Dipolar recoupling in solid state NMR by phase alternating pulse sequences

We describe some new developments in the methodology of making heteronuclear and homonuclear recoupling experiments in solid state NMR insensitive to rf-inhomogeneity by phase alternating the irradiation on the spin system every rotor period. By incorporating delays of half rotor periods in the pulse sequences, these phase alternating experiments can be made γ encoded. The proposed methodology is conceptually different from the standard methods of making recoupling experiments robust by the use of ramps and adiabatic pulses in the recoupling periods. We show how the concept of phase alternation can be incorporated in the design of homonuclear recoupling experiments that are both insensitive to chemical shift dispersion and rf-inhomogeneity.     

An NMR thermometer for cryogenic magic-angle spinning NMR: the spin-lattice relaxation of (127)I in cesium iodide

The accurate temperature measurement of solid samples under magic-angle spinning (MAS) is difficult in the cryogenic regime. It has been demonstrated by Thurber et al. (J. Magn. Reson., 196 (2009) 84-87) [10] that the temperature dependent spin-lattice relaxation time constant of ⁷⁹Br in KBr powder can be useful for measuring sample temperature under MAS over a wide temperature range (20–296 K). However the value of T₁ exceeds 3 min at temperatures below 20 K, which is inconveniently long. In this communication, we show that the spin-lattice relaxation time constant of ¹²⁷I in CsI powder can be used to accurately measure sample temperature under MAS within a reasonable experimental time down to 10 K.     

15N chemical shift referencing in solid state NMR

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy has much advanced during the last decade and provides a multitude of data that can be used for high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules, polymers, inorganic compounds or macromolecules. In some cases the chemical shift referencing has become a limiting factor to the precision of the structure calculations and we have therefore evaluated a number of methods used in proton-decoupled ¹⁵N solid-state NMR spectroscopy. For ¹³C solid-state NMR spectroscopy adamantane is generally accepted as an external standard, but to calibrate the ¹⁵N chemical shift scale several standards are in use. As a consequence the published chemical shift values exhibit considerable differences (up to 22 ppm). In this paper we report the ¹⁵N chemical shift of several commonly used references compounds in order to allow for comparison and recalibration of published data and future work. We show that ¹⁵NH₄Cl in its powdered form (at 39.3 ppm with respect to liquid NH₃) is a suitable external reference as it produces narrow lines when compared to other reference compounds and at the same time allows for the set-up of cross-polarization NMR experiments. The compound is suitable to calibrate magic angle spinning and static NMR experiments. Finally the temperature variation of ¹⁵NH₄Cl chemical shift is reported.     

Quantitative estimation of SPINOE enhancement in solid state

A theoretical approach to quantitatively estimate the spin polarization enhancement via spin polarization-induced nuclear Overhauser effect (SPINOE) in solid state is presented. We show that theoretical estimates from the model are in good agreement with published experimental results. This method provides a straightforward way to predict the enhanced factor of nuclear magnetic resonance signals in solid state experiments.     

The 15N and 13C solid state NMR study of intramolecular hydrogen bond in some Schiff's bases

A series of 11 Schiff's bases derived from substituted salicylaldehyde and aliphatic amines has been studied in the solid state by ¹⁵N and ¹³C cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). ¹⁵N CPMAS is especially useful for investigation of the tautomerism in the compounds considered, owing to the large difference in the nitrogen chemical shifts of OH and NH tautomers. In the solid state, three of the compounds examined were shown by ¹⁵N NMR to exist as OH tautomeric forms, and the remaining eight as the corresponding NH forms. This was confirmed by ¹³C CPMAS. The results reported were compared with those obtained in CDCl₃ solutions.     

Na solid state MAS NMR of sodium halides occluded in zeolites

Occlusion of sodium chloride and sodium bromide in zeolitic pores was performed by heating mixtures of the salts with zeolites NaY and NaA under high vacuum conditions. The obtained samples were subjected to various further pretreatments like washing with water and zinc-exchange, and were investigated spectroscopically with the ²³Na MAS NMR technique at various Zeeman field strengths. In the case of NaY, the halides are occluded in both types of cages of the faujasite structure. About 90% of the sodalite cages are shown to have incorporated salt which is concluded to be part of [Na₄Hal]³⁺ clusters as in the case of sodalite type materials.     

