Work

Highly Sensitive Detection of Tyrosine and Neurotransmitters by Stereoselective Biosynthesis and Photochemically Induced Dynamic Nuclear Polarization

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Tyrosine (Tyr) is a building block of proteins and a precursor of key neurotransmitters including dopamine and epinephrine. Investigations on the metabolic fate of Tyr are hampered by poor sensitivity and resolution, hindering the diagnosis of debilitating diseases including phenylketonuria, tyrosine-hydroxylase deficiency and progressive infantile encephalopathy. Here, we show that Tyr constructs bearing either a quasi-isolated 1 H α – 13 C α spin pair (QISP Tyr) or natural-abundance nuclides are detected at high sensitivity and resolution in biologically relevant media by optically enhanced NMR. QISP Tyr, generated via a chemoenzymatic strategy starting from achiral materials, was quantified at 200 nM and 10 μM levels in aqueous buffer and cell extracts, respectively, via low-concentration photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (LC-photo-CIDNP). Further, natural-abundance epinephrine was revealed at unprecedented 10 nM levels (1.3 nanograms), while Tyr and L-DOPA required 500 nM concentrations. In all, this study establishes the ultrasensitive atomic-resolution detection of Tyr and Tyr-related neurotransmitters by optically enhanced NMR.

Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c11334

Authors: Ummay Mahfuza Shapla, Jamorious L. Smith, Anubhab Halder, Lillian Thompson, Andrew R. Buller, Silvia Cavagnero

Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Advanced NMR Techniques and Applications

Subfield: Spectroscopy

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,500