Fourteen linear and cyclic ␣-and -aminophosphonates in which the P-atom is substituted by alkoxy groups have been synthesized and evaluated as 31 P NMR pH markers in Krebs-Henseleit buffer. pK a values varied with substitution in the range 1.3-9.1, giving potentially access to a wide range of pH. Temperature had a weak influence on pH and a dramatic increase in ionic strength slightly modified the pK a of the pyrrolidine diethyl(2-methylpyrrolidin-2-yl)phosphonate (DEPMPH). All compounds displayed a 4-fold better NMR sensitivity than inorganic phosphate or other commonly used phosphonates, as assessed by differences ␦ b -␦ a between the chemical shifts of the protonated and the unprotonated forms. In isolated perfused rat hearts, a non-toxic concentration window of 1.5-15 mM was determined for three representative compounds. Using empirical linear relationships, the experimental values of pK a , ␦ a , and ␦ b have been correlated with the two-dimensional structure, i.e. the chemical nature of substituents bonded to the secondary amine and P-atom. The data suggest that DEPMPH and its cyclic and linear variants are ideal versatile 31 P NMR probes for the study of tenuous pH changes in biological processes.Since the pioneering studies of Moon and Richards (1), 31 P NMR has become the standard noninvasive technique to determine the intracellular pH in a variety of biological models, based on the dependence of the endogenous inorganic phosphate (P i ) chemical shift on pH. In addition, the ex vivo or in vivo use of 31 P NMR can concomitantly give access to dynamic processes involving the cellular phosphorylated metabolites. However, the usefulness of P i as a 31 P NMR probe for the measurement of pH in biological systems is limited by its low and varying concentration during metabolism and by its sensitivity to ionic strength. Indeed, owing to the large line widths of cellular peaks, and since the mean difference ⌬␦ ab between the 31 P NMR chemical shifts of the protonated (␦ a ) and the unprotonated (␦ b ) forms of P i is only 2.6 -2.7 ppm, it cannot be used to provide information on differences on pH between intra-and extracellular compartments of less than 0.2 pH units (2).A number of endogenous and exogenous analogues of phosphates and phosphonic acid metabolites have been tested as alternatives to P i for the 31 P NMR measurement of pH but their pK a and chemical shifts were found to be influenced by ionic strength and Mg 2ϩ concentration while their NMR sensitivity ⌬␦ ab was not greatly increased with respect to that of P i (1-4). Later, it was considered that changing the chemical nature of the substituents around the protonation site of selected phosphates (i.e. the two anionic oxygens) might result in an increase in the NMR sensitivity for pH determinations. Therefore, commercially available alkyl-and aminophosphonates have been extensively studied in test solutions (3-11), cell cultures or preparations (5-9, 12), tumors (10), and isolated organs (13-16). The most commonly used charged phosphonates (e.g. me...