Microcoil high-resolution magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

We report the construction of a dual-channel microcoil nuclear magnetic resonance probehead allowing magic-angle spinning for mass-limited samples. With coils down to 235 mum inner diameter, this allows high-resolution solid-state NMR spectra to be obtained for amounts of materials of a few nanoliters. This is demonstrated by the carbon-13 spectrum of a tripeptide and a single silk rod, prepared from the silk gland of the Bombyx mori silkworm. Furthermore, the microcoil allows for radio frequency field strengths well beyond current probe technology, aiding in getting the highest possible resolution by efficiently decoupling the observed nuclei from the abundantly present proton nuclei.     

Deuterium double-quantum NMR with magic angle spinning

The combination of double-quantum NMR with magic angle spinning is demonstrated for deuterium in solids Under magic angle spinning the single-quantum resonance lines are extremely sensitive to spinner angle adjustment and stability while the double-quantum lines are not. This provides an additional approach to high resolution.     

Bilayer sample for fast or slow magic angle oriented sample spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy

An alternative setup for Magic Angle Oriented Spinning Spectroscopy is proposed. Samples were prepared by orienting lipid bilayers onto polymer films, which were wrapped into a spiral so as to fit into 4 or 7 mm MAS rotors. This geometry resulted in narrow line widths and a higher upper spinning limit when compared to the conventional MAOSS setup with stacked glass plates. Whereas orientational information was extracted from low spinning spectra, fast spinning will be applicable to high-resolution multidimensional NMR pulse sequences.     

Ultra fast magic angle spinning solid – state NMR spectroscopy of intact bone

Ultra fast magic angle spinning (MAS) has been a potent method to significantly average out homogeneous/inhomogeneous line broadening in solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy. It has given a new direction to ssNMR spectroscopy with its different applications. We present here the first and foremost application of ultra fast MAS (~60 kHz) for ssNMR spectroscopy of intact bone. This methodology helps to comprehend and elucidate the organic content in the intact bone matrix with resolution and sensitivity enhancement. At this MAS speed, amino protons from organic part of intact bone start to appear in ¹H NMR spectra. The experimental protocol of ultra‐high speed MAS for intact bone has been entailed with an additional insight achieved at 60 kHz. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High resolution magic angle spinning NMR in combinatorial chemistry

Solid phase organic chemistry coupled with combinatorial methods promises to increase dramatically the diversity and number of small molecules available for medical and biological applications. However, optimizing the reaction conditions can be a time consuming step, especially since analytical tools to monitor reaction progress and detect impurities for solid phase chemistry are less developed than for solution chemistry. The use of high resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) NMR is described here as such an analytical tool. Whereas initial applications of molecular identification using deuterated organic solvents to swell the resins presented a significant gain in time over the cleave-and-analysis methods, the introduction of a differential diffusion filter has made immediate recording of spectra possible without any sample treatment. The applications of HRMAS NMR to different solid supports that are used in combinatorial chemistry will be described in terms of rapidity, robustness and sensitivity.     

Multi-dimensional pulsed field gradient magic angle spinning NMR experiments on membranes

The benefits of gradient techniques in the study of lipid membranes are demonstrated on a sample of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3 phosphocholine (POPC) liposomes embedded with ibuprofen. Most techniques from gradient NMR spectroscopy on solution samples are directly applicable to membrane samples subjected to magic angle spinning (MAS). Gradient-enhanced homo- and heteronuclear chemical shift correlation techniques were used to make resonance assignments. Gradient NOESY experiments provide insight into the location and dynamics of lipids, ibuprofen and water. Application of gradients not only reduces experiment time but also the t(1) noise in the multi-dimensional spectra. Diffusion measurements with pulsed field gradients characterize lateral movements of lipid and drug molecules in membranes. The theoretical framework for data analysis of MAS diffusion experiments on randomly oriented multilamellar liposomes is presented.     

51V magic angle spinning NMR in VOPO4 phases

51V magic angle spinning NMR was applied to the alpha(II), beta and gamma phases of VOPO4 at three magnetic field strengths (4.7, 7.1, and 11.7 T). The 51V quadrupole and chemical shift tensors were determined by iterative fitting of the NMR lineshapes at the three magnetic field strengths. The applicability of the method is illustrated by comparison with literature data. Although determined chemical shift tensors are completely axially symmetric and of the same magnitude, all studied phases can clearly be distinguished by their quadrupole coupling tensor. Relationships between the 51V NMR data and structural characteristics such as crystal symmetries are discussed.     

