Use of EDTA to minimize ionic strength dependent frequency shifts in the 1H NMR spectra of urine

The (1)H NMR spectrum of urine exhibits a large number of detectable metabolites and is, therefore, highly suitable for the study of perturbations caused by disease, toxicity, nutrition or environmental factors in humans and animals. However, variations in the chemical shifts and intensities due to altered pH and ionic strength present a challenge in NMR-based studies. With a view towards understanding and minimizing the effects of these variations, we have extensively studied the effects of ionic strength and pH on the chemical shifts of common urine metabolites and their possible reduction using EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid). (1)H NMR chemical shifts for alanine, citrate, creatinine, dimethylamine, glycine, histidine, hippurate, formate and the internal reference, TSP (trimethylsilylpropionic acid-d(4), sodium salt) obtained under different conditions were used to assess each effect individually. EDTA minimizes the frequency shifts of the metabolites that have a propensity for metal binding. Chelation of such metal ions is evident from the appearance of signals from EDTA complexed to divalent metal ions such as calcium and magnesium. Not surprisingly, increasing the buffer concentration or buffer volume also minimizes pH dependent frequency shifts. The combination of EDTA and an appropriate buffer effectively minimizes both pH dependent frequency shifts and ionic strength dependent intensity variations in urine NMR spectra.