Category Archives: Methods & Applications

Posts describing the use of the nmr spectroscopy (MRS) methodology, either from a practical point of view (how to perform certain experiment), or from a more theoretical perspective (description of techniques and their application).

Access to experimentally infeasible spectra by pure-shift NMR covariance

2016-10-04Methods & Applications, Our Publications, Our Research2D DIAG, coavriance, enhanced resolution, Generalized Indirect Covariance, homodecoupling, homonuclear decoupling, HSQC, HSQMBC, HSQMBC-TOCSY, indirect covariance, NOESY, NUS, psGIC, Pure shift, pure-shift NMRAndre

Access to experimentally infeasible spectra by pure-shift NMR covariance. André Fredi, Pau Nolis, Carlos Cobas and Teodor Parella. Journal of Magnetic Resonance, Volume 270, September 2016, Pages 161-168. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2016.07.010

Abstract: Covariance processing is a versatile processing tool to generate synthetic NMR spectral representations without the need to acquire time-consuming experimental datasets. Here we show that even experimentally prohibited NMR spectra can be reconstructed by introducing key features of a reference 1D CHn-edited spectrum into standard 2D spectra. This general procedure is illustrated with the calculation of experimentally infeasible multiplicity-edited pure-shift NMR spectra of some very popular homonuclear (ME-psCOSY and ME-psTOCSY) and heteronuclear (ME-psHSQC-TOCSY and ME-psHMBC) experiments.

Continue reading →

Mycobacteria clumping increase their capacity to damage macrophages

2016-10-03Methods & Applications, Our Publications, Our Researchfatty acids, mycobacterium, mycolic acidsMiriam

“Mycobacteria clumping increase their capacity to damage macrophages” by C. Brambilla, M. Llorens-Fons, E. Julián, E. Noguera-Ortega, C. Tomàs-Martínez, M. Pérez-Trujillo, T. F. Byrd, F. Alcaide and M. Luquin.

Front. Microbiol. 7:1562. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01562

The rough morphotypes of non-tuberculous mycobacteria have been associated with the most severe illnesses in humans. This idea is consistent with the fact that Mycobacterium tuberculosis presents a stable rough morphotype. Unlike smooth morphotypes, the bacilli of rough morphotypes grow close together, leaving no spaces among them and forming large aggregates (clumps). Currently, the initial interaction of macrophages with clumps remains unclear. Thus, we infected J774 macrophages with bacterial suspensions of rough morphotypes of Mycobacterium abscessus containing clumps and suspensions of smooth morphotypes, primarily containing isolated bacilli. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy and electron microscopy, we observed clumps of at least 5 rough-morphotype bacilli inside the phagocytic vesicles of macrophages at 3 hours post-infection. These clumps grew within the phagocytic vesicles, killing 100% of the macrophages at 72 hours post-infection, whereas the proliferation of macrophages infected with smooth morphotypes remained unaltered at 96 hours post-infection. Thus, macrophages phagocytose large clumps, exceeding the bactericidal capacities of these cells. Furthermore, proinflammatory cytokines and granuloma-like structures were only produced by macrophages infected with rough morphotypes. Thus, the present study provides a foundation for further studies that consider mycobacterial clumps as virulence factors.

Figure. Content of GPL and structure of mycolic acids. (A) 1-D TLC analysis of the crude lipid extracts of M. abscessus strains. (B) ¹H-NMR spectra of purified mycolic acid methyl esters from M. abscessus. (C) Relative molar ratios of molecular moieties cis-db, trans-db, cis-cp and trans-cp of mycolic acid methyl esters from M. abscessus.

SeRMN contribution to the 32nd AETE (European Embryo Transfer Association) Meeting

2016-09-29Methods & Applications, News from the SeRMN, Our Publications, Our Researchanimal science, metabolomics, nmrMiriam

The 32nd European Embryo Transfer Association Meeting of 2016 was held in Barcelona (from the 9th to the 10th of September).

We presentented the poster:

“Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of goat follicular fluid shows different metabolic profiles among follicle size and female age” of S. Soto, M. Pérez-Trujillo, M.G. Catalá, M. Roura, D. Izquierdo, T. Parella, M.T. Paramio.

