Correlation of fast and slow chemical shift spinning sideband patterns under fast magic-angle spinning

A new two-dimensional solid-state NMR experiment, which correlates slow and