Dynamical changes in hydration water accompanying lysozyme thermal denaturation

We study the dynamics of the first hydration shell of lysozyme to determine the role of hydration water that accompanies lysozyme thermal denaturation. We use nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate both the translational and rotational contributions. Data on proton self-diffusion and reorentational correlation time indicate that the kinetics of the lysozyme folding/unfolding process is controlled by the dynamics of the water molecules in the first hydration shell. When the hydration water dynamics change, because of the weakening of the hydrogen bond network, the three-dimensional structure of the lysozyme is lost and denaturation is triggered. Our data indicates that at temperatures above approximately 315 K, water behaves as a simple liquid and is no longer a good solvent.     

Contribution of proton NMR relaxation to the investigation of molecular dynamics in columnar mesophases of discotic and polycatenar molecules

We present in this work a review concerning wide frequency rangeT ₁ proton NMR relaxation studies performed in compounds exhibiting columnar mesophases, namely the Col_ho mesophase in the case of a liquid crystal of discotic molecules and the ø_h mesophase in the case of a liquid crystal of biforked molecules. These NMR relaxation studies were performed combining conventional and fast field cycling NMR techniques in a frequency range between 100 Hz and 300 MHz. The possibility of probing such a large frequency range has provided a way to effectively distinguish the influence, on theT ₁ relaxation profiles, of the different molecular movements observed in this type of mesophases. In addition, we present a comparison between the molecular dynamics in columnar (ø_h) and lamellar (SmC) mesophases exhibited by the same biforked compound.     

Molecular dynamics study of swelling patterns of Na/Cs-montmorillonites and hydration of interlayer cations

We report on a molecular dynamics study of swelling patterns of an Na-rich/Cs-poor montomorillonite and a Cs-montomorillonite. The recently developed CLAYFF force field is used to predict the basal spacing as a function of the water content in the interlayer. The simulations reproduce the swelling patterns of the Na and Cs-montomorillonite, suggesting a mechanism of its hydration different from that of the montomorillonite. In the meanwhile, we find that the differences in size and hydration energy of Na and Cs ions have strong implications for the structure and the internal energy of interlayer water. In particular, our results indicate that the hydrate difference in the presence of coexistent Na and Cs has a larger influence on the behavior of clay-water system. For Na-rich/Cs-poor montomorillonite, the hydration energy values of Na ions and water molecules each have a dramatic increase compared with those in Na-montomorillonite on the interlayer spacing, and the hydration energy values of Cs ions and water molecules decrease somewhat compared with those in Cs-montomorillonite.     

A molecular dynamics study of the swelling patterns of Na/Cs-montmorillonites and the hydration of interlayer cations

We report on a molecular dynamics study of the swelling patterns of an Na-rich/Cs-poor montomorillonite and a Csmontomorillonite.The recently developed CLAYFF force field is used to predict the basal spacing as a function of the water content in the interlayer.The simulations reproduce the swelling patterns of the Na and Cs-montomorillonite,suggesting a mechanism of its hydration different from that of the montomorillonite.In addition,we find that the differences in size and hydration energy of Na and Cs ions have strong implications for the structure and the internal energy of interlayer water.In particular,our results indicate that the hydrate difference in the presence of coexistent Na and Cs has a larger influence on the behavior of a clay-water system.For Na-rich/Cs-poor montomorillonite,the hydration energy values of Na ions and water molecules each have a dramatic increase compared with those in Na-montomorillonite on the interlayer spacing,and the hydration energy values of Cs ions and water molecules decrease somewhat compared with those in Cs-montomorillonite.     

