Gadolinium-Based Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement Agent Enhances Sensitivity for NUS Multidimensional NMR-Based...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Gadolinium is a paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) agent.
• PRE agents accelerate the relaxation of metabolite nuclei.
• Improving sensitivity in NMR metabolomics is crucial for accurate analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of gadolinium on the sensitivity of two-dimensional, non-uniform sampled NMR spectral data.
• To assess gadolinium's impact on signal intensity, signal-to-noise ratio, and metabolite detection limits.
• To determine if gadolinium enhances the repeatability of NMR-based metabolomics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two-dimensional, non-uniform sampled NMR spectroscopy.
• Performed time-equivalent experiments with and without gadolinium addition.
• Analyzed standard and plasma samples for metabolite resonance intensity and signal-to-noise ratio.

Main Results:

• Gadolinium addition increased mean signal intensity and signal-to-noise ratio in metabolite resonances.
• Gadolinium resulted in linear intensity measurements that correlated with metabolite concentrations.
• Lower limits of detection and quantification in the low micromolar range were achieved with gadolinium.
• Increased repeatability of intensity measurements was observed with gadolinium.

Conclusions:

• Gadolinium-based PRE agents can significantly improve NMR-based metabolomics.
• The addition of gadolinium enhances sensitivity, detection limits, and repeatability.
• Gadolinium is a valuable tool for advancing metabolomics research using NMR.