Patent ID: 7449171

Claim:
A method for determining the rate of biosynthesis of one or more biological molecules in an individual through the detection of one or more metabolic derivatives of said one or mor biological molecules comprising the steps of: a) administering an isotope-labeled precursor molecule to said individual for a period of time sufficient for the label of said isotope-labeled precursor molecule to become incorporated into said one or more biological molecules; b) obtaining one or more biological samples from said individual, wherein said one or more biological samples comprise said one or more metabolic derivatives of said one or more biological molecules as resulting from in vivo metabolism of said biological molecules; and c) detecting the incorporation of said label in said one or more metabolic derivatives by mass spectrometry to determine said rate of biosynthesis of said one or more biological molecules; wherein said one or more biological molecules are selected from the group consisting of proteins, polynucleotides, lipids, glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, and carbohydrates, and wherein said one or more metabolic derivatives comprise polymers that have at least two subunits.