Methods for measuring physico-chemical properties using a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer are disclosed, including methods to determine an initial amount of a substance, usually a liquid, contained inside a porous material and an initial amount of the substance, usually a liquid, present outside the porous material, methods to measure the release kinetics of a substance, such as a liquid, from a porous material, and methods for performing chemical reactions and other physico-chemical operations in situ inside a nuclear magnetic resonance probe after a sample is loaded into a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. The apparatuses for performing these methods are also disclosed.