An introduction to the potential of 1H-, 31P- and 13C-NMR-spectroscopy.

Multinuclear NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C, 31P) of biological samples reflects their metabolic composition. The analysis of high field and high resolution spectra of body fluids, cell and biopsy extracts requires no separation of a complex mixture into individual metabolites. Pattern recognition methods can be used to classify normal and pathological samples. Stable isotope enriched precursors are used to follow-up biochemical pathways and metabolic trafficking demonstrated for the lipid biosynthesis. Finally, volume selective in vivo spectroscopy or spectroscopic imaging depicts acute and time dependent metabolic events noninvasively in intact tissue within a few minutes.