabolite identification in NMR spectra, ChenoMX® software is used. However, this software often provides numerous hits on unknown metabolites, and, hence, can lead to incorrect metabolite identification. Thereby, the main goal of this internship project is to learn the metabolite identification methodologies already in use by the NMRFAM group and participate in the developing and testing of the ones that are still under development. The methodology used by the group will allow better and more accurate identification of Leishmania sp. metabolites, the student's PhD topic. (AU)