Water absorption kinetics in different wettability conditions studied at pore and sample scales in porous media by NMR with portable single-sided and laboratory imaging devices

NMR relaxation time distributions of water (1)H obtained by a portable single-sided surface device have been compared with MRI internal images obtained with a laboratory imaging apparatus on the same biocalcarenite (Lecce Stone) samples during capillary water uptake. The aim of this work was to check the ability of NMR methods to quantitatively follow the absorption phenomenon under different wettability conditions of the internal pore surfaces. Stone wettability changes were obtained by capillary absorption of a chloroform solution of Paraloid PB72, a hydrophobic acrylic resin frequently used to protect monuments and buildings, through one face of each sample. Both relaxation and imaging data have been found in good quantitative agreement each other and with masses of water determined by weighing the samples. In particular the Washburn model of water capillary rise applied to the imaging data allowed us to quantify the sorptivity in both treated and untreated samples. Combining relaxation and imaging data, a synergetic improvement of our understanding of the water absorption kinetics at both pore and sample scales is obtained. Since relaxation data have been taken over the course of time without interrupting the absorption process, simply by keeping the portable device on the surface opposite to the absorption, the results show that the single-sided NMR technique is a powerful tool for in situ evaluation of water-repellent treatments frequently used for consolidation and/or protection of stone artifacts.     

Changes in protein structure and dynamics as a function of hydration from (1)H second moments

We report the proton second moment obtained directly from the Free Induction Decay (FID) of the NMR signal of variously hydrated bovine serum albumin (BSA) and hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) and from the width of the NMR Z-spectrum of the cross-linked protein gels of different concentrations. The second moment of the proteins decreases in a continuous stepwise way as a function of increasing water content, which suggests that the structural and dynamical changes occur in small incremental steps. Although the second moment is dominated by the short range distances of nearest neighbors, the changes in the second moment show that the protein structure becomes more open with increasing hydration level. A difference between the apparent liquid content of the sample as found from decomposition of the FID and the analytically determined water content demonstrates that water absorbed in the early stages of hydration is motionally immobilized and magnetically indistinguishable from rigid protein protons while at high hydration levels some protein side-chain protons move rapidly contributing to liquid-like component of the NMR signal.     

Deuteron NMR spectra of ammonium ion isotopomers at low temperatures

Partially deuterated ammonium compounds contain ammonium ion isotopomers with relative abundances given by the binomial distribution of protons and deuterons. All isotopomers with deuterons contribute characteristic deuteron NMR spectra at 5K. Experimental NMR spectra were separated and respective contributions of isotopomers were determined. The derived contributions agree with expected values for a given deuteration in the case of ammonium hexafluorophosphate. In ammonium hexachlorotellurate both NH2D2+ and about 50% of NH3D+ ions are rigid, while the remaining NH3D+ perform limited jumps. NHD3+ and ND4+ ions undergo tunnelling rotation, NH3D+ ions perform either jumps about C2 axis or limited jumps, but some stay rigid in ammonium hexachlorostannate. NH2D2+, NHD 3+ and ND4+ undergo rotational tunnelling. In the case of ammonium perchlorate, the NH3D+ ions perform either jumps about C3 axis or limited jumps whilst some remain rigid. Very low values of activation energies were derived for all spectral components from the temperature dependence of their spectra, up to about 20K, which indicates an incoherent tunnelling nature of the observed dynamic processes. The diverse mobility of NH3D+ ions appears to be the most interesting and new feature.     

Slow dynamics of supercooled hydration water in contact with lysozyme: examining the cage effect at different length scales

ABSTRACT

We study by computer simulation the dynamics of hydration water in solution with lysozyme upon approaching the glassy state of water. We calculate the self-density correlation function at different wavelengths to test the Mode Coupling Theory (MCT) of glassy dynamics at different length scales. The results show a strict and clear relation of the behaviour of the structural relaxation with the cage effect. We find a good agreement with the predictions of the MCT in the short and medium scale range, while at increasing length scales the interaction of water molecules with the protein's substrate induces deviations from the MCT behaviour, as found in previous studies. Besides at low temperatures the slow dynamics deviates from MCT due to hopping processes, similar to the bulk, as witnessed by a crossover from a fragile behaviour to a strong behaviour. We show that this deviation is evident at all length scales. Interestingly, we find that in the fragile region the confining cage decreases in radius with temperature while in the strong region it appears stable.     

