Progress in correlation spectroscopy at ultra-fast magic-angle spinning: basic building blocks and complex experiments for the study of protein structure and dynamics

Recent progress in multi-dimensional solid-state NMR correlation spectroscopy at high static magnetic fields and ultra-fast magic-angle spinning is discussed. A focus of the review is on applications to protein resonance assignment and structure determination as well as on the characterization of protein dynamics in the solid state. First, the consequences of ultra-fast spinning on sensitivity and sample heating are considered. Recoupling and decoupling techniques at ultra-fast MAS are then presented, as well as more complex experiments assembled from these basic building blocks. Furthermore, we discuss new avenues in biomolecular solid-state NMR spectroscopy that become feasible in the ultra-fast spinning regime, such as sensitivity enhancement based on paramagnetic doping, and the prospect of direct proton detection.     

Experimental aspects of proton NMR spectroscopy in solids using phase-modulated homonuclear dipolar decoupling

In this paper we demonstrate experimentally that the continuously phase-modulated homonuclear decoupling sequence DUMBO-1 is suitable for high-resolution proton NMR spectroscopy of rigid solids. Over a wide range of experimental conditions, we show on the model sample L-alanine as well as on small peptides that proton linewidths of less than 0.5 ppm can be obtained under DUMBO-1 decoupling. In particular the DUMBO-1 sequence yields well resolved proton spectra both at slow and fast MAS. The DUMBO-1 decoupling scheme can in principle be inserted in any multi-nuclear or multi-dimensional solid-state NMR experiment which requires a high-resolution 1H dimension. An example is provided with the 13C-1H MAS-J-HMQC experiment.     

Heteronuclear spin decoupling in solid-state NMR under magic-angle sample spinning

Achieving high spectral resolution is an important prerequisite for the application of solid-state NMR to biological molecules. Higher spectral resolution allows to resolve a larger number of resonances and leads to higher sensitivity. Among other things, heteronuclear spin decoupling is one of the important factors which determine the resolution of a spectrum. The process of heteronuclear spin decoupling under magic-angle sample spinning is analyzed in detail. Continuous-wave RF irradiation leads only in a zeroth-order approximation to a full decoupling of heteronuclear spin systems in solids under magic-angle spinning (MAS). In a higher-order approximation, a cross-term between the dipolar-coupling tensor and the chemical-shielding tensor is reintroduced, providing a scaled coupling term between the heteronuclear spins. In strongly coupled spin systems this second-order recoupling term is partially averaged out by the proton spin-diffusion process, which leads to exchange-type narrowing of the line by proton spin flips. This process can be described by a spin-diffusion type superoperator, allowing the efficient simulation of strongly coupled spin systems under heteronuclear spin decoupling. Low-power continuous-wave decoupling at fast MAS frequencies offers an alternative to high-power irradiation by reversing the order of the averaging processes. At fast MAS frequencies low-power continuous-wave decoupling leads to significantly narrower lines than high-power continuous-wave decoupling while at the same time reducing the power dissipated in the sample by several orders of magnitude. The best decoupling is achieved by multiple-pulse sequences at high RF fields and under fast MAS. Two such sequences, two-pulse phase-modulated decoupling (TPPM) and X-inverse-X decoupling (XiX), are discussed and their properties analyzed and compared.     

Inverse detection and heteronuclear editing in 1H-15N correlation and 1H-1H double-quantum NMR spectroscopy in the solid state under fast MAS

Signal enhancement in heteronuclear correlation spectra as well as signal selection in 1H experiments can be achieved through inverse, i.e., 1H, detection in the solid state under fast MAS conditions. Using recoupled polarization transfer (REPT), a heteronuclear 1H-15N single-quantum correlation (HSQC) experiment is presented whose symmetrical design allows the frequency dimensions to be easily interchanged. By observing the 15N dimension indirectly and detecting on 1H, the sensitivity is experimentally found to be increased by factors between 5 and 10 relative to conventional 15N detection. In addition, the inverse 1H-15N REPT-HSQC scheme can be readily used as a filter for the 1H signal. As an example, we present the combination of such a heteronuclear filter with a subsequent 1H-1H DQ experiment, yielding two-dimensional 15N-edited 1H-1H DQ MAS spectra. In this way, specific selection or suppression of 1H resonances is possible in solid-state MAS experiments, by use of which the resolution can be improved and information can be unravelled in 1H spectra.     