High resolution heteronuclear correlation NMR spectroscopy between quadrupolar nuclei and protons in the solid state

A high resolution two-dimensional solid state NMR experiment is presented that correlates half-integer quadrupolar spins with protons. In this experiment the quadrupolar nuclei evolve during t1 under a split-t1, FAM-enhanced MQMAS pulse scheme. After each t1 period ending at the MQMAS echo position, single quantum magnetization is transferred, via a cross polarization process in the mixing time, from the quadrupolar nuclei to the protons. High-resolution proton signals are then detected in the t2 time domain during wPMLG5* homonuclear decoupling. The experiment has been demonstrated on a powder sample of sodium citrate and 23Na-1H 2D correlation spectra have been obtained. From the HETCOR spectra and the regular MQMAS spectrum, the three crystallographically inequivalent Na+ sites in the asymmetric unit were assigned. This MQMAS-wPMLG HETCOR pulse sequence can be used for spectral editing of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei coupled to protons.     

29Si NMR in solid state with CPMG acquisition under MAS

A remarkable enhancement of sensitivity can be often achieved in ²⁹Si solid-state NMR by applying the well-known Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) train of rotor-synchronized π pulses during the detection of silicon magnetization. Here, several one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) techniques are used to demonstrate the capabilities of this approach. Examples include 1D ²⁹Si{X} CPMAS spectra and 2D ²⁹Si{X} HETCOR spectra of mesoporous silicas, zeolites and minerals, where X = ¹H or ²⁷Al. Data processing methods, experimental strategies and sensitivity limits are discussed and illustrated by experiments. The mechanisms of transverse dephasing of ²⁹Si nuclei in solids are analyzed. Fast magic angle spinning, at rates between 25 and 40 kHz, is instrumental in achieving the highest sensitivity gain in some of these experiments. In the case of ²⁹Si–²⁹Si double-quantum techniques, CPMG detection can be exploited to measure homonuclear J-couplings.     

Solid state C NMR analysis of human gallstones from cancer and benign gall bladder diseases

Natural abundance ¹³C cross polarized (CP) magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of human gall bladder stones collected from patients suffering from malignant and benign gall bladder disease was carried out which revealed different polymorphs of cholesterol in these stones. All gall bladder stones in present study had cholesterol as their main constituent. ¹³C CP-MAS NMR analysis revealed three forms of cholesterol molecules in these stones, which are anhydrous form, monohydrate crystalline with amorphous form and monohydrate crystalline form. Our study revealed that stones collected from patients associated with chronic cholecystitis (CC) disease have mostly different polymorph of cholesterol than stones collected from patients associated with gall bladder cancer (GBC). Such study will be helpful in understanding the mechanism of formation of gallstones which are associated with different gall bladder diseases. This is the first study by solid state NMR revealing different crystal polymorphism of cholesterol in human gallstones, extending the applicability of ¹³C CP-MAS NMR technique for the routine study of gallstones.     

Solid state NMR study of sodium thiocyanate/poly(ethylene oxide) electrolytes

¹H-, ¹³C-, ²³Na-solid state NMR measurements have been used to characterise the morphology and the dynamics of several NaSCN-PEO mixtures. Selective ¹³C-MAS experiments allowed to determine the composition of the (PEO)_nNaSCN samples in terms of the different phases present, as well as the real stoichiometry of the crystalline complex. ¹H- and ¹³C-spin-lattice relaxation times provided estimates of the dimensions of the different domains and gave information on the dynamics of the polymer chains. ²³Na-MAS spectra and 2D nutation experiments allowed to individuate the presence of different environments for the sodium cations on the basis of their quadrupolar interactions.     

