Abstract: ^3lP NMR spectroscopy has been used to study dynamic aspects of the metabolism of phosphorus-containing compounds in isolated hearts since the late 70 s. The ³¹P NMR spectrum not only identifies phosphorus-containing compounds which are present in high concentration, namely adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), creatine phosphate (PCr), and in-organic phosphate (P_i), but also provides information about their chemical environment(including pH and magnesium ion) and intracellular distribution. The method is quantitative and nondestructive, thus permits sequential observations of the myocardial metabolism and concurrent measurements of mechanical function of isolated hearts.Using saturation-transfer techniques, it is also possible to determine rates of creatine kinase and adenylate kinase in the intact heart. This review describes the NMR experiment and kinds of information the ³¹P NMR spectroscopy provides for isolated and perfused hearts from recent references.

Key words: ³¹P NMR spectroscopy, Isolated heart, Energy metabolism, Intracellular pH, Magnesium, Creatine kinase