Leishmania Infection: A Bioorganic Model Under the Light of Benchtop Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Jairo Mendoza-Roldan; Paola Albanese; Carmela Di Spiridione; Mirco Vacca; Matteo Spagnuolo; Mario Alves; Mariaelisa Carbonara; Maria De Angelis; Danilo Vona; Domenico Otranto

doi:10.1186/s12575-026-00328-2

Leishmania Infection: A Bioorganic Model Under the Light of Benchtop Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Jairo Mendoza-Roldan (Co-first Author)
, Paola Albanese (Co-first Author)
, Carmela Di Spiridione
, Mirco Vacca
, Matteo Spagnuolo
, Mario Alves
, Mariaelisa Carbonara
, Maria De Angelis
, Danilo Vona^*
, Domenico Otranto

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

Background: Low-field benchtop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers rely on permanent magnets and do not require deuterated solvents, being increasingly employed for quality control and the profilometric assays of complex matrices from food products to metabolically enriched exudates. In this study, the non-destructive, non-invasive, low-cost and time-effective nature of benchtop NMR investigations was exploited to separate Leishmania infantum -positive and -negative dog (Canis lupus familiaris) sera. Moreover, among the Leishmania-positive samples, sera with either circulating free or complexed antibody molecules displayed distinctive NMR profiles with promising discriminatory potential.
Methods: This approach is made possible by the identification of specific bioorganic 1D and 2D NMR signals, such as protons found in pyranose (PYR), phospholipid (SPC), and acetyl moieties (Glyc), whose distribution in serum samples varies in association with specific parasitic infections.
Results: The discrimination among Leishmania Negative (n=5) vs Low positive (n=8) samples was successfully performed using the summed integration areas of 3 main buckets (SPC, Glyc, late PYR), while the analytical speciation of High (Ab+) positive (n=8) samples was reached recurring to a further integrated area, belonging to early PYR signals.
Conclusion: The characterization of inflammatory states through traces of oxidized lipids, and the study of immunological activation using bioorganic signals of glycoproteins, can be easily exploited on a broad scale even in different pathological contexts with features similar to the Leishmania case report.
© The Author(s) 2026.

Original language	English
Article number	12
Journal	Biological Procedures Online
Volume	28
Issue number	1
Online published	13 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s12575-026-00328-2
Publication status	Online published - 13 Feb 2026
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This research was funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4-‘Education and Research’, Component 2-‘From Research to Business’, Investment 1.4-‘Strengthening research structures and creating R&D’ national champions ‘on specific key enabling technologies (Agritech)’, CUP: H93C22000440007, code: CN_00000022, and by OnFoods, Project code PE00000003, Concession Decree No. 1550 of 11 October 2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, CUP H93C22000630001, Project title ‘ON Foods – Research and innovation network on food and nutrition Sustainability, Safety and Security – Working ON Foods’. This work was partially supported by EU funding within the Next Generation EU-MUR PNRR Extended Partnership initiative on Emerging Infectious Diseases (Project no. PE00000007, INF-ACT).

Research Keywords

Benchtop Technology
Bioorganic Traces
Leishmania
Low Field NMR

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This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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Mendoza-Roldan, J., Albanese, P., Di Spiridione, C., Vacca, M., Spagnuolo, M., Alves, M., Carbonara, M., De Angelis, M., Vona, D., & Otranto, D. (2026). Leishmania Infection: A Bioorganic Model Under the Light of Benchtop Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Biological Procedures Online, 28(1), Article 12. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12575-026-00328-2

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title = "Leishmania Infection: A Bioorganic Model Under the Light of Benchtop Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance",

abstract = " Background: Low-field benchtop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers rely on permanent magnets and do not require deuterated solvents, being increasingly employed for quality control and the profilometric assays of complex matrices from food products to metabolically enriched exudates. In this study, the non-destructive, non-invasive, low-cost and time-effective nature of benchtop NMR investigations was exploited to separate Leishmania infantum -positive and -negative dog (Canis lupus familiaris) sera. Moreover, among the Leishmania-positive samples, sera with either circulating free or complexed antibody molecules displayed distinctive NMR profiles with promising discriminatory potential. Methods: This approach is made possible by the identification of specific bioorganic 1D and 2D NMR signals, such as protons found in pyranose (PYR), phospholipid (SPC), and acetyl moieties (Glyc), whose distribution in serum samples varies in association with specific parasitic infections. Results: The discrimination among Leishmania Negative (n=5) vs Low positive (n=8) samples was successfully performed using the summed integration areas of 3 main buckets (SPC, Glyc, late PYR), while the analytical speciation of High (Ab+) positive (n=8) samples was reached recurring to a further integrated area, belonging to early PYR signals. Conclusion: The characterization of inflammatory states through traces of oxidized lipids, and the study of immunological activation using bioorganic signals of glycoproteins, can be easily exploited on a broad scale even in different pathological contexts with features similar to the Leishmania case report. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026.",

keywords = "Benchtop Technology, Bioorganic Traces, Leishmania, Low Field NMR",

author = "Jairo Mendoza-Roldan and Paola Albanese and \{Di Spiridione\}, Carmela and Mirco Vacca and Matteo Spagnuolo and Mario Alves and Mariaelisa Carbonara and \{De Angelis\}, Maria and Danilo Vona and Domenico Otranto",

