Implementation of real-time two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for on-flow high-performance liquid chromatography

Directly coupled HPLC-NMR has become a powerful tool for separation and structural elucidation of unknown compounds. However, there are only a few reports on application of on-flow two-dimensional (2D) NMR in HPLC-NMR. Here we present an alternative method for recording real-time 2D-NMR spectrum (total correlation spectroscopy, TOCSY) on a commercial HPLC-NMR system. The method is based on well-established Hadamard matrix for 2D-NMR frequency encoding. In addition, a modified/improved solvent suppression approach is incorporated. This makes it possible to carry out the experiment with both polar and gradient eluents, the widely used chromatographic conditions. The method is example using a synthesized mixture of three amino acids (His, Phe and Try) and a human urine sample. The method demonstrated here may be utilized for high-throughput structural or unknown component identification and fast dynamic study in a variety of applications.     

Application of high-performance liquid chromatography-nuclear magnetic resonance coupling to the identification of limonoids from mahogany tree (Switenia macrophylla, Meliaceae) by stopped-flow 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy

Separation and characterization of limonoids from Switenia macrophylla (Meliaceae) by HPLC-NMR technique has been described. Analyses were carried out using reversed-phase gradient HPLC elution coupled to NMR (600 MHz) spectrometer in stopped-flow mode. Separated peaks were collected into an interface unit prior to NMR measurements, which were performed with suppression of solvent signals by shaped pulses sequences. Structure elucidation of the limonoids was attained by data obtained from 1H NMR, TOCSY, gHSQC and gHMBC spectra without conventional isolation that is usually applied in natural products studies.     

Determination of regulatory phosphorylation sites in nanogram amounts of a synthetic fragment of ZAP-70 using microprobe NMR and on-line coupled capillary HPLC-NMR

The protein kinase ZAP-70 is involved in T-cell activation and interacts with tyrosine-phosphorylated peptide sequences known as immunoreceptor tyrosine activation motifs (ITAMs). We have studied the regulatory phosphorylation sites in the tryptic fragment containing amino acids 485-496 (ALGADDSYYTAR). The four possible peptides with phosphorylation at none, one, or both of the Y-492 and Y-493 tyrosines were specifically synthesized and analyzed by (1)H/(13)C-NMR at 600 MHz using a capillary HPLC-NMR microprobe. Unambiguous discrimination of the peptides was possible via effect of chemical shifts of phosphorylation on the aromatic tyrosine protons. With the microprobe and the detection volume of 1.5 microl, it was possible to perform structure elucidation with the very small amounts available for the various peptides. For the syringe injection, 15 microg of the analyte were used (corresponding to ca 2 mg in classical 5-mm tubes). Capillary HPLC-NMR spectra were recorded in the stopped-flow mode from less than 400 ng of each peptide, using 1D and 2D techniques ((1)H,(1)H-COSY-90, (1)H/(13)C-HSQC, and (1)H/(13)C-HMBC).     

Capillary liquid chromatography-microcoil 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry for on-line structure elucidation of isoflavones in Radix astragali

Miniaturization and hyphenation of chromatographic separation techniques to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is being increasingly demanded in the field of biomedical, drug metabolite and natural product analysis. Herein, capillary liquid chromatography was coupled on-line to microcoil 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (capLC-NMR) equipped with a 1.5 microL solenoidal probe for structure elucidation of isoflavones in Radix astragali. The extract was screened by HPLC-UV-MS as the preliminary step and four major peaks were identified tentatively by ion trap mass spectrometry molecular weights and characteristic fragments. Then, stopped-flow capLC-UV-NMR was performed using 33 microg extract injected on-column. The four peaks were parked manually in the micro probe one by one and corresponding 1H NMR spectra were recorded with good resolutions under the applied capLC-NMR conditions (120 and 220 ng injected on-column for peaks 2 and 4, respectively). All aromatic regions of 1H NMR spectra correlated well to the characteristic signals of isoflavone aglycone protons. And the signal corresponding to the anomeric proton of the glucopyranoside of isoflavone glycoside was also obtained for peak 1. Therefore, these four peaks are determined as calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), ononin (2), calycosin (3) and formononetin (4) unambiguously. The capLC-NMR results indicate that this hyphenated technique could be used for the determination of a great variety of natural products from small sample amounts, e.g., only 5 g R. astragali in this study.     

