Cellular applications of 31P and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance.

High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of cells and purified mitochondria are discussed to show the kind of information that can be obtained in vivo. In suspensions of Escherichia coli both phosphorus-31 and carbon-13 NMR studies of glycolysis and bioenergetics are presented. In rat liver cells the pathways of gluconeogenesis from carbon-13-labeled glycerol are followed by carbon-13 NMR. In the intact liver cells cytosolic and mitochondrial pH's were separately measured by phosphorus-31 NMR. In purified mitochondria the internal and external concentrations of inorganic phosphate, adenosine diphosphate, and adenosine triphosphate were determined by phosphorus-31 NMR while the pH difference across the membrane was measured simultaneously.