Abstract: Oocytes recovered from prepubertal goats are very heterogeneous in growth and grade of atresia which make them unpredictable for IVEP programs. We have observed that oocytes from prepubertal goats obtained from >3 mm follicles develop up to blastocyst stage at a similar percentage than oocytes from adult goats (18% vs 21%), suggesting that the follicle development and the follicular fluid (FF) content are more relevant to oocyte competence than the age of the donor. The aim of this study is to characterize the FF metabolomic profile from different follicular environments through a high-resolution ¹H NMR-based metabolomic study. Samples of adult (n=40) and prepubertal (n=16) FF where collected by laparoscopic ovum pick-up (LOPU) and by aspiration of slaughterhouse ovaries, respectively. FF from small (< 3 mm) and large (> 3 mm) diameter follicles where pooled for each female. Multivariate ordination principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to detect patterns of sample ordination in the metabolomes. The unsupervised method clearly differed between the FF metabolomes of large and small follicles of prepubers and between the FF of preadolescent and adult individuals.

Figure. a) PCA scores plot (PC1-PC2) from ¹H NMR spectral data of follicular fluid samples of preadolescent (n=16; blue dots) and adult (n=40; black dots) goats. b) PCA heat map loadings plot (PC1-PC2) with some discriminant variables assigned.

New Book Release: MORPHOLOGICAL MOUSE PHENOTYPING

2016-07-28Methods & Applications, News from the SeRMN, Our Publicationsanimal-model, biospec, Mouse Atlas, MRISilvia

“MORPHOLOGICAL MOUSE PHENOTYPING: Anatomy, Histology and Imaging” by Jesús Ruberte París, Ana Carretero Romay, and Marc Navarro Beltrán (2016). Editorial Médica Panamericana.

An extraordinary atlas of mouse anatomy which includes more than 2,200 original images over 600 pages to show the anatomy, histology and cellular structure of mouse organs. This book attempts to provide an overview of the different levels of morphology of the mouse, ranging from gross anatomy and topographical anatomy (to explain the relative position of the organs and structures of a particular body region) down to the microscopic anatomy. Imaging technologies used for that include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultrasonography, angiography, X-ray, and electron microscopy. Also, classical anatomical techniques such as conventional dissection, skeletal preparations, vascular injections, histology and immunohistochemistry have been employed to characterize the mouse morphology.

All MRI images included in this book were acquired at our NMR facility (SeRMN, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) in a 7 Tesla Bruker BioSpec spectrometer.

André Fredi’s oral presentation at 8th GERMN / 5th Iberian NMR Meeting

2016-07-20Methods & Applications, News from the SeRMN, NMR Events & Courses, Our Publications, Our Researchcovariance, covariance NMR, Generalized Indirect Covariance, homodecoupling, homonuclear decoupling, nmr, psGIC, Pure shift, pure-shift NMRAndre

André Fredi made an oral presentation at the 8th GERMN / 5th Iberian NMR Meeting (GERMN 2016) held in Valencia, Spain from 27th to 29th June 2016.

In his presentation, that was titled “Exploring the use of Generalized Indirect Covariance to reconstruct Pure Shift NMR spectra: Current Pros and Cons”, André explained how to make pure spectra shift from Generalized Indirect Covariance processing (psGIC). This new method is basically a new way to get “synthetic” pure shift spectra without the need to purchase a pure shift spectrum in the spectrometer and without the penalties that pure-shift experiments cause.

André has been working as a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Chemistry and SeRMN under the direction of Dr. Teodor Parella and Dr. Pau Nolis since November 2014, when he enrolled in the Department of Chemistry doctoral program at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona with a fellowship from CNPq-Brazil. He is currently in his second year and expects to defend the doctoral thesis on 2017/2018.