A low-E magic angle spinning probe for biological solid state NMR at 750 MHz

Crossed-coil NMR probes are a useful tool for reducing sample heating for biological solid state NMR. In a crossed-coil probe, the higher frequency ¹H field, which is the primary source of sample heating in conventional probes, is produced by a separate low-inductance resonator. Because a smaller driving voltage is required, the electric field across the sample and the resultant heating is reduced. In this work we describe the development of a magic angle spinning (MAS) solid state NMR probe utilizing a dual resonator. This dual resonator approach, referred to as “low-E,” was originally developed to reduce heating in samples of mechanically aligned membranes. The study of inherently dilute systems, such as proteins in lipid bilayers, via MAS techniques requires large sample volumes at high field to obtain spectra with adequate signal-to-noise ratio under physiologically relevant conditions. With the low-E approach, we are able to obtain homogeneous and sufficiently strong radiofrequency fields for both ¹H and ¹³C frequencies in a 4 mm probe with a ¹H frequency of 750 MHz. The performance of the probe using windowless dipolar recoupling sequences is demonstrated on model compounds as well as membrane-embedded peptides.     

Characterization of polyalkylvinyl ether phases by solid-state and suspended-state nuclear magnetic resonance investigations

Pure organic polyalkylvinyl ether phases were synthesized by suspension polymerization using different ratios and compositions of n-butylvinyl ether (C₄VE) and n-octadecylvinyl ether (C₁₈VE) with triethylene glycol divinyl ether or divinylbenzene as crosslinkers, respectively. These phases were investigated by means of solid-state ¹³C cross-polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and ¹H high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR MAS) NMR spectroscopy in suspended-state. A comparison of these two methods showed the substantial advantages of ¹H HR MAS NMR measurements. Structure elucidation was achieved using a 2D H,H-COSY NMR experiment performed under MAS conditions enabling full peak assignment of the ¹H NMR spectra of these phases. The dynamic behavior of the polyalkylvinyl ether phases was determined by employing temperature-dependent measurements of spin–lattice relaxation times (T₁) as well as accumulation of a 2D wide line separation NMR spectrum.     

Application of the solid state NMR to the study of the alcohol/alkane mixtures adsorption onto graphite

The mixing of molecules adsorbed from solution to different interfaces has both industrial and academic relevance and the mixing behaviour at the interface is a key to understanding for example, that the surface tension of a mixture of two surfactants is lower than either of the two pure materials and many other effects. In this paper, we report, for the first time, the application of Solid State NMR to the study of alkane/alcohol mixtures, in a range of relative size ratio between 0 and 0.35, adsorbed onto graphite at high, multilayer coverage. Moreover, this paper evaluated, for the first time, the utility of the combined used of 1H and 2H NMR for: (i) determining the surface composition and (ii) making a theoretical approach to the sorption isotherm. A variety of preferential adsorption behaviour is reported. Preferential adsorption of the longer molecule (decane vs. heptanol) from a mixture has been observed. However, if both components are of similar length, the alcohol is preferentially adsorbed (heptanol vs. octane and octanol vs. octane). Finally, a linear relation between the relative size ratio and the amount of alcohol at monolayer coverage is observed.     

Detection of natural abundance 1H-13C correlations of cholesterol in its membrane environment using a gradient enhanced HSQC experiment under high resolution magic angle spinning

The quality and signal to noise ratio of a J-based HETCOR performed on a standard MAS probe have been compared with a gradient enhanced HSQC performed on a HR-MAS probe at 500 MHz. The sample selected was cholesterol, inserted at 30 mol% in acyl chain deuterated phospholipids (DMPC-d54), at a temperature where the bilayer is in a liquid crystalline phase (310 K). It is representative of any rigid molecule undergoing fast axial diffusion in a bilayer as the main movement. After optimization of the spinning rate and carbon decoupling conditions, it is shown that the ge-HSQC/MAS approach is far superior to the more conventional J-HETCOR/MAS in terms of signal to noise ratio, and that it allows the detection of all the natural abundance cross peaks of cholesterol in a membrane environment. Clear differences between the 1H and 13C chemical shifts of cholesterol in a membrane and in chloroform solution were thus revealed.     

