Metabolic Profiling of Cells in Response to Drug Treatment using 1H High-resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HR-MAS) NMR Spectroscopy

High-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) is an NMR technique that provides access to well resolved liquid-like H-1 NMR spectra of semi-solid samples. Therefore, H-1 HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy has become an important tool for the direct analysis of biological samples such as tissues and cells in a mostly non-destructive way. Here, we focus on the application of HR-MAS NMR combined with multivariate statistical methods used for metabolic profiling of cells and in particular for the study of cellular metabolic responses to drug exposure. The principles of HR-MAS and the metabolomic approach are briefly described. As an example, a study on the metabolic response of different cell types towards treatment with a highly cytotoxic hexacationic ruthenium metallaprism as potential anti-cancer drug is presented. Specific metabolites and metabolic pathways are suggested to be associated with the cellular response. The study demonstrates the potential of HR-MAS metabolomics applied to cells for addressing the intracellular processes involved in the treatment with organometallic drugs.