Boosting the Resolution of 1H NMR Spectra by Homonuclear Broadband Decoupling

Broadband homonuclear decoupling of proton spectra, that is, the collapse of all multiplets into singlets, has the potential of boosting the resolution of ¹H NMR spectra. Several methods have been described in the last 40 years to achieve this goal. Most of them can only be applied in the indirect dimension of multi‐dimensional NMR spectra or special data processing is necessary to yield decoupled 1D proton spectra. Recently, complete decoupling of proton spectra during acquisition has been introduced; this not only significantly reduced the experimental time to record these spectra, but also removed the need for any sophisticated processing schemes. Here we present an introduction and overview of the techniques and applications of broadband proton‐decoupled proton experiments.     

J‐Edited Pure Shift NMR for the Facile Measurement of nJHH for Specific Protons

We report a novel 1D J‐edited pure shift NMR experiment (J‐PSHIFT) that was constructed from a pseudo 2D experiment for the direct measurement of proton–proton scalar couplings. The experiment gives homonuclear broad‐band ¹H‐decoupled ¹H NMR spectra, which provide a single peak for chemically distinct protons, and only retain the homonuclear‐scalar‐coupled doublet pattern at the chemical‐shift positions of the protons in the coupled network of a specific proton. This permits the direct and unambiguous measurement of the magnitudes of the couplings. The incorporation of a 1D selective correlation spectroscopy (COSY)/ total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY) block in lieu of the initial selective pulse, results in the exclusive detection of the correlated spectrum of a specific proton.     

Conformational analysis of N-arachidonylethanolamide (anandamide) using nuclear magnetic resonance and theoretical calculations

The conformational properties of cis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoylethanolamide (anandamide) were analysed by the combined use of NMR experimental results plus molecular simulations. The structure of anandamide was found to be a predominantly linear with a seven-atom ring of the ethanolamine group having a hydrogen bond which stabilizes the molecule. The vinylic group present has a cis conformation in solution. The terminal chain has a linear conformation and undergoes isotropic fast motion typical of this structure. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative analysis of malic and citric acids in fruit juices using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

¹H NMR spectroscopy was applied to the quantitative determination of malic and citric acids in apple, apricot, pear, kiwi, orange, strawberry and pineapple juices. Aspartic acid was studied as a potential interference. The effect of the sample pH on the chemical shifts of signals from malic, citric and aspartic acids was examined and a value of 1.0 was selected to carry out the determination. Integration of NMR signals at 2.89-2.95 and 3.00-3.04 ppm were used for calculating the concentration of malic and citric acids, respectively. At this pH the integrated signals were not overlapped. Sodium 3-(trimethylsilyl)tetradeuteropropionate (TSP) was used as an internal reference. The obtained results applying NMR procedures to analyze the juices from different fruits were compared to those obtained using enzymatic methods and both were in close agreement. The intra- and inter-day repeatability was tested for apple juice (7.86 g l⁻¹ malic acid, 0.32 g l⁻¹ citric acid) and apricot juice (5.06 g l⁻¹ malic acid, 4.79 g l⁻¹ citric acid) obtaining coefficients of variation lower than 3.4% for intra-day measures (n = 10) and lower than 3.8% for inter-day measures (n = 20).     

Ethanol determination in frozen fruit pulps: an application of quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance

This study reports the chemical composition of five types of industrial frozen fruit pulps (acerola, cashew, grape, passion fruit and pineapple fruit pulps) and compares them with homemade pulps at two different stages of ripening. The fruit pulps were characterized by analyzing their metabolic profiles and determining their ethanol content using quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (qNMR). In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to extract more information from the NMR data. We detected ethanol in all industrial and homemade pulps; and acetic acid in cashew, grape and passion fruit industrial and homemade pulps. The ethanol content in some industrial pulps is above the level recommended by regulatory agencies and is near the levels of some post‐ripened homemade pulps. This study demonstrates that qNMR can be used to rapidly detect ethanol content in frozen fruit pulps and food derivatives. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic field dependence of spatial frequency encoding NMR as probed on an oligosaccharide

The magnetic field dependence of spatial frequency encoding NMR techniques is addressed through a detailed analysis of ¹H NMR spectra acquired under spatial frequency encoding on an oligomeric saccharide sample. In particular, the influence of the strength of the static magnetic field on spectral and spatial resolutions that are key features of this method is investigated. For this purpose, we report the acquisition of correlation experiments implementing broadband homodecoupling or J‐edited spin evolutions, and we discuss the resolution enhancements that are provided by these techniques at two different magnetic fields. We show that performing these experiments at higher field improves the performance of high resolution NMR techniques based on a spatial frequency encoding. The significant resolution enhancements observed on the correlation spectra acquired at very high field make them valuable analytical tools that are suitable for the assignment of ¹H chemical shifts and scalar couplings in molecules with highly crowded spectrum such as carbohydrates. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quality assessment of Radix Codonopsis by quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance

Radix Codonopsis (Dangshen) is a famous traditional Chinese medicine and has long been used for replenishing energy deficiency, strengthening the immune system, lowering blood pressure and improving appetite in China, Japan and Korea. A highly specific quantification method using ¹H NMR has been developed for the simultaneous determination of novel quaternary ammonium alkaloids codotubulosine A and B, adenosine and 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural in Radix Codonopsis materials Codonopsis pilosula, C. pilosula var. modesta, C. tangshen, C. tubulosa, C. subglobosa, C. clematidea, C. lanceolota and Campanumoea javanica collected from different regions of China and Taiwan. A solid-phase extraction with C-18 cartridge followed by elution with water can easily remove sugars the major components that may affect the determination of target constituents. In the ¹H NMR spectrum, the signals of N-CH₃ of codotubulosine A (δ 2.75) and B (δ 2.83), H-8 of adenosine (δ 8.15), and CHO signal of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (δ 9.49) are well separated from other signals in [²H₄]methanol. The quantity of the compounds was calculated by the relative ratio of the integral values of the target peaks of each compound to the known amount of internal standard pyrazine. The described NMR method is found to be relatively simple, specific, precise and accurate for the quality control of Radix Codonopsis herbs and no reference compounds are required for calibration curves, in comparison to conventional HPLC methods, for instance.     

Investigation of molecular motions of crosslinked polyepichlorohydrin by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The molecular motion of crosslinked polyepichlorohydrin (PECH) is studied qualitatively by NMR techniques. The results of temperature dependence of ¹H T₂ and T₁ indicate that the crosslinking (crosslink density < 3%) restricts molecular motions of the polymer even far above its T_g. The ¹H T₁ minimum, corresponding to the large-scale chain-motion of crosslinked PECH, shifts to higher temperatures with increasing crosslink density. ¹H T₂ data also show that the crosslinking hinders free chain motions of the polymer above its T_g. The ¹³C T₁ relaxation time is sensitive to such motional changes as well. ¹³C linewidths of crosslinked PECHs vary with the crosslink density in both the swollen state and the solid state. The mechanism of ¹³C linewidth broadening of crosslinked polymers is discussed in detail. In the case of PECH, the linewidth broadening is caused by changing molecular environment due to crosslinking (such as presence of various chemical shift structures and freezing effects in conformational environment as chain mobility decreases), rather than increasing correlation times, which shorten the relaxation time (T₂) of polymer chains. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Study of triacylglycerol polymorphs by nuclear magnetic resonance: effects of temperature and chain length on relaxation parameters

It is very important to monitor the characteristics of triacylglycerol crystal network in fats, as these crystals have an impact on many food properties such as texture, sensory taste, and extended shelf life. Although time-domain NMR (TD-NMR) is now the reference technique to determine the solid fat index in food, the entire possibilities of this technique are not used. Some NMR studies have been performed to determine its power for the discrimination of polymorphism. In this study, extended investigations proved that TD-NMR could evaluate triacylglycerol (TA) polymorphism, independently from temperature and chain length. Study of the dipolar interactions through second moment M(2), which is characteristic of proton mobility in solid-state samples, provided a new understanding of the structural organization of crystal molecules. Proton spin-lattice relaxation, which has been proved to be a true probe of polymorphism, has provided information on crystal networks. Combination of the two techniques revealed two very interesting kinds of results, i.e. the presence of a minimum spin-lattice relaxation time T(1) for tristearin alpha, which is a characteristic of a dynamic molecular process, and differences in behavior between long and short chain lengths, both at a molecular and a crystal level.     

Structural analysis of complex saponins of Balanites aegyptiaca by 800 MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy

The main saponin (1) present in the mesocarp of Balanites aegyptiaca fruit is a mixture of 22R and 22S epimers of 26-(O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-3-beta-[4-O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-2-O-(alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyloxy]-22,26-dihydroxyfurost-5-ene. This structure differs from a previously reported saponin isolated from this source by the site of attachment of the rhamnosyl residue, and presumably represents a structural revision of the latter. The main saponin (2) present in the kernel is a xylopyranosyl derivative of 1. The use of high-field NMR enabled the practically complete assignment of 1H and 13C chemical shifts of these complex saponins, existing as a mixture of C-22 epimers. Moreover, the work represents a new approach to structural elucidation of saponins: direct preparative-scale HPLC-RID of crude extracts followed by high-field NMR investigations supported by ESI-MSn.     