Errors in chemical shift tensor components and orientation in the molecular frame as obtained from MAS NMR spinning sideband analysis

It is shown how to calculate random errors in chemical shift tensor components and in the Euler angles which fix the orientation of the σ tensor in the molecular frame, as obtained from spinning sideband analysis of MAS NMR spectra of powdered solids, when heteronuclear dipolar coupling interactions occur in a two spin system. The procedure was applied to experimental data corresponding to the chemical shift tensor of a carbon-13 bonded to a phosphorus-31 nucleus. Clues are given concerning the experimental variables to be set in order to obtain the desired accuracy in the orientation angles.     

Recoupled polarization transfer heteronuclear 1H-13C multiple-quantum correlation in solids under ultra-fast MAS.

A new approach for high-resolution solid-state heteronuclear multiple-quantum MAS NMR spectroscopy of dipolar-coupled spin-12 nuclei is introduced. The method is a heteronuclear chemical shift correlation technique of abundant spins, like 1H with rare spins, like 13C in natural abundance. High resolution is provided by ultra-fast MAS and high magnetic fields, high sensitivity being ensured by a direct polarization transfer from the abundant protons to 13C. In a rotor-synchronized variant, the method can be used to probe heteronuclear through-space proximities, while the heteronuclear dipolar coupling constant can quantitatively be determined by measuring multiple-quantum spinning-sideband patterns. By means of recoupling, even weak heteronuclear dipolar interactions are accessible. The capabilities of the technique are demonstrated by measurements on crystalline L-tyrosine hydrochloride salt.     

Supercycled SW(f)-TPPM sequence for heteronuclear dipolar decoupling in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance

The performance of a supercycled SW(f)-TPPM sequence for heteronuclear dipolar decoupling in solid-state NMR is analyzed here. The decoupling performance of this sequence with respect to experimental parameters, such as, the phase angle, proton offset and MAS frequency is studied. A comparison is made with two other commonly used decoupling schemes in solid-state NMR namely, SPINAL-64 and SW(f)-TPPM, on a sample of U-13C-labeled tyrosine. Our results show that supercycled SW(f)-TPPM performs better than the former sequences. Also, numerical spin dynamics studies are presented which support the experimentally observed efficiency in the decoupling.     

Recoupled polarization-transfer methods for solid-state (1)H--(13)C heteronuclear correlation in the limit of fast MAS

An in-depth account of the effects of homonuclear couplings and multiple heteronuclear couplings is given for a recently published technique for (1)H--(13)C dipolar correlation in solids under very fast MAS, where the heteronuclear dipolar coupling is recoupled by means of REDOR pi-pulse trains. The method bears similarities to well-known solution-state NMR techniques, which form the framework of a heteronuclear multiple-quantum experiment. The so-called recoupled polarization-transfer (REPT) technique is versatile in that rotor-synchronized (1)H--(13)C shift correlation spectra can be recorded. In addition, weak heteronuclear dipolar coupling constants can be extracted by means of spinning sideband analysis in the indirect dimension of the experiment. These sidebands are generated by rotor encoding of the reconversion Hamiltonian. We present generalized variants of the initially described heteronuclear multiple-quantum correlation (HMQC) experiment, which are better suited for certain applications. Using these techniques, measurements on model compounds with (13)C in natural abundance, as well as simulations, confirm the very weak effect of (1)H--(1)H homonuclear couplings on the spectra recorded with spinning frequencies of 25--30 kHz. The effect of remote heteronuclear couplings on the spinning-sideband patterns of CH(n) groups is discussed, and (13)C spectral editing of rigid organic solids is shown to be practicable with these techniques.     

卡泊三醇的核磁共振谱解析

利用核磁共振氢谱（¹H NMR）、碳谱（¹³C NMR）、同核位移相关谱（¹H-¹H COSY）、异核单量子相干谱（HSQC）和异核多键相关谱（HMBC）等多种核磁研究方法对抗银屑病药物卡泊三醇的¹H、¹³C信号进行完全归属.     

