The secrets of life lie in the molecular flexibility.

Welcome to Prof. Mariusz Jaremko's research group, the

Flexible Systems Lab!

Our research group works mainly on metabolites which are important for human health, and our current main focus in this discipline is oriented towards food, food safety, food quality, and food fraud by utilizing state-of-the-art instrumentation in metabolomics studies. We are also working on aggregation of amylin, a biological peptide that is connected tightly with diabetes II, a disease that is closely related to unhealthy diets. So, food science and the consequences of the food we eat are one of the main areas which the group Flexible Systems investigates. We are also working to develop methods and pulse programs in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) that allow us to uncover obscured metabolites and to detect them at lower concentrations, in order to understand metabolic pathways better. 


Why the name Flexible Systems?

It's simple; because metabolites, as well as amylin and its analogues, are very flexible systems i.e. amylin does not have a defined 3D structure, and in the case of the small molecules and metabolites we study, while they do have defined structures, they often exhibit very high levels of dynamic flexibility due to their size.

Latest Publications

Improving Quality of Analysis by Suppression of Unwanted Signals Through Band- Selective Excitation in NMR Spectroscopy for Metabolomics Studies

by Upendra Singh, Ruba Al-Nemi, Fatimah Alahmari, Abdul-Hamid Emwas, Mariusz Jaremko
Original Article Year: 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3389629/v1

Abstract

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy stands as a preeminent analytical tool in the field of metabolomics. Nevertheless, when it comes to identifying metabolites present in scant amounts within various complex mixtures of plants, honey, milk, and biological specimens, NMR-based metabolomics presents a formidable challenge. This predicament arises primarily from the fact that the signals emanating from metabolites existing in low concentrations tend to be overshadowed by the signals of highly concentrated metabolites within NMR spectra. To tackle the issue of intense sugar signals overshadowing the desired metabolite signals, an optimal pulse sequence with band-selective excitation has been proposed for the suppression of sugar’s moiety signals (SSMS). This sequence serves the crucial purpose of suppressing unwanted signals, with a particular emphasis on mitigating the interference caused by sugar moieties' signals. We have implemented this comprehensive approach to various NMR techniques, including 1D 1H presaturation (presat), 2D J-resolved (RES), 2D 1H-1H Total Correlation Spectroscopy (TOCSY), and 2D 1H-13C Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence (HSQC) for the samples of dates-flesh, honey, a standard stock solution of glucose, and nine amino acids, and fetal bovine serum.

The outcomes of this approach have been significant. The suppression of the high-intensity sugar signals has considerably enhanced the visibility and sensitivity of the signals emanating from the desired metabolites. This, in turn, enables the identification of a greater number of metabolites. Additionally, it streamlines the experimental process, reducing the time required for the comparative quantification of metabolites in statistical studies in the field of metabolomics.