Novel determination of the total phenolic content in crude plant extracts by the use of 1H NMR of the -OH spectral region

A novel method for the determination of the total phenolic content using (1)H NMR spectroscopy in the -OH spectral region is presented. The use of DMSO-d(6), which is an aprotic and strongly hydrogen bonding solvent, allows the "appearance" of the relative sharp resonances of phenolic hydroxyl protons in the region of 8-14 ppm. The determination of the total phenolic -OH content requires three steps: (i) a 1D (1)H NMR spectrum is obtained in DMSO-d(6); (ii) a subsequent 1D (1)H NMR spectrum is recorded with irradiation of the residual water signal which results in the elimination or reduction of the phenolic -OH groups, due to proton exchange; and (iii) 1D (1)H NMR spectra are recorded with the addition of a progressively increased amount of salt, NaHCO(3), which results in extensive linebroadening of the COOH resonances thus allowing the discrimination of the phenolic from the carboxylic acid signals. Integration, with respect to the internal standard TSP-d(4), of the signal resonances between 14 and 8 ppm in spectrum (i) which are either eliminated or reduced in intensity in steps (ii) and (iii) allows the quantitation of the total phenolic content. The method was applied to model compounds, a mixture of them and several extracts of natural products. The results of the proposed (1)H NMR method were compared to the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) reagent method. Additionally, since (1)H NMR refers to the total phenolic hydroxyl protons, a reaction factor, A(e), is proposed that corresponds to the hydroxyl reactivity. The (1)H NMR method is rapid and accurate bearing the inherent advantages of the NMR spectroscopy and can be applied directly in complex extracts. Furthermore, it can be applied in a wide range of matrixes from crude plant extracts and food products to biological samples.     

Application of on-line capillary high-performance liquid chromatography-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry coupling for the analysis of vitamin A derivatives

The direct on-line coupling between capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (capillary HPLC) and proton high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry has been used to derive structural information about constituents of a mixture of vitamin A derivatives. ¹H NMR spectra were recorded in the stopped-flow and continuous-flow mode within a 180 μm I.D. capillary column mounted in a micro probe on a 600 MHz NMR spectrometer. The resolution of the ¹H NMR spectra obtained in capillary HPLC-NMR coupling experiments is sufficient to determine coupling constants in the order of 1.5 Hz. The detection limit is in the lower nanogram range. A stopped-flow 2D-TOCSY experiment of a 1% solution of vitamin A acetate acquired within 4 h reveals that the acquisition of 2D NMR spectra is possible in the nanoliter detection scale without any loss of structural information.     

Determination of the hydration number of gadolinium(III) complexes by high-field pulsed 17O ENDOR spectroscopy.

Pulsed 17O Mims electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy at the W band (95 GHz) and D band (130 GHz) is used for the direct determination of the water coordination number (q) of gadolinium-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. Spectra of metal complexes in frozen aqueous solutions at approximately physiological concentrations can be obtained either in the presence or absence of protein targets. This method is an improvement over the 1H ENDOR method described previously, which involved the difference ENDOR spectrum of exchangeable protons from spectra taken in H2O and D2O. In addition to exchangeable water protons, the 1H ENDOR method is also sensitive to other exchangeable protons, and it is shown here that this method can overestimate hydration numbers for complexes with exchangeable protons at GdH distances similar to that of the coordinated water, for example, from NH groups. The 17O method does not suffer from this limitation. 17O ENDOR spectroscopy is applied to Gd(III) complexes containing zero, one, or two inner-sphere water molecules. In addition, 13C and 1H ENDOR studies were performed to assess the extent of methanol coordination, since methanol is used to produce a glass in these experiments. Under the experimental conditions used for the hydration number determination (30 mol % methanol), fewer than 15 % of the coordination sites were found to be occupied by methanol.     

