Although nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a potent analytical tool for identification, quantification, and structural elucidation, it suffers from inherently low sensitivity limitations. This chapter focuses on recently reported methods that enable quick acquisition of NMR spectra, as well as new methods of faster, efficient, and informative two-dimensional (2D) NMR methods. Fast and efficient data acquisition has risen in response to an increasing need to investigate chemical and biological processes in real time. Several new techniques have been successfully introduced. One example of this is band-selective optimized-flip-angle short-transient (SOFAST) NMR, which has opened the door to studying the kinetics of biological processes such as the phosphorylation of proteins. The fast recording of NMR spectra allows researchers to investigate time sensitive molecules that have limited stability under experimental conditions. The increasing awareness that molecular structures are dynamic, rather than static, has pushed some researchers to find alternatives to standard, time-consuming methods of 15N relaxation observables acquisition.
Part of the book: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Pharmacology is the predominant first-line treatment for most pathologies. However, various factors, such as genetics, gender, diet, and health status, significantly influence the efficacy of drugs in different patients, sometimes with fatal consequences. Personalized diagnosis substantially improves treatment efficacy but requires a more comprehensive process for health assessment. Pharmacometabolomics combines metabolomic, genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic approaches and therefore offers data that other analytical methods cannot provide. In this way, pharmacometabolomics more accurately guides medical professionals in predicting an individual’s response to selected drugs. In this chapter, we discuss the potentials and the advantages of metabolomics approaches for designing innovative and personalized drug treatments.
Part of the book: Metabolomics