[Study of biological fluids by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy]

The use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the study of biofluids is rapidly developing and might soon constitute a new major medical application of this technique which benefits from technological and methodological progress such as higher magnetic fields, new probe design, solvent suppression sequences and advanced data processing routines. In this overview, the clinical and pharmacological impact of this new approach is examined, with emphasis on the NMR spectroscopy of plasma, cerebrospinal fluid and urine. Applications to pharmacokinetics and toxicology are illustrated. Interestingly, a number of biochemical components of fluids which are not usually assayed by conventional biochemical methods are readily detected by NMR spectroscopy which is clearly a new competitive entrant among the techniques used in clinical biology. Its ease-of-use, cost effectiveness and high informational content might turn it into a major diagnostic tool in the years to come.