Real-time separation of natural products by ultrafast 2D NMR coupled to on-line HPLC

Hyphenated HPLC-NMR is an extremely efficient analytical tool, which makes it possible to perform on-flow experiments where 1D NMR spectra are obtained in real time as the analytes are separated and eluted from the chromatographic column. However, it is incompatible with multidimensional NMR methods that form an indispensible tool for the study of complex mixtures. Recently, Frydman and co-workers have proposed an ultrafast 2D NMR approach, where a complete 2D NMR correlation can be recorded in a single scan, thus providing a solution to the irreversibility of hyphenated techniques. This paper presents the first implementation of on-line ultrafast HPLC-NMR. Ultrafast COSY spectra are acquired every 12 s in the course of a chromatographic run performed on a mixture of natural aromatic compounds. The results, obtained on a commercial HPLC-NMR setup, highlight the generality of the ultrafast HPLC-NMR methodology, thus opening the way to a number of applications in the numerous fields in which HPLC-NMR forms a routine analytical tool.     

HPLC-NMR在化学品检测中的应用前景

简要介绍高效液相色谱-核磁共振(HPLC-NMR)联用技术。综述了目前HPLC-NMR联用技术在药物代谢研究,天然产物分析以及食品分析等方面的应用。展望了HPLC-NMR在化学品分类鉴定中的应用前景。     

Analysis of a ginger extract by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using superheated deuterium oxide as the mobile phase

A methanolic extract of powdered ginger was separated on a Xterra RP 18 column using deuterium oxide as the eluent and a temperature gradient from 50 to 130 degrees C at 4 degrees C/min. On-line and off-line HPLC-NMR analysis yielded spectra for vanillin, dihydroferulic acid, zingerone and ferulic acid. The identification of dihydroferulic acid and zingerone were confirmed by mass spectroscopy.     

Novel determination of the total phenolic content in crude plant extracts by the use of H NMR of the –OH spectral region

A novel method for the determination of the total phenolic content using ¹H NMR spectroscopy in the –OH spectral region is presented. The use of DMSO-d₆, which is an aprotic and strongly hydrogen bonding solvent, allows the “appearance” of the relative sharp resonances of phenolic hydroxyl protons in the region of 8–14 ppm. The determination of the total phenolic –OH content requires three steps: (i) a 1D ¹H NMR spectrum is obtained in DMSO-d₆; (ii) a subsequent 1D ¹H NMR spectrum is recorded with irradiation of the residual water signal which results in the elimination or reduction of the phenolic –OH groups, due to proton exchange; and (iii) 1D ¹H NMR spectra are recorded with the addition of a progressively increased amount of salt, NaHCO₃, which results in extensive linebroadening of the COOH resonances thus allowing the discrimination of the phenolic from the carboxylic acid signals. Integration, with respect to the internal standard TSP-d₄, of the signal resonances between 14 and 8 ppm in spectrum (i) which are either eliminated or reduced in intensity in steps (ii) and (iii) allows the quantitation of the total phenolic content. The method was applied to model compounds, a mixture of them and several extracts of natural products. The results of the proposed ¹H NMR method were compared to the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) reagent method. Additionally, since ¹H NMR refers to the total phenolic hydroxyl protons, a reaction factor, A_e, is proposed that corresponds to the hydroxyl reactivity. The ¹H NMR method is rapid and accurate bearing the inherent advantages of the NMR spectroscopy and can be applied directly in complex extracts. Furthermore, it can be applied in a wide range of matrixes from crude plant extracts and food products to biological samples.     

High performance liquid chromatography coupled to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry applied to plant products: Identification of ecdysteroids fromSilene otites

Summary HPLC coupled in parallel to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) has been used to obtain¹H NMR and mass spectra of a number of ecdysteroids present in an extract of the plantSilene otites. Reversed phase gradient chromatography was performed using a D₂0-acetonitrile-based solvent system. NMR and mass spectra were obtained for integristerone A, 20-hydroxyecdysone, 2-deoxy-20-hydroxyecdysone and 2-deoxyecdysone to provide structural confirmation using continuous and stopped flow HPLC-NMR. The combined HPLC-NMR-MS system described here provided a more comprehensive analysis of the ecdysteroids present in the extract than HPLC-NMR alone.     