Molecular dynamics and quantum chemical approaches in the study of the hydration of protonated cyclohexyldiamines

Explicit hydration of the neutral and charged cyclohexylamine and of the cyclohexyldiamine isomers in their mono- or diprotonated forms is investigated through classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in aqueous solutions combined with DFT calculations in amine–water complexes. The MD studies performed in the monoamines reveal that the structure of the hydration shell around the neutral amino group (NH₂) is quite distinct from that around the charged one (NH₃⁺). On average, the number of water molecules surrounding the two groups is calculated to be ～2 and 3–4, respectively. The variation of the hydration structure prompted by the groups’ proximity is discussed based on the data found for the mono- and diprotonated diamines. To have a more detailed picture of the water molecules’ arrangement around the amino groups and of the amine–water hydrogen bonds, geometry optimisations in hydrates with up to six water molecules are carried out at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level. Complexation energies are also computed. The main findings emerging from these calculations are found to be very helpful to rationalise the mutual influence of the amino groups and therefore to better elucidate the MD findings. The complementary nature of the two research methods is emphasised as an excellent tool in order to closely examine the hydration of polyamines, as exemplified for the cyclohexyldiamines.     

先进固体NMR技术研究高分子结构与动力学

随着固体NMR理论和谱仪硬件技术的不断发展,近年来固体NMR技术在高分子多尺度结构与动力学研究领域中正发挥着越来越重要的作用. 多脉冲及高速魔角旋转（MAS）等质子高分辨技术的发展使得高灵敏度的¹H谱可有效地用于高分子化学结构与链间相互作用的检测;基于化学键（J-耦合）相关和通过空间（偶极耦合）相互作用的各种二维异核相关谱NMR新技术,使得复杂高分子的链结构得以严格解析. 基于MAS下同核和异核偶极-偶极相互作用、化学位移各向异性等各向异性相互作用重聚的系列新技术,使得研究者可在采用高分辨¹H或¹³C 检测信号的同时检测准静态下的各向异性相互作用,进而获得与之密切相关的结构和动力学信息. 通过质子偶极滤波技术可有效检测多相聚合物中的界面相与相区尺寸、高分子共混物中的相容性等问题. 在动力学的研究中,通过质子间自旋扩散的有效压制技术和化学位移各向异性的重聚,目前已经可以有效地获取链段上单个化学键的快速局域运动以及链段的超慢分子运动. 上述丰富的多尺度NMR技术可以使研究者在不同空间和时间尺度上对高分子聚合物的微观结构、相分离和动力学行为等进行详细的研究,进而阐明高分子微观结构与宏观性能的关联. 该文以固体NMR中最主要的2类核（¹H和¹³C）的检测技术为主线,简单介绍近年来固体NMR领域的一些最新研究进展及其在高分子结构和动力学研究中的应用.     

Swelling of K+, Na+ and Ca2+-montmorillonites and hydration of interlayer cations: a molecular dynamics simulation

This paper performs molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the role of the monovalent cations K, Na and the divalent cation Ca on the stability and swelling of montmorillonite. The recently developed CLAYFF force field is used to predict the basal spacing as a function of the water content in the interlayer. The simulations reproduced the swelling pattern of these montmorillonites, suggesting a mechanism of their hydration different (K+ 相似文献   

NMR and RAMAN studies of fluids at high pressure

Abstract

Selected results of the studies dealing with the motional dynamics of liquid 2-ethylhexyl cyclohexanecar-boxylate (EHC) and 2-ethylhexyl benzoate (EHB) illustrate the progress in instrumentation development for high-resolution, high-pressure NMR experiments on liquids.

A brief overview of recent laser Raman scattering studies of the collision induced scattering in simple polyatomic molecular fluids is also presented.     