Spatial location of indomethacin associated with unimeric amphiphilic carrier macromolecules as determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

A combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques including, proton NMR, relaxation analysis, two‐dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy, and diffusion‐ordered spectroscopy, has been used to demonstrate the spatial location of indomethacin within a unimolecular micelle. Understanding the location of drugs within carrier molecules using such NMR techniques can facilitate rational carrier design. In addition, this information provides insight to encapsulation efficiency of different drugs to determine the most efficient system for a particular bioactive. This study demonstrates that drugs loaded by the unimolecular amphiphile under investigation are not necessarily encapsulated but reside or localize to the periphery or interfacial region of the carrier molecule. The results have further implications as to the features of the unimolecular carrier that contribute to drug loading. In addition, evidence of drug retention associated with the unimolecular surfactant is possible in organic media, as well as in an aqueous environment. Such findings have implications for rational carrier design to correlate the carrier features to the drug of interest and indicate the strong retention capabilities of the unimolecular micelle for delivery applications. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Independent component analysis applied to diffusion‐ordered spectroscopy: separating nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of analytes in mixtures

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of a mixture contains the overall peaks of all the analytes. It is impossible to perform structural assignment on the mixture without the knowledge of individual spectra of the components. Spectral separation is thus an important means of teasing out pure components of a mixture before spectral assignment. We propose a strategy called diffusion‐ordered independent component analysis (DIFFICA) to achieve this task. This strategy applies independent component analysis algorithms to diffusion‐ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) to extract spectra of pure components in a mixture. DIFFICA was tested in a simulation and experimentally in two three‐component systems with and without water suppression, in 1D and 2D DOSY data. Pure spectra were achieved in both cases. The selection of diffusion parameters to guarantee pure spectra is guided by the distance correlation between separated spectra. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of the inclusion of the herbicide cycluron in native cyclodextrins by X-ray diffraction,nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry

The formation of inclusion complexes between the native cyclodextrins (CDs) and the urea herbicide cycluron has been investigated both in solution and in the solid state. Single-crystal X-ray structures of both the uncomplexed guest and the β-CD·cycluron complex were determined while powder X-ray diffraction was used to confirm complexation between γ-CD and cycluron in the solid state. Solution-state complexation between the herbicide and α-, β- and γ-CD was established using ¹H NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). From the ¹H NMR spectroscopic studies 1:1 complex stoichiometry was indicated in all cases and association constant values (K) were determined as 228, 3254 and 155 for the complexes α-CD·cycluron, β-CD·cycluron and γ-CD·cycluron, respectively. Assigning a 1:1 host–guest ratio, the ITC technique produced K values of the same order as those determined using the spectroscopic method. The thermodynamic parameters ΔH, ΔS and ΔG obtained using ITC provide insights into the driving forces involved during complex formation.     

Structural analysis of pentacyclic triterpenes from the gum resin of Boswellia serrata by NMR spectroscopy

3α‐Acetyl‐β‐boswellic acid ( 1 ), 3α‐acetyl‐α‐boswellic acid ( 2 ), 3α‐acetyl‐9,11‐dehydro‐β‐boswellic acid ( 3 ), 3α‐acetyl‐9,11‐dehydro‐α‐boswellic acid ( 4 ) and 3α‐acetyl‐11‐keto‐β‐boswellic acid ( 5 ) were isolated from the gum resin of Boswellia serrata. 1D and 2D NMR (COSY45, HMQC, HMBC, ROESY) spectra at 500 MHz were used for shift assignments and structure verification. All boswellic acids investigated share the cis conformation at ring D/E and the 3α orientation of the acetyl ester group. Owing to high‐order spectra, NMR could not determine the exact conformation of H‐20/H‐30 of the β‐boswellic acids. 3α‐Acetyl‐β‐boswellic acid methyl ester ( 1 ^′) was synthesized for experiments with a shift reagent, Eu(fod)₃, that enhanced the resolution considerably. The oxygen atoms of the 3α‐acetyl group form the apparent complex binding site for the shift reagent. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conformational and structural analysis of exocyclic olefins and ketimines by multinuclear magnetic resonance

The (1)H, (13)C, and (15)N NMR spectra of 5 exocyclic alkenes and 15 different ketimines obtained from cyclohexanone and derivatives using benzyl bromide and primary amines-are analyzed. Relative stereochemical and preferential conformations are determined by analyzing both the homonuclear coupling and the chemical shifts of the protons and carbon atoms in the aliphatic rings, which are directly related to the geometry of the double bond and the steric and electronic effects of the exocyclic group. In addition, the racemic mixture of the N-(4-methylcyclohexylidene)pyridine-3-amine derivative is resolved.     

