A simple solid-state NMR method for determining peptidoglycan crosslinking in Bacillus subtilis.
The crosslink index of the peptidoglycan of intact cell walls of Bacillus subtilis grown in media containing L-[15N]aspartic acid has been determined by a combination of cross-polarization magic-angle spinning 15N NMR and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The crosslink index of 62% decreased to 52% when the bacteria were exposed to the antibiotic cephalothin.