Solid state NMR characterisation of crystalline Na2OZrO2SiO2 phases

The NMR interactions of crystalline phases in the system Na₂O-ZrO₂-SiO₂ have been studied by a combination of static and magic angle spinning NMR methods for the first time. A full multinuclear (¹⁷O, ²³Na, ²⁹Si and ⁹¹Zr) approach has been employed that allows the phases to be clearly identified. NMR interactions such as ²⁹Si isotropic chemical shift correlate with the known structural units present. For ²³Na the different sites can often be distinguished on the basis of differing quadrupolar interactions.     

Two-dimensional solid state NMR characterization of physisorbed siloxane polymer (OV-225) on silica

Physisorbed cyanopropyl-methyl-phenyl-methyl-siloxane polymer on a silica surface was characterized by one- and two-dimensional solid state NMR techniques including heteronuclear proton-silicon correlation spectroscopy. Spin-lattice relaxations of protons of the siloxane polymer exhibited only small changes upon anchoring to the silica surface indicating somewhat altered molecular dynamics of proton moieties that contribute to the relaxation process. However, the same relaxation rates of the siloxane polymer’s silica atoms were reduced due to restricted mobility of the polymer. Proton-silicon heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy (HETCOR) revealed strong correlations of silanol protons with both Q³ and Q⁴ sites of the silica surface. In addition, a correlation between methyl protons and the Q³ site of the silica surface was observed when HETCOR experiments with very small mixing time (5 ms) were performed. The presence of these correlations is indicative of the coherent magnetization transfer mainly through dipolar mechanisms. Since magnetization transfer through the dipolar mechanism is 1/r³ dependent, methyl protons must lie in close proximity to the silica surface. Hydrogen bonding of the silica surface’s hydroxyl protons with the bridging oxygen of the siloxane polymer is most likely responsible for positioning the methyl protons closer to the surface. Additional correlations between ²⁹Si nuclei and methylene protons next to cyano group was also observed with mixing time indicating the closer proximity of these protons to the silica surface as well. This juxtaposition of methylene protons is most likely due to hydrogen bonding of the siloxane polymer through the cyano moiety. Furthermore, the hydrogen bonding through the cyano group is most likely to be in parallel orientation to the surface. Finally, the aromatic protons exhibited weak correlations only with Q³ sites, indicating that these protons must also lie in close proximity of the silica surface.     

Efficient solid state NMR powder simulations using SMP and MPP parallel computation

Methods for parallel simulation of solid state NMR powder spectra are presented for both shared and distributed memory parallel supercomputers. For shared memory architectures the performance of simulation programs implementing the OpenMP application programming interface is evaluated. It is demonstrated that the design of correct and efficient shared memory parallel programs is difficult as the performance depends on data locality and cache memory effects. The distributed memory parallel programming model is examined for simulation programs using the MPI message passing interface. The results reveal that both shared and distributed memory parallel computation are very efficient with an almost perfect application speedup and may be applied to the most advanced powder simulations.     

Sensitivity enhancement in structural measurements by solid state NMR through pulsed spin locking

Free induction decay (FID) signals in solid state NMR measurements performed with magic angle spinning can often be extended in time by factors on the order of 10 by a simple pulsed spin locking technique. The sensitivity of a structural measurement in which the structural information is contained in the dependence of the integrated FID amplitude on a preceding evolution period can therefore be enhanced substantially by pulsed spin locking in the signal detection period. We demonstrate sensitivity enhancements in a variety of solid state NMR techniques that are applicable to selectively isotopically labeled samples, including 13C-15N rotational echo double resonance (REDOR), 13C-13C dipolar recoupling measurements using the constant-time finite-pulse radio-frequency-driven recoupling (fpRFDR-CT) and constant-time double-quantum-filtered dipolar recoupling (CTDQFD) techniques, and torsion angle measurements using the double quantum chemical shift anisotropy (DQCSA) technique. Further, we demonstrate that the structural information in the solid state NMR data is not distorted by pulsed spin locking in the detection period.