Probing amide bond nitrogens in solids using 14N NMR spectroscopy

A novel two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment is proposed for indirect observation of 14N nuclei in various types of nitrogen-containing solids. In a method somewhat similar to the heteronuclear single-quantum correlation (HSQC) experiment widely used for protein structure determination in solutions, this technique correlates spin S=1/2 nuclei, e.g., 1H, 13C, with the 14N spin I=1 nucleus in solids. The present experiment, however, transfers coherence from neighboring 1H or 13C nuclei to 14N via a combination of J-couplings and residual dipolar splittings (RDS). Projections of the two-dimensional NMR spectra onto the 14N dimension yield powder patterns that reflect the 14N quadrupolar interaction, which can be used to study molecular structure and dynamics. Indirect detection of amide nitrogen-14 via 1H and 13C is shown experimentally on a model compound of N-acetyl-glycine.     

13C-1H HSQC experiment of probe molecules aligned in thermotropic liquid crystals: sensitivity and resolution enhancement in the indirect dimension

The spectra of molecules oriented in liquid crystalline media are dominated by partially averaged dipolar couplings. In the 13C-1H HSQC, due to the inefficient hetero-nuclear dipolar decoupling in the indirect dimension, normally carried out by using a pi pulse, there is a considerable loss of resolution. Furthermore, in such strongly orienting media the 1H-1H and 13C-1H dipolar couplings leads to fast dephasing of transverse magnetization causing inefficient polarization transfer and hence the loss of sensitivity in the indirect dimension. In this study we have carried out 13C-1H HSQC experiment with efficient polarization transfer from 1H to 13C for molecules aligned in liquid crystalline media. The homonuclear dipolar decoupling using FFLG during the INEPT transfer delays and also during evolution period combined with the pi pulse heteronuclear decoupling in the t1 period has been applied. The studies showed a significant reduction in partially averaged dipolar couplings and thereby enhancement in the resolution and sensitivity in the indirect dimension. This has been demonstrated on pyridazine and pyrimidine oriented in the liquid crystal. The two closely resonating carbons in pyrimidine are better resolved in the present study compared to the earlier work [H.S. Vinay Deepak, Anu Joy, N. Suryaprakash, Determination of natural abundance 15N-1H and 13C-1H dipolar couplings of molecules in a strongly orienting media using two-dimensional inverse experiments, Magn. Reson. Chem. 44 (2006) 553-565].     

Measurements of motionally averaged heteronuclear dipolar couplings in MAS NMR using R-type recoupling

A novel MAS NMR approach is presented for the determination of heteronuclear dipolar couplings in unoriented materials. The technique is based on the proton-detected local field (PDLF) protocol, and achieves dipolar recoupling by R-type radio-frequency irradiation. The experiment, which is called R-PDLF spectroscopy, is demonstrated on solid and liquid-crystalline systems. For mobile systems, it is shown that the R-PDLF scheme provides better dipolar resolution as compared to techniques combining conventional separated local field (SLF) spectroscopy with R-type recoupling.     

Recoupled Polarization-Transfer Methods for Solid-State H–C Heteronuclear Correlation in the Limit of Fast MAS

An in-depth account of the effects of homonuclear couplings and multiple heteronuclear couplings is given for a recently published technique for ¹H–¹³C dipolar correlation in solids under very fast MAS, where the heteronuclear dipolar coupling is recoupled by means of REDOR π-pulse trains. The method bears similarities to well-known solution-state NMR techniques, which form the framework of a heteronuclear multiple-quantum experiment. The so-called recoupled polarization-transfer (REPT) technique is versatile in that rotor-synchronized ¹H–¹³C shift correlation spectra can be recorded. In addition, weak heteronuclear dipolar coupling constants can be extracted by means of spinning sideband analysis in the indirect dimension of the experiment. These sidebands are generated by rotor encoding of the reconversion Hamiltonian. We present generalized variants of the initially described heteronuclear multiple-quantum correlation (HMQC) experiment, which are better suited for certain applications. Using these techniques, measurements on model compounds with ¹³C in natural abundance, as well as simulations, confirm the very weak effect of ¹H–¹H homonuclear couplings on the spectra recorded with spinning frequencies of 25–30 kHz. The effect of remote heteronuclear couplings on the spinning-sideband patterns of CH_n groups is discussed, and ¹³C spectral editing of rigid organic solids is shown to be practicable with these techniques.     