A magic angle spinning NMR study of xerogels functionalized by 3-mercaptopropyl groups

¹H magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy was used to study xerogels containing the 3-mercaptopropyl group. These xerogels were synthesized using tetraethoxysilane, 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane, and 1,4-bis(triethoxysilyl)benzene as structuring agents. The assignment of the NMR signals observed showed the presence of thiol groups introduced during syntheses and organic bridges in the frame of polysilsesquioxane samples. An analysis of the ¹H magic angle spinning NMR spectra also showed the presence of small amounts of alcohols, water participating in H-bonding, and nonhydrolyzed alkoxyl groups in the xerogels. In several instances, the structural units of T ⁿ and Q ^m types present in the xerogels were identified. The ¹H magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy combined with ¹³C and ²⁹Si solid-state NMR spectroscopy allows the composition of xerogels and the nature of the structural units they contain to be identified more thoroughly and reliably.     

Studies of organically functionalized mesoporous silicas using heteronuclear solid-state correlation NMR spectroscopy under fast magic angle spinning

Highly resolved solid-state HETCOR NMR spectra between protons and low gamma nuclei ((13)C and (29)Si) can be suitably obtained on surfaces using a "brute force" (1)H-(1)H decoupling by MAS at rates > or =40 kHz. Despite a small rotor volume (<10 microL), a (1)H-(13)C HETCOR spectrum of allyl groups (AL, -CH(2)-CH=CH(2)) covalently anchored to the surface of MCM-41 silica was acquired without using isotope enrichment. The advantages of using fast MAS in such studies include easy setup, robustness, and the opportunity of using low RF power for decoupling. In the case of the (1)H-(29)Si HETCOR experiment, the sensitivity can be dramatically increased, in some samples by more than 1 order of magnitude, through implementing into the pulse sequence a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill train of pi pulses at the (29)Si spin frequency. The use of low-power heteronuclear decoupling is essential in the (1)H-(29)Si CPMG-HETCOR experiment, due to unusually long acquisition periods. These methods provided detailed structural characterization of the surface of AL-MCM mesoporous silica.     

Quantitative monitoring of solid phase organic reactions by high-resolution magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

Three possible high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR MAS) NMR experiments to quantitatively monitor a solid phase supported Horner-Emmons reaction are presented. In the first experiment we follow the solid phase reaction in deuterated solvent directly in the NMR rotor. The second quantification is done by reconditioning of a few milligrams of resin from an undefined reaction vessel by washing, drying, and reswelling in deuterated solvent, and the evaluation of the amount of resin bound structures by comparing to an external standard. The third experiment represents the first analytical quantification of resin-bound structures without any sample preparation, except the transfer of resin-solvent suspension (large excess of reagents in protonated dimethylformamide) from the reaction vessel to the NMR rotor.     

Triple-quantum magic angle spinning (27)Al NMR of aluminum hydroxides

We show that (27)Al triple-quantum magic angle spinning (3Q-MAS) experiments alleviate the second-order quadrupolar broadening to reveal the structure-building units of nonequivalent aluminum octahedra in the most extensively studied aluminum hydroxides, namely, gibbsite, bayerite, and boehmite. Further, aided by ab initio calculations of the electric field gradient tensors, the 3Q-MAS/MAS results are shown to lead to the assignment of (27)Al isotropic resonances to the aluminum positions in their X-ray-determined structures. The present work paves the way for future studies on various structurally transformed materials derived from these basic aluminum hydroxides.     

Adiabatic passage Hartmann-Hahn cross polarization in NMR under magic angle sample spinning

We have recently demonstrated that polarization transfer using an adiabatic passage through the Hartmann-Hahn condition (APHH-CP) by a variation of the radio-frequency amplitude can substantially improve the transfer efficiency over Hartmann-Hahn cross polarization. Here we show that APHH-CP can be combined with fast magic angle sample spinning (MAS). The heteronuclear dipolar order, established in the course of the transfer, can indeed be created and preserved.     

Solid-phase synthesis of O-glycosylated Nalpha-Fmoc amino acids and analysis by high-resolution magic angle spinning NMR

Direct O-glycosylation of amino acids bound to TentaGel resin with a number of glycosyl trichloroacetimidate donors results in high yields. The glycosylation reaction can be easily monitored by analyzing the bead-bound amino acids with high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR. These studies pave a new way for the construction of "one-bead one-compound" O-glycopeptide libraries with standard amino acid building blocks and appropriate glycosyl trichloroacetimidate donors.     

