Method for determining the content of at least one component of a sample by means of a nuclear magnetic resonance pulse spectrometer

A method for quantitatively determining an amount of at least one constituent of a sample by means of a nuclear magnetic resonance pulse spectrometer, comprising the steps of:

• (a) placing the sample in a static magnetic field in order to cause a net magnetization in the sample to be aligned with the static magnetic field;
• then in a single cohesive NMR experimental procedure:
• (b) substantially saturating the magnetization of the sample by an initial saturation sequence of radio frequency pulses;
• (c) after step (b), applying a contiguous sequence of radio-frequency pulses;
• (d) measuring signal amplitudes produced by the contiguous sequence of radio-frequency pulses, during the single cohesive NMR experimental procedure, wherein the signal amplitudes of each amplitude measurement are dependent on both a longitudinal relaxation time T1 and at least one additional relaxation time selected from the group consisting of T2, T2* and Tlp;
• and subsequently
• (e) determining the amount of the at least one constituent in the sample from the measured signal amplitudes provided by the contiguous sequence of RF pulses from the single cohesive NMR experimental procedure using statistical methods.