High-resolution solid-state NMR of anisotropically mobile molecules under very low-power H decoupling and moderate magic-angle spinning

We show that for observing high-resolution heteronuclear NMR spectra of anisotropically mobile systems with order parameters less than 0.25, moderate magic-angle spinning (MAS) rates of 11 kHz combined with ¹H decoupling at 1–2 kHz are sufficient. Broadband decoupling at this low ¹H nutation frequency is achieved by composite pulse sequences such as WALTZ-16. We demonstrate this moderate MAS low-power decoupling technique on hydrated POPC lipid membranes, and show that 1 kHz ¹H decoupling yields spectra with the same resolution and sensitivity as spectra measured under 50 kHz ¹H decoupling when the same acquisition times (50 ms) are used, but the low-power decoupled spectra give higher resolution and sensitivity when longer acquisition times (>150 ms) are used, which are not possible with high-power decoupling. The limits of validity of this approach are explored for a range of spinning rates and molecular mobilities using more rigid membrane systems such as POPC/cholesterol mixed bilayers. Finally, we show ¹⁵N and ¹³C spectra of a uniaxially diffusing membrane peptide assembly, the influenza A M2 transmembrane domain, under 11 kHz MAS and 2 kHz ¹H decoupling. The peptide ¹⁵N and ¹³C intensities at low-power decoupling are 70–80% of the high-power decoupled intensities. Therefore, it is possible to study anisotropically mobile lipids and membrane peptides using liquid-state NMR equipment, relatively large rotors, and moderate MAS frequencies.     

液体核磁共振 HSQC 实验的量子化学计算与模拟

核磁共振（NMR）异核单量子相干（HSQC）实验因具有较高的灵敏度和分辨率而被广泛用于液体大分子化合物的结构鉴定和研究．然而由于HSQC脉冲的复杂性,需要严格控制实验参数和实验条件才能得到高质量的谱图．本文基于量子力学原理对HSQC实验进行数学建模,通过理论推导、数值计算求解自旋1/2的IS双核体系在每个脉冲节点作用后的密度矩阵,然后结合二维NMR信号采样方法,使用计算机程序完成了该体系HSQC谱图的模拟,同时,还实现了乙醇分子的HSQC谱图模拟． HSQC实验的成功模拟基于对复杂演化过程的精确计算,可用于预测谱图以及实验参数改变对NMR谱图的影响,指导高质量HSQC实验谱图的采集．     

Symmetry-based recoupling of proton chemical shift anisotropies in ultrahigh-field solid-state NMR

A two-dimensional NMR experiment for estimating proton chemical shift anisotropies (CSAs) in solid powders under magic-angle spinning conditions is demonstrated in which 1H CSAs are reintroduced with a symmetry-based recoupling sequence while the individual proton sites are resolved according to their isotropic chemical shifts by magic-angle spinning (MAS) or combined rotation and multiple pulse (CRAMPS) homonuclear decoupling. The experiments where carried out on an ultrahigh-field solid-state NMR instrument (900 MHz 1H frequency) which leads to increased resolution and reliability of the measured 1H CSAs. The experiment is expected to be important for investigating hydrogen bonding in solids.     