Elucidating connectivity and metal-binding structures of unlabeled paramagnetic complexes by 13C and 1H solid-state NMR under fast magic angle spinning

Characterizing paramagnetic complexes in solids is an essential step toward understanding their molecular functions. However, methodologies to characterize chemical and electronic structures of paramagnetic systems at the molecular level have been notably limited, particularly for noncrystalline solids. We present an approach to obtain connectivities of chemical groups and metal-binding structures for unlabeled paramagnetic complexes by 13C and 1H high-resolution solid-state NMR (SSNMR) using very fast magic angle spinning (VFMAS, spinning speed >or=20 kHz). It is experimentally shown for unlabeled Cu(II)(Ala-Thr) that 2D 13C/1H correlation SSNMR under VFMAS provides the connectivity of chemical groups and assignments for the characterization of unlabeled paramagnetic systems in solids. We demonstrate that on the basis of the assignments provided by the VFMAS approach multiple 13C-metal distances can be simultaneously elucidated by a combination of measurements of 13C anisotropic hyperfine shifts and 13C T1 relaxation due to hyperfine interactions for this peptide-Cu(II) complex. It is also shown that an analysis of 1H anisotropic hyperfine shifts allows for the determination of electron-spin states in Fe(III)-chloroprotoporphyin-IX in solid states.     

13C cross‐polarization magic angle spinning NMR of ferrocene derivatives

The 13C chemical shifts of the CP/MAS NMR for ferrocene derivatives have been measured. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of modified silica powders by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR

Silica gel and Cab-O-Sil were chemically modified (silylated) with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane under carefully controlled conditions. Subsequently the products were investigated by elemental analysis, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, and ¹³C and ²⁹Si cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR (CP-MAS NMR). The influence of the reaction conditions of the silylation and the effect of subsequent heat treatment and water addition were studied. The resulting differences shed new light on the combined effects of reaction conditions and silica surface structures on the course of the reactions. Some assignments of ²⁹Si NMR signals to specific structures were confirmed, while in one case a reassignment was proposed.     

Tethered or adsorbed supported lipid bilayers in nanotubes characterized by deuterium magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

2H solid-state NMR experiments were performed under magic angle spinning on lipid bilayers oriented into nanotubes arrays, as a new method to assess the geometrical arrangement of the lipids. Orientational information is obtained from the intensities of the spinning sidebands. The lipid bilayers are formed by fusion of small unilamellar vesicles of DMPC-d54 inside a nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide, either by direct adsorption on the support or by tethering through a streptavidin/biotin linker. The results support that the quality of the lipid bilayers alignment is clearly in favor of the tethering rather than an adsorbed strategy.     

Probing local environments in paramagnetic europium-substituted Keggin solids by 31P magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

Paramagnetic Eu-substituted Keggin oxopolytungstates crystallize in different forms, determined by the nature of the counterions. The crystal packing is in turn responsible for the variations in the geometry of paramagnetic Eu sites with respect to the anion core. We probed the paramagnetic environments in a series of Eu-substituted Keggin solids, by 31P magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy. 31P spinning sideband envelopes are dominated by the electron-nuclear dipolar interaction. For the compounds under investigation, both the magnitude and the asymmetry parameter of the electron-nuclear dipolar coupling tensor are sensitive to the mutual arrangements of paramagnetic Eu sites in the crystal lattice. and also report on the stoichiometry of the anion. The electron-nuclear dipolar coupling tensors were calculated from the crystallographic coordinates and the experimentally determined effective magnetic moments, assuming a point dipole approximation. The computed tensors are in very good agreement with the experimental spectra. Furthermore, the P-Eu distance estimates, accurate to within 0.06-0.12 A, can be obtained directly from the magnitude of the electron-nuclear dipolar coupling. This work demonstrates that 31P MAS NMR spectroscopy is a useful probe for investigating local environments in paramagnetic Keggin solids.     

Multistep synthesis of 2,5-diketopiperazines on different solid supports monitored by high resolution magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

The solid-phase synthesis of 2,5-diketopiperazines containing the trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline amino acid residue (Hyp) was performed on Ellman polystyrene, polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene (POEPOP), polystyrene-polyoxyethylene NovaSyn, and Wang resins, respectively. The reaction pathway allowed the introduction of different functional groups around the bicyclic scaffold in a combinatorial approach, and it generated mixtures of isomers. A detailed characterization of the single reaction steps by high resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) NMR spectroscopy was performed. The NMR spectral resolution of the resin-bound intermediates and final products was greatly influenced by the polymer matrix. The POEPOP resin permitted to obtain HRMAS NMR spectra with a resolution comparable with that of the spectra of the molecules in solution. Moreover, configurational and conformational isomers formed during the solid-phase reaction steps could be detected and easily assigned. Therefore, the combination of the HRMAS NMR technique with the use of nonaromatic resins may become an extremely powerful tool in solid-phase organic synthesis. This approach will allow the monitoring of multistep reactions and the conception of on-bead structural studies either on small molecules or on natural and/or synthetic oligomers.