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doi = "10.1186/s12575-026-00328-2",

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Leishmania Infection: A Bioorganic Model Under the Light of Benchtop Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. / Mendoza-Roldan, Jairo (Co-first Author); Albanese, Paola (Co-first Author); Di Spiridione, Carmela et al.
In: Biological Procedures Online, Vol. 28, No. 1, 12, 12.2026.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Leishmania Infection

T2 - A Bioorganic Model Under the Light of Benchtop Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

AU - Mendoza-Roldan, Jairo

AU - Albanese, Paola

AU - Di Spiridione, Carmela

AU - Vacca, Mirco

AU - Spagnuolo, Matteo

AU - Alves, Mario

AU - Carbonara, Mariaelisa

AU - De Angelis, Maria

AU - Vona, Danilo

AU - Otranto, Domenico

PY - 2026/2/13

Y1 - 2026/2/13

N2 - Background: Low-field benchtop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers rely on permanent magnets and do not require deuterated solvents, being increasingly employed for quality control and the profilometric assays of complex matrices from food products to metabolically enriched exudates. In this study, the non-destructive, non-invasive, low-cost and time-effective nature of benchtop NMR investigations was exploited to separate Leishmania infantum -positive and -negative dog (Canis lupus familiaris) sera. Moreover, among the Leishmania-positive samples, sera with either circulating free or complexed antibody molecules displayed distinctive NMR profiles with promising discriminatory potential. Methods: This approach is made possible by the identification of specific bioorganic 1D and 2D NMR signals, such as protons found in pyranose (PYR), phospholipid (SPC), and acetyl moieties (Glyc), whose distribution in serum samples varies in association with specific parasitic infections. Results: The discrimination among Leishmania Negative (n=5) vs Low positive (n=8) samples was successfully performed using the summed integration areas of 3 main buckets (SPC, Glyc, late PYR), while the analytical speciation of High (Ab+) positive (n=8) samples was reached recurring to a further integrated area, belonging to early PYR signals. Conclusion: The characterization of inflammatory states through traces of oxidized lipids, and the study of immunological activation using bioorganic signals of glycoproteins, can be easily exploited on a broad scale even in different pathological contexts with features similar to the Leishmania case report. © The Author(s) 2026.

AB - Background: Low-field benchtop Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers rely on permanent magnets and do not require deuterated solvents, being increasingly employed for quality control and the profilometric assays of complex matrices from food products to metabolically enriched exudates. In this study, the non-destructive, non-invasive, low-cost and time-effective nature of benchtop NMR investigations was exploited to separate Leishmania infantum -positive and -negative dog (Canis lupus familiaris) sera. Moreover, among the Leishmania-positive samples, sera with either circulating free or complexed antibody molecules displayed distinctive NMR profiles with promising discriminatory potential. Methods: This approach is made possible by the identification of specific bioorganic 1D and 2D NMR signals, such as protons found in pyranose (PYR), phospholipid (SPC), and acetyl moieties (Glyc), whose distribution in serum samples varies in association with specific parasitic infections. Results: The discrimination among Leishmania Negative (n=5) vs Low positive (n=8) samples was successfully performed using the summed integration areas of 3 main buckets (SPC, Glyc, late PYR), while the analytical speciation of High (Ab+) positive (n=8) samples was reached recurring to a further integrated area, belonging to early PYR signals. Conclusion: The characterization of inflammatory states through traces of oxidized lipids, and the study of immunological activation using bioorganic signals of glycoproteins, can be easily exploited on a broad scale even in different pathological contexts with features similar to the Leishmania case report. © The Author(s) 2026.

KW - Benchtop Technology

KW - Bioorganic Traces

KW - Leishmania

KW - Low Field NMR

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105033854560

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105033854560&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1186/s12575-026-00328-2

DO - 10.1186/s12575-026-00328-2

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 1480-9222

VL - 28

JO - Biological Procedures Online

JF - Biological Procedures Online

IS - 1

M1 - 12

ER -

Leishmania Infection: A Bioorganic Model Under the Light of Benchtop Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

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