Hyperpolarised organic phosphates as NMR reporters of compartmental pH.
Organic phosphate metabolites contain functional groups with pKa values near the physiologic pH range, yielding pH-dependent (13)C chemical shift changes of adjacent quaternary carbon sites. When formed in defined cellular compartments from exogenous hyperpolarised (13)C substrates, metabolites can thus yield localised pH values and correlations of organelle pH and catalytic activity.