THE USE OF C-13-MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY IN METABOLIC RESEARCH

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a powerful investigative tool that has rapidly become accepted as a valuable means of assessing met abolic phenomena. C-13 MRS provides a rapid and nondestructive means o f studying metabolism in intact tissues, organs, and whole organisms. A major feature of the technique is the ability to follow metabolism n oninvasively and nondestructively. Benefits of a wide spectral window for C-13 (>200 ppm), makes C-13 MRS ideal for obtaining semiquantitati ve information about enriched substrates and their intermediates withi n living tissues in real time. The increased commercial availability o f a wide range of C-13-enriched biomolecules combined with the develop ment of more sensitive instrumentation has made it possible to begin e xploiting the full potential of C-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy i n metabolic research. This review is intended to introduce renders to the application of C-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy to selected pr oblems in metabolic research.