Real-Time Monitoring of Cellular Metabolism Using a Bioreactor in a Benchtop NMR Spectrometer

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a non-destructive analytical technique that uses non-ionizing radiofrequency (RF) waves for chemical elucidation of living and non-living objects. In this project, we have demonstrated that the metabolism of glucose, fructose, and sucrose in cancer cells and Saccharomyces cerevisae (Baker's yeast) can be monitored in real-time with high chemical specificity using either static or continuous-flow bioreactor tubes inside a benchtop NMR spectrometer. Both proton (1H) and carbon-13 NMR spectroscopic measurements were performed which allowed us to track the biochemical fates of a variety of nutrients in cells. Experimental results will be discussed in light of the importance of real-time biochemical detection in living cells, as well as possible expansion to a variety of cell lines and biochemical quantitation of their enzymatic reactions. This study is supported by the Welch Foundation grant AT-1877-20180324, DOD grants W18XWH-17-1-0303 and W81XWH-19-1-0741, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) grant RP180716, and the UTD Collaborative Biomedical Research Award (CoBRA).