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Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Monitoring Protein-Ligand Interactions in Human Cells by Real-Time Quantitative In-Cell NMR using a High Cell Density Bioreactor
Published on: March 9, 2021
In-Cell NMR: Analysis of Protein-Small Molecule Interactions, Metabolic Processes, and Protein Phosphorylation
Amit Kumar1,2,3, Lars T Kuhn4, Jochen Balbach5,6
1Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. A.Kumar@leeds.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy enables the non-invasive observation of biochemical processes, in living cells, at comparably high spectral and temporal resolution. Preferably, means of increasing the detection limit of this powerful analytical method need to be applied when observing cellular processes under physiological conditions, due to the low sensitivity inherent to the technique. In this review, a brief introduction to in-cell NMR, protein-small molecule interactions, posttranslational phosphorylation, and hyperpolarization NMR methods, used for the study of metabolites in cellulo, are presented. Recent examples of method development in all three fields are conceptually highlighted, and an outlook into future perspectives of this emerging area of NMR research is given.
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