Parallelizing acquisitions of solid-state NMR spectra with multi-channel probe and multi-receivers: Applications to nanoporous solids

A five-channel (¹H, ¹⁹F, ³¹P, ²⁷Al, ¹³C) 2.5 mm magic-angle-spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe is used in combination with three separate receivers for the parallel acquisitions of one (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) NMR spectra in model fluorinated aluminophosphate and porous Al-based metal-organic framework (MOF). Possible combinations to record simultaneously spectra using this set-up are presented, including (i) parallel acquisitions of quantitative 1D NMR spectra of solids containing nuclei with contrasted T₁ relaxation rates and (ii) parallel acquisitions of 2D heteronuclear NMR spectra. In solids containing numerous different NMR-accessible nuclei, the number of NMR experiments that have to be acquired to get accurate structural information is high. The strategy we present here, i.e. the multiplication of both the number of irradiation channels in the probe and the number of parallel receivers, offers one possibility to optimize this measurement time.     

Applications of DNP-NMR for the measurement of heteronuclear T1 relaxation times

Measurement of heteronuclear spin-lattice relaxation times is hampered by both low natural abundance and low detection sensitivity. Combined with typically long relaxation times, this results in extended acquisition times which often renders the experiment impractical. Recently a variant of dynamic nuclear polarisation has been demonstrated in which enhanced nuclear spin polarisation, generated in the cryo-solid state, is transferred to the liquid state for detection. Combining this approach with small flip angle pulse trains, similar to the FLASH-T(1) imaging sequence, allows the rapid determination of spin-lattice relaxation times. In this paper we explore this method and its application to the measurement of T(1) for both carbon-13 and nitrogen-15 at natural abundance. The effects of RF inhomogeneity and the influence of proton decoupling in the context of this experiment are also investigated.     

Sensitivity enhancement using paramagnetic relaxation in MAS solid-state NMR of perdeuterated proteins

Previously, Ishii et al., could show that chelated paramagnetic ions can be employed to significantly decrease the recycle delay of a MAS solid-state NMR experiment [N.P. Wickramasinghe, M. Kotecha, A. Samoson, J. Past, Y. Ishii, Sensitivity enhancement in C-13 solid-state NMR of protein microcrystals by use of paramagnetic metal ions for optimizing H-1 T-1 relaxation, J. Magn. Reson. 184 (2007) 350-356]. Application of the method is limited to very robust samples, for which sample stability is not compromised by RF induced heating. In addition, probe integrity might be perturbed in standard MAS PRE experiments due to the use of very short duty cycles. We show that these deleterious effects can be avoided if perdeuterated proteins are employed that have been re-crystallized from D(2)O:H(2)O=9:1 containing buffer solutions. The experiments are demonstrated using the SH3 domain of chicken alpha-spectrin as a model system. The labeling scheme allows to record proton detected (1)H, (15)N correlation spectra with very high resolution in the absence of heteronuclear dipolar decoupling. Cu-edta as a doping reagent yields a reduction of the recycle delay by up to a factor of 15. In particular, we find that the (1)H T(1) for the bulk H(N) magnetization is reduced from 4.4s to 0.3s if the Cu-edta concentration is increased from 0mM to 250 mM. Possible perturbations like chemical shift changes or line broadening due to the paramagnetic chelate complex are minimal. No degradation of our samples was observed in the course of the experiments.     

High resolution 2D 1H-13C correlation of cholesterol in model membrane

High resolution 2D NMR MAS spectra of liposomes, in particular 1H-13C chemical shifts correlations have been obtained on fluid lipid bilayers made of pure phospholipids for several years. We have investigated herein the possibility to obtain high resolution 2D MAS spectra of cholesterol embedded in membranes, i.e. on a rigid molecule whose dynamics is characterized mainly by axial diffusion without internal segmental mobility. The efficiency of various pulse sequences for heteronuclear HETCOR has been compared in terms of resolution, sensitivity and selectivity, using either cross polarization or INEPT for coherence transfer, and with or without MREV-8 homonuclear decoupling during t1. At moderately high spinning speed (9 kHz), a similar resolution is obtained in all cases (0.2 ppm for 1H(3,4), 0.15 ppm for 13C(3,4) cholesterol resonances), while sensitivity increases in the order: INEPT < CP(x4) < CP + MREV. At reduced spinning speed (5 kHz), the homonuclear dipolar coupling between the two geminal protons attached to C(4) gives rise to spinning sidebands from which one can estimate a H-H dipolar coupling of 10 kHz which is in good agreement with the known dynamics of cholesterol in membranes.