Simultaneous de novo identification of molecules in chemical mixtures by doubly indirect covariance NMR spectroscopy

The detailed characterization of complex molecular mixtures plays a key role in many areas of modern Chemistry. Here we report a novel NMR spectroscopic method that deconvolutes a complex mixture of organic molecules simultaneously into individual components and depicts their chemical structure without requiring physical separation of the components. Doubly indirect covariance spectroscopy is introduced and applied to 2D (13)C-(1)H HSQC and 2D (1)H-(1)H COSY spectra, which results in a (13)C-(13)C 2D spectrum with unprecedented high resolution. This reconstituted spectrum is indeed a carbon-connectivity map that can be directly analyzed with basic graph theory to obtain the skeletal structures of individual mixture components or their fragments. The method is demonstrated for a model mixture and a natural product mixture extracted from cancer cells. Its suitability for automation makes this approach attractive for the analysis of a broad range of mixtures of natural or synthetic products.     

Solution structure of a peptide nucleic acid duplex from NMR data: features and limitations

This paper describes the results of a 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy study of a palindromic 8-base pair PNA duplex GGCATGCC in H2O and H2O-D2O solutions. The (1)H NMR peaks have been assigned for most of the protons of the six central base pairs, as well as for several amide protons of the backbone. The resulting 36 interbase and base-backbone distance restraints were used together with Watson-Crick restraints to generate the PNA duplex structure in the course of 10 independent simulated annealing runs followed by restrained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in explicit water. The resulting PNA structures correspond to a P-type helix with helical parameters close to those observed in the crystal structures of PNA. Based on the current limited number of restraints obtained from NMR spectra, alternative structures obtained by MD from starting PNA models based on DNA cannot be ruled out and are also discussed.     

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.     

Molecular modeling (MM2 and PM3) and experimental (NMR and thermal analysis) studies on the inclusion complex of salbutamol and beta-cyclodextrin

The inclusion complex of salbutamol and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) is studied by computational (MM2 and PM3) and experimental techniques. Molecular modeling calculations predict two different orientations of salbutamol in the beta-CD cavity in vacuo and in aqueous solution. In vacuo calculations show that the introduction of the aromatic ring of salbutamol is preferred to the introduction of the tert-butyl group into the beta-CD cavity. However, in aqueous solution both computational methods predict the introduction of the alkyl chain instead of the aromatic ring in the beta-CD cavity contrary to experimental results published previously. These quantitative predictions were experimentally confirmed here by studying the inclusion complex in solution by NMR. A 1:1 stoichiometry was found by (1)H NMR studies for this complex. A 2D ROESY (rotating-frame Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy) experiment shows that there are no cross-peaks between the aromatic protons of salbutamol and any of the protons of beta-CD. Cross-peaks for the protons of the tert-butyl group and protons inside the cavity of beta-CD demonstrate the full involvement of this group in the complexation process and confirm the orientation of the complex predicted by molecular modeling. The solid-state complex was prepared and its stoichiometry (beta-CD.C(13)H(21)NO(3).8H(2)O) and dissociation process studied by thermogravimetric analysis.     

Novel reactivity of ruthenium alkylidenes in protic solvents: degenerate alkylidene proton exchange.

A novel organometallic transformation is reported in which the alkylidene protons of water-soluble ruthenium alkylidenes 1 and 2 undergo nondestructive, degenerate exchange with solvent-derived deuterons in perdeuterated protic solvents such as D(2)O and CD(3)OD. Deuterated alkylidene complex (1-D) was isolated from a solution of alkylidene 1 in D(2)O, and the new alkylidene was fully characterized by (1)H, (2)H, (13)C, and (31)P NMR spectroscopy and fast-atom bombardment mass spectroscopy (FAB-MS). The rate of alkylidene proton exchange for this transformation was found to correlate with the bulk dielectric constant of the solvent or solvent mixtures employed. The data support a mechanism for proton exchange involving the dissociation of a chloride ion from the ruthenium metal center. The rate of alkylidene H/D exchange for alkylidene 2 was faster than the rate of exchange for alkylidene 1, demonstrating that relative rates of exchange are influenced by the electron densities at the metal centers of these complexes. Several additional ruthenium alkylidenes were found to undergo analogous alkylidene H/D exchange reactions, including parent alkylidene (Cy(3)P)(2)Cl(2)Ru=CHPh (3) in CD(2)Cl(2)/CD(3)OD mixtures. These data suggest that this novel reactivity may be general for an entire class of ruthenium alkylidenes provided that protic species are available in solution and that the dielectric constant of the reaction medium is sufficiently high to ionize the halide ligands.     

