Stable
isotopes are routinely employed by NMR metabolomics to highlight
specific metabolic processes and to monitor pathway flux. 13C-carbon and 15N-nitrogen labeled nutrients are convenient
sources of isotope tracers and are commonly added as supplements to
a variety of biological systems ranging from cell cultures to animal
models. Unlike 13C and 15N, 31P-phosphorus
is a naturally abundant and NMR active isotope that does not require
an external supplemental source. To date, 31P NMR has seen
limited usage in metabolomics because of a lack of reference spectra,
difficulties in sample preparation, and an absence of two-dimensional
(2D) NMR experiments, but 31P NMR has the potential of
expanding the coverage of the metabolome by detecting phosphorus-containing
metabolites. Phosphorylated metabolites regulate key cellular processes,
serve as a surrogate for intracellular pH conditions, and provide
a measure of a cell’s metabolic energy and redox state, among
other processes. Thus, incorporating 31P NMR into a metabolomics
investigation will enable the detection of these key cellular processes.
To facilitate the application of 31P NMR in metabolomics,
we present a unified protocol that allows for the simultaneous and
efficient detection of 1H-, 13C-, 15N-, and 31P-labeled metabolites. The protocol includes
the application of a 2D 1H–31P HSQC-TOCSY
experiment to detect 31P-labeled metabolites from heterogeneous
biological mixtures, methods for sample preparation to detect 1H-, 13C-, 15N-, and 31P-labeled
metabolites from a single NMR sample, and a data set of one-dimensional
(1D) 31P NMR and 2D 1H–31P
HSQC-TOCSY spectra of 38 common phosphorus-containing metabolites
to assist in metabolite assignments.