Presentations at the EUROMAR 2016 Conference

2016-07-20Methods & Applications, News from the SeRMN, NMR Events & Courses, Our Researchcovariance NMR, Generalized Indirect Covariance, homodecoupling, HSQC, HSQMBC, psGIC, pure-shift NMRAndre

André Fredi (PhD student) and Teodor Parella presented our last research works at the annual meeting of the European magnetic resonance community EUROMAR 2016 Conference that was celebrated on days 3th to 7th July in Aarhus, Denmark. Find below a summary of our contributions. Continue reading Presentations at the EUROMAR 2016 Conference →

Chloroperoxidase-catalyzed amino alcohol oxidation: Substrate specificity and novel strategy for the synthesis of N-Cbz-3-aminopropanal

2016-06-15Methods & Applications, Our Publications, Our Researchamino alcohol, biocatalysis, catalysisMiriam

“Chloroperoxidase-catalyzed amino alcohol oxidation: Substrate specificity and novel strategy for the synthesis of N-Cbz-3-aminopropanal” by G. Masdeu, M. Pérez-Trujillo, J. López-Santín and Gregorio Álvaro. Process Biochemistry 2016; DOI:10.1016/j.procbio.2016.05.022

The ability of chloroperoxidase (CPO) to catalyze amino alcohol oxidations was investigated. The oxidations of compounds with different configurations with respect to the amine position towards hydroxyl – using H₂O₂ and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH) – were analyzed in terms of the initial reaction rate, substrate conversion, and CPO operational stability. Continue reading Chloroperoxidase-catalyzed amino alcohol oxidation: Substrate specificity and novel strategy for the synthesis of N-Cbz-3-aminopropanal →

Shifts in plant foliar and floral metabolomes in response to the suppression of the associated microbiota

2016-04-26Methods & Applications, Our Publications, Our Researchecology, metabolomics, metabonomicsAlbert Gargallo

“Shifts in plant foliar and floral metabolomes in response to the suppression of the associated microbiota” by A. Gargallo-Garriga, J. Sardans, M. Pérez-Trujillo, A. Guenther, J. Llusià, L. Rico, J. Terradas, G. Farré-Armengol, I. Filella, T. Parella and J. Peñuelas. BMC Plant Biology 2016; 16:78. DOI: 10.1186/s12870-016-0767-7

The significance of microbial populations to the health and physiology of human and animal hosts has become a burgeoning and increasingly newsworthy topic. Of course, plants are also hosts for microbial life, and our metabolomics new study in BMC Plant Biology suggests that microbial influence on plant biology is more complex than we currently appreciate. Continue reading Shifts in plant foliar and floral metabolomes in response to the suppression of the associated microbiota →

Optimized polarization build-up times in dissolution DNP-NMR using a benzyl amino derivative of BDPA

2016-04-01Methods & Applications, Our Publications, Our Research13C-NMR, dissolution DNP, DNP, hyperpolarization, in-vitro-DNP, radicalsEva

“Optimized polarization build-up times in dissolution DNP-NMR using a benzyl amino derivative of BDPA” by José Luis. Muñoz Gómez, Eva Monteagudo, Vega LLoveras, Teodor Parella, Jaume Veciana and José Vidal Gancedo. RSC Advances, 2016, 6, 27077. DOI: 10.1039/c6ra00635c

The synthesis of two novel BDPA-like radicals, a benzyl amino (BAm-BDPA, 7) and a cyano (CN-BDPA, 5) derivative, is reported and their behaviour as polarizing agents for fast dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is evaluated. Continue reading Optimized polarization build-up times in dissolution DNP-NMR using a benzyl amino derivative of BDPA →

Exploring the use of Generalized Indirect Covariance to Reconstruct Pure shift NMR Spectra: Current Pros and Cons.

2016-03-14Methods & Applications, News from the SeRMN, Our Publications, Our Research2D DIAG, coavriance, enhanced resolution, Generalized Indirect Covariance, homodecoupling, homonuclear decoupling, HSQC, HSQMBC, HSQMBC-TOCSY, indirect covariance, NOESY, NUS, psGIC, Pure shift, pure-shift NMRAndre

Title: Exploring the use of Generalized Indirect Covariance to Reconstruct Pure shift NMR Spectra: Current Pros and Cons.
Authors: André Fredi, Pau Nolis, Carlos Cobas, Gary E. Martin and Teodor Parella.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2016.03.003

ABSTRACT: The current pros and cons of a processing protocol to generate pure chemical shift NMR spectra using Generalized Indirect Covariance are presented and discussed. The transformation of any standard 2D homonuclear and heteronuclear spectrum to its pure shift counterpart by using a reference DIAG spectrum is described. Reconstructed pure shift NMR spectra of NOESY, HSQC, HSQC-TOCSY and HSQMBC experiments are reported for the target molecule strychnine.