2D NMR Investigation of Dynamic Equilibrium of Tautomers of Gossypol

Gossypol was obtained as an yellow platelike crystal with m.p. 210-214 . In CDCl3 there were three tautomers of gossypol: Ⅰ aldehyde, Ⅱ lactol, Ⅲ ketal, in equilibrium .Their total 1H NMR spectra were assigned by means of 1D and 2D NMR techniques including 1H-1H cosy ,DEPT, HMQC (1H Detected Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherence) and HMBC (1H Detected Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Connectivity) experiments.This paper first reported that we took use of the 2D NMR techniques to assign all of 1H NMR chemical shifts of each tautomer , through the assignments of each peaks we investigated the tautomerism of gossypol . We concluded that when gossypol ( Ⅰ ) was put into CDCl3 , it would tautomerized three tautomers, they stable existed and attained tautomeric equilibrium in a molar ratio of 6:2:1 according to peaks intensity ratios in CDCl3. The result listed in table 1.Table 1. The 1H spectroscopy chemical shifts (ppm) for gossypol (Ⅰ), (Ⅱ) and (Ⅲ)All spectra were recorded at room tempreture in CDCl3 using TMS as an internal standard reported in δ units,hydroxyl protons were identified by D2O exchange.     

Online H/D exchange liquid chromatography as a support for the mass spectrometric identification of the oxidation products of melatonin

The hydrogen–deuterium exchange of protonated melatonin and its in vitro oxidation end‐products have been examined by liquid chromatography coupled with ion‐trap mass spectrometry. Specific H/D scrambling of protons in the C2 and C4 positions of the indole ring during gas‐phase fragmentation process was observed for both melatonin and its oxidation products. Collision‐induced dissociation spectra showed losses of variably deuterated NH₃, H₂O and CH₃CONH₂. In addition, a similar H/D scrambling behaviour was observed for the oxidation products, obtained from the opening of the indole ring by oxidative attack. Fragmentation pathways are proposed and H/D scrambling has been employed as a fingerprint, allowing identification of N¹‐acetyl‐5‐methoxykynurenin (AMK), N¹‐acetyl‐N²‐formyl‐5‐methoxykynurenin (AFMK), dehydro‐AFMK and hydroxymelatonin as the oxidation products of melatonin in vitro. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The initial stages of solid acid-catalyzed reactions of adsorbed propane. A mechanistic study by in situ MAS NMR

In situ solid-state NMR spectroscopy was employed to study the kinetics of hydrogen/deuterium exchange and scrambling as well as (13)C scrambling reactions of labeled propane over Al(2)O(3)-promoted sulfated zirconia (SZA) catalyst under mild conditions (30-102 degrees C). Three competitive pathways of isotope redistribution were observed during the course of the reaction: (1) a regioselective H/D exchange between acidic protons of the solid surface and the deuterons of the methyl group of propane-1,1,1,3,3,3-d(6), monitored by in situ (1)H MAS NMR; (2) an intramolecular H/D scrambling between methyl deuterons and protons of the methylene group, without exchange with the catalyst surface, monitored by in situ (2)H MAS NMR; (3) a intramolecular (13)C scrambling, by skeletal rearrangement process, favored at higher temperatures, monitored by in situ (13)C MAS NMR. The activation energy of (13)C scrambling was estimated to be very close to that of (2)H scrambling, suggesting that these two processes imply a common transition state, responsible for both vicinal hydride migration and protonated cyclopropane formation. All pathways are consistent with a classical carbenium ion-type mechanism.