Synthesis of rhodium(III) complexes with tris/tetrakis‐benzimidazoles and benzothiazoles—quick identification of cyclometallation by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Reactions of rhodium(III) halides with multidentate N,S‐heterocycles, (LH₃) 1,3,5‐tris(benzimidazolyl)benzene (L¹H₃; 1 ), 1,3,5‐tris(N‐methylbenzimidazolyl) benzene (L²H₃; 2 ) and 1,3,5‐tris(benzothiazolyl)benzene (L³H₃; 3 ), in the molar ratio 1:1 in methanol–chloroform produced mononuclear cyclometallated products of the composition [RhX₂(LH₂)(H₂O)] (X = Cl, Br, I; LH₂ = L¹H₂, L²H₂, L³H₂). When the metal to ligand ( 1–3 or 1,2,4,5‐tetrakis(benzothiazolyl)benzene [L⁴H₂; 4 ]) molar ratio was 2:1, the reactions yielded binuclear complexes of the compositions [Rh₂Cl₅(LH₂)(H₂O)₃] (LH₂ = L¹H₂, L²H₂, L³H₂) and [Rh₂X₄(L⁴)(H₂O)₂] (X = Cl, Br, I). Elemental analysis, IR and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts supported the binuclear nature of the complexes. Cyclometallation was detected by conventional ¹³C NMR spectra that showed a doublet around ～190 ppm. Cyclometallation was also detected by gradient‐enhanced heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (g‐HMBC) experiment that showed cross‐peaks between the cyclometallated carbon and the central benzene ring protons of 1–3 . Cyclometallation was substantiated by two‐dimensional ¹H? ¹H correlated experiments (gradiant‐correlation spectroscopy and rotating frame Overhauser effect spectroscopy) and ¹H? ¹³C single bond correlated two‐dimensional NMR experiments (gradient‐enhanced heteronuclear single quantum coherence). The ¹H? ¹⁵N g‐HMBC experiment suggested the coordination of the heterocycles to the metal ion via tertiary nitrogen. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative determination of mebeverine HCl by NMR chemical shift migration

Quantitative ¹H NMR spectroscopic methods are not frequently reported, but current NMR instrumentation allows ready access to such data. Mebeverine HCl is an attractive molecule for NMR spectroscopy teaching purposes as it possesses a variety of simple but significant functional groups; we fully assign its ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra. Using mebeverine HCl, we show that concentration changes, in water as a solvent, can lead to significant changes in the ¹H chemical shifts of non-exchangeable aromatic protons and to a lesser extent to aromatic methoxy protons. An important observation is that different protons migrate to different extents as the concentration of the solute is varied, and thus the ¹H NMR spectra are concentration-dependent across a useful range. This chemical shift variation of selected protons was therefore analyzed and applied in the quantitative determination of mebeverine HCl in a medicine (Colofac IBS) formulated as a tablet. Self-association phenomena in water could account for these observed chemical shift migration effects as shown by determining the hydrodynamic radius from the modified form of the Stokes-Einstein equation, and thence the apparent hydrodynamic volume, V_H, for mebeverine HCl in D₂O solution which is 10-fold greater than that seen in either CDCl₃ or CD₃OD.     

Screening Brazilian commercial gasoline quality by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic fingerprintings and pattern-recognition multivariate chemometric analysis

The identification of gasoline adulteration by organic solvents is not an easy task, because compounds that constitute the solvents are already in gasoline composition. In this work, the combination of Hydrogen Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopic fingerprintings with pattern-recognition multivariate Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) chemometric analysis provides an original and alternative approach to screening Brazilian commercial gasoline quality in a Monitoring Program for Quality Control of Automotive Fuels. SIMCA was performed on spectroscopic fingerprints to classify the quality of representative commercial gasoline samples selected by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and collected over a 6-month period from different gas stations in the São Paulo state, Brazil. Following optimized the ¹H NMR-SIMCA algorithm, it was possible to correctly classify 92.0% of commercial gasoline samples, which is considered acceptable. The chemometric method is recommended for routine applications in Quality-Control Monitoring Programs, since its measurements are fast and can be easily automated. Also, police laboratories could employ this method for rapid screening analysis to discourage adulteration practices.