[19FNMR in biomedical research]

Nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) is a noninvasive method which can be directly used to study biological samples in vivo and in vitro. The information that can be obtained is on the molecular level. The high intrinsic sensitivity of 19F for detection and lack of significant 19F background make 19FNMR studies an attractive strategy by introducing fluorinated indicators for in vivo studies. 19FNMR has been used to study many physiological and biochemical indexes including metabolism of drugs containing fluorine, intracellular free ions such as Ca2+ and Mg2+, intracellular pH, oxygen concentration or oxygen tension(pO2), membrane potential, tissue temperature, blood volume and cell volume and so on.