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Graphical abstract:

Graphical abstract:

High‐resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an indispensable technique for obtaining chemical structure information. Its quantitative and noninvasive properties have led to its growing popularity as an analytical tool in many fields, including biology, chemistry, medicine, and food science. During transportation and storage, chemical reactions among the many nutrients lead to a loss of food quality. In these circumstances, portable NMR spectrometers can readily be used for food inspection and quality control. Because of the heterogeneous tissue distribution in food, a high‐resolution NMR method is required for detailed food inspection. Therefore, in this study, we demonstrated the feasibility of using an intermolecular double‐quantum coherence signal to obtain high‐resolution metabolic profiles of several fruits, including grape, cantaloupe, tomato, and watermelon. The resulting high‐resolution NMR spectra facilitate the identification of important metabolites, which can be used as biomarkers for food quality control. The method established here may be adapted for food inspection using portable NMR equipment. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of tomato tissue by using single pulse sequence (a) and intermolecular double quantum coherence sequence (b). Tomato tissue was transferred into the tube directly without pretreatment.

The feasibility of ultrafast high‐resolution intermolecular multiple‐quantum coherence (UF‐iMQC) spectroscopy for the direct analysis of molecular‐mobility‐restricted samples that are not suitable for magic‐angle spinning, such as a jelly, hand soap, and marrow, is presented. Most components could be directly detected in their original state within 1 min without the need for tedious sample preparation processes. When we use conventional liquid nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method to study these systems, the spectral information could not be retrieved owing to the intrinsic inhomogeneous magnetic fields caused by sample inhomogeneity. In addition, the possibility for UF‐iMQC‐based quantifications is shown. The examples presented in this paper demonstrate the potential of UF iMQC NMR for food safety inspection, for quality testing of daily‐life supplies, or in assisting medical diagnosis. Ultrafast high‐resolution spectroscopy based on intermolecular multiple‐quantum coherence is applied for the direct analysis of molecular‐mobility‐restricted samples that are not suitable for magic‐angle spinning, such as a jelly. Through this method, severe signal overlaps (a) have been improved greatly (b), with resolution comparable to a diluted homogenate sample (c).