Sample collection and preparation of biofluids and extracts for NMR spectroscopy

Metabonomics is a cross-disciplinary science that overlaps with analytical chemistry, biology, and statistical analysis. The techniques commonly used are proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). Applying 1H NMR on cell extracts provides a rapid and comprehensive screening of the most abundant metabolites allowing the quantitation of typically 20–70 compounds (depending on the type of sample) including amino and organic acids, sugars, amines, nucleosides, phenolic compounds, osmolytes, and lipids produced at sublevel millimolar concentrations. The sample preparation is usually kept minimal making the method particularly suited to high-throughput analysis (up to 100 samples/24 h with the use of a 60-holder autosampler). This chapter describes procedures for profiling liquids and solids of biological origin from plants, food, microbes, and mammalian systems.