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. 2016 Jan 8;15(2):360–373. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.5b00885

Table 3. Experimental Conditions for Precise Quantitation of Urine Samples Using NMR Spectroscopy.

sample preparation parameters and recommended values comments
sampling overnight fasting urine collection ensures more stable homeostatic concentrations of metabolites
mid stream urine collection avoids unwanted contamination from urinary tract
collecting urine sample in labeled tube containing sodium azide (NaN3) to stop bacterial growth in samples; final concentration of 0.05% wt/vol
store immediately in to −40 to –80 °C until NMR experiments are performed helps arrest metabolic activities and sample degradation
sample processing centrifugation/filtration centrifuge at 1000 rpm to remove the turbidity from unwanted particulates, or filter using 0.22 μ filter to remove any macromolecular content in the sample
phosphate buffer phosphate buffer helps in avoid chemical shift drift that occurs due to pH variations
internal reference standard; e.g., TSP or DSS in protein/lipid free urine sample, TSP and DSS are a good choices as internal standards for quantification and normalization
use of deuterated EDTA only recommended when variation of ionic concentration urine is very large and drift in the chemical shifts is causing quantitative errors.
acquisition parameters one-dimensional gradient NOESY with water presaturation experiment.  
time domain points (TD): 64K Increased resolution
line broadening (lb): 0.1–0.5 Hz
relaxation delay >5.0 s relaxation delay depends on longitudinal relaxation time (T1) of metabolite resonances; it should be five times T1 for absolute quantitation or matched to the T1 of the reference spectra used for deconvolution.
acquisition time: 2.5 s increased resolution
spectral width (sw): 12 ppm  
number of scan (ns): 64 for desired S/N, more are required for diluted samples
dummy scan (ds): 8 to achieve steady state prior to acquisition
excitation pulse: 90 deg shorter pulse widths can be used for single pulse NMR analysis
receiver gain (rg): optimal either a constant RG for all or auto optimized for every sample
mixing time (tm): pulse sequence requirements for NOESY; minor loss in signal intensity due to transverse relaxation
100 ms for standard experiment
10 ms for gradient experiment
sample temperature: 300 K kept constant throughout the study
shimming, tune, and match: for every sample increased accuracy, precision, and reproducibility
processing parameters windowing: exponential window function with line broadening of 0.3–1.0 Hz  
zero filling: a factor of 2 of TD increased resolution
phase correction: manual phasing is preferred optimal for accurate integration of peaks area
baseline correction: automatic/manual increased accuracy of peak integration
chemical shift referencing both TSP and DSS can be used for chemical shift referencing (δ 0.0), although DSS is the IUPAC standard