1H and 31P NMR spectra of rat sarcoma

1H and 31P spectra of the BA 1112 sarcoma of live rats were recorded in a 2 Tesla GE CSI spectrometer with the 2 cm 1H and 31P surface coils. Water was suppressed by the 1331 pulse sequence. In the aliphatic region of the 1H spectrum a major resonance was observed corresponding to the -(CH2)/sub n/- protons of fatty acyl chains. Several minor resonances from various -CH2- protons of fatty acyl chains were also present. In addition they have identified the -N(CH3)3 group of choline. In the aromatic region of the 1H spectrum the major resonance at 7.92 ppm was of unknown nature. Minor resonances from protons of the histidine ring in anserine and adenine nucleotides could be easily discerned. The 31P spectrum of the sarcoma contained only P/sub i/ as a significant resonance, with a chemical shift corresponding to a pH of 6.5. Their 1H spectra confirm the observation of Mountford et al. that the fatty acyl chains of membrane lipids are mobile in cancer cells. Since their spectra were obtained on live animals, their data have the potential for tumor diagnosis by 1H NMR. Their 31P spectra are in agreement with the general view that glycolysis is the predominant metabolism in tumors resulting in an acidic pH