Parahydrogen induced hyperpolarization provides a tool for NMR metabolomics at nanomolar concentrations

An NMR approach based on parahydrogen hyperpolarization is presented to detect and resolve specific classes of metabolites in complex biomixtures at down to nanomolar concentrations. We demonstrate our method on solid phase extracts of urine, by simultaneously observing hundreds of metabolites well below the limits of detection of thermal NMR. Sensitivity enhancement by parahydrogen hyperpolarization allows NMR detection and quantification of hundreds of urinary metabolites at down to nanomolar concentrations.