NMR and Drug Metabolism Core

The NMR and Drug Metabolism Core at Baylor College of Medicine provides analytical tools for the discovery, synthesis, screening, optimization, metabolism, and pharmacokinetics of small-molecule ligands and lead compounds. The core houses 600 and 800 MHz Bruker nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, which are available for unassisted use by trained researchers. User training in 1D and 2D NMR data acquisition and analysis is also offered.

Serving Baylor College of Medicine and the Texas Medical Center, the core provides spectroscopy applications ranging from simple 1D acquisitions to advanced multi-dimensional/multi-nuclear studies of macromolecular structures and ligand interactions. The core also offers metabolism, metabolic stability, and pharmacokinetics studies using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MSn). Additionally, a newly installed imaging mass spectrometer allows the mapping of small molecules in tissue sections without fluorescent tags or isotope labels.

Core personnel offer expert guidance on experimental design, data analysis, and method selection to support a wide range of research applications. They also assist with grant-writing efforts, providing letters of support and biosketches tailored to proposals incorporating NMR, mass spectrometry, and related analytical techniques.

Services

The core offers expert services in small-molecule characterization, determining identity, conformation, and ligand binding; metabolite analysis, providing identification, structural determination, and quantification; and macromolecular studies, examining structural dynamics and detecting ligand-induced perturbations. Pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism, analyzing metabolic stability and pharmacokinetics using LC-MSn; investigating biological fluids, tissues, and liver microsome stability; and performing reaction phenotyping with CYP450 enzymes. Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), for mapping the distribution of drugs and metabolites in biological tissues.

Data acquisition and analysis are available on a fee-for-service basis, allowing researchers to obtain preliminary data for grants or ongoing projects. Service requests should include sample details and research questions. After that, the core personnel will consult on the best approach, with no initial consultation fees.

The NMR and Drug Metabolism Core services can be coordinated with services from other ATC Labs, such as animal dosing, tissue harvesting, and cryosectioning prior to LC-MSn or MS imaging.