Gelatine sizing and discoloration: A comparative study of optical spectra obtained from ancient and artificially aged modern papers

The role of gelatine sizing in ancient paper discoloration is still subject to debate. In this report we have addressed this issue by comparing the optical reflectance of sized and non-sized artificially aged modern papers with reflectance data obtained from a set of ancient specimens. We have used different ageing procedures and prepared the gelatine following methods set down in ancient recipes. Gelatine-sized aged papers showed an optical response comparable with that of ancient paper specimens, while very small reflectance modifications were observed in pure cellulose unsized samples under the same ageing conditions. In addition, measurements carried out on pure gelatine films confirmed that gelatine plays a major role in paper discoloration. Some differences in discoloration effects induced by artificial and natural ageing on sized paper are discussed and a possible explanation is proposed.     

The NMR and Viscosity Investigations of 1,3- and 1,4-Dioxanes in Binary Aqueous Solutions

The measurements of ¹H NMR chemical shift and the shear viscosity as a function of temperature and concentration for 1, 3-and 1,4-dioxane-water system were carried out. Our experimental results are consistent with data derived from other works. Both the chemical shift and viscosity data suggested the association processes between water and dioxane molecules.     

NMR investigation of water and methanol mobility in nanocomposite fuel cell membranes

Water and methanol transport behavior, morphology, and solvent adsorption of filler-free Nafion membrane, Nafion–SiO₂, Nafion–TiO₂, and two Nafion–Zr(HPO₄)₂ composites were investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance methods, including spin-lattice relaxation and pulsed-field-gradient spin-echo diffusion conducted under both variable temperature and variable hydrostatic pressure conditions and scanning electron microscopy analysis. A comparison between water and methanol self-diffusion coefficients reveals that the water mobility is higher than the methanol mobility in all the membranes. Additionally, the inclusion of inorganic fillers improves both the solvent uptakes and the transport properties of the composite membranes relative to filler-free Nafion, with the exception of one of the Nafion–Zr(HPO₄)₂ composite. Nafion–Zr(HPO₄)₂ composites were prepared by two different procedures, in situ and ex situ. Although phosphorus-31 magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectra show the same structures of the particles in both kinds of membranes, the morphology, solvent absorption properties, and solvent mobilities are very different. Paper presented at the 11th EuroConference on the Science and Technology of Ionics, Batz-sur Mer, Sept. 9–15, 2007.     

Sensitivity and resolution in proton solid-state NMR at intermediate deuteration levels: quantitative linewidth characterization and applications to correlation spectroscopy

We present a systematic study of proton linewidths in rigid solids as a function of sample spinning frequency and proton density, with the latter controlled by the ratio of protonated and perdeuterated model compounds. We find that the linewidth correlates more closely with the overall proton density (rho(H)) than the size of local clusters of (1)H spins. At relatively high magic-angle spinning (MAS) rates, the linewidth depends linearly upon the inverse MAS rate. In the limit of infinite spinning rate and/or zero proton concentration, the linewidth extrapolates to a non-zero value, owing to contributions from scalar couplings, chemical shift dispersion, and B(0) field inhomogeneity. The slope of this line depends on the overall concentration of unexchangeable protons in the sample and the spinning rate. At up to 30% protonation levels ( approximately 2 (1)H/100A(3)), proton detection experiments are demonstrated to have a substantial (2- to 3-fold) sensitivity gain over corresponding (13)C-detected experiments. Within this range, the absolute sensitivity increases with protonation level; the optimal compromise between sensitivity and resolution is in the range of 20-30% protonation. We illustrate the use of dilute protons for polarization transfer to and from low-gamma spins within 5A, and to be utilized as both magnetization source and detection spins. The intermediate protonation regime enhances relaxation properties, which we expect will enable new types of (1)H correlation pulse sequences to be implemented with improved resolution and sensitivity.     

Feasibility of arsenic and antimony NMR spectroscopy in solids: An investigation of some group 15 compounds

The feasibility of obtaining ⁷⁵As and ^121/123Sb NMR spectra for solids at high and moderate magnetic field strengths is explored. Arsenic-75 nuclear quadrupolar coupling constants and chemical shifts have been measured for arsenobetaine bromide and tetraphenylarsonium bromide. Similarly, ^121/123Sb NMR parameters have been measured for tetraphenylstibonium bromide and potassium hexahydroxoantimonate. The predicted pseudo-tetrahedral symmetry at arsenic and the known trigonal bipyramidal symmetry at antimony in their respective tetraphenyl-bromide “salts” are reflected in the measured ⁷⁵As and ¹²¹Sb nuclear quadrupole coupling constants, C_Q(⁷⁵As)=7.8 MHz and C_Q(¹²¹Sb)=159 MHz, respectively. Results of density functional theory quantum chemistry calculations for isolated molecules using ADF and first-principles calculations using CASTEP, a gauge-including projector augmented wave method to deal with the periodic nature of solids, are compared with experiment. Although the experiments can be time consuming, measurements of ⁷⁵As and ¹²¹Sb NMR spectra (at 154 and 215 MHz, respectively, i.e., at B₀=21.14 T) with linewidths in excess of 1 MHz are feasible using uniform broadband excitation shaped pulse techniques (e.g., WURST and WURST-QCPMG).     

A 43Ca and 13C NMR study of the chemical interaction between poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) and white cement during hydration

⁴³Ca and ¹³C NMR methods were used to study the chemical interaction of poly(ethylene–vinyl acetate) (PEVAc) admixture in commercial-grade white cement. From ⁴³Ca NMR it is shown both that PEVAc induces modest changes in the hydrated cement structure, and that hydrated commercial cement is significantly more complex than models that have been used for its structure in past work. The ¹³C NMR results show that the PEVAc hydrolysis occurs early in the cement hydration acceleration period, with a rate well-fit by an exponential decay using a time constant of 6±1 days.     

Ergodicity and efficiency of cross-polarization in NMR of static solids

Cross-polarization transfer is employed in virtually every solid-state NMR experiment to enhance magnetization of low-gamma spins. Theory and experiment is used to assess the magnitude of the final quasistationary magnetization amplitude. The many-body density matrix equation is solved for relatively large (up to N=14) spin systems without the spin-temperature assumption for the final spin states. Simulations show that about 13% of the thermodynamic limit is still retained within the proton bath. To test this theoretical prediction, a combination of a reverse cross-polarization experiment and multiple contacts is employed to show that the thermodynamic limit of magnetization cannot be transferred from high- to low-gamma nuclei in a single contact. Multiple contacts, however, fully transfer the maximum magnetization. A simple diffusion on a cone model shows that slow dynamics can affect the build up profile for the transferred magnetization.     

Deuteron NMR spectra of ND4ClO4 single crystal at low temperatures

²H NMR spectra of ND₄ClO₄ single crystal were obtained at ν₀ = 44 MHz. Orientation and temperature (1.9–75 K) dependences were measured. Fitting the spectra gives the effective quadrupole coupling constants for all deuterons and the ground torsional level structure. The isotope reduction of the (A-T) and (A-E) tunnelling splittings, i.e., the ratios of the respective splittings for NH₄⁺ and ND₄⁺, were found to be different. The splittings at T = 24 K are about 60% of the helium temperature values. The spectrum undergoes intermediate narrowing by reorientations between 26 and 34 K and tunnelling related features in the spectra are eradicated. After reaching the extreme narrowing limit, a doublet with gradually decreasing separation was observed, what was attributed to averaging by torsional oscillations of increasing amplitude. At high temperatures (T > 75 K), the narrow spectrum reflects fast multiaxial reorientation of the ammonium ion.