Phospholipid bilayer contribution to 31P NMR spectra in vivo

The magnetic field-dependent phosphodiester (PDE) signal found in 31P NMR spectra of liver and brain has been studied using saturation transfer and proton decoupling techniques. This PDE component, which accounts for as much as 45% of the signal in vivo, has been identified as primarily phospholipid bilayer with a small contribution from a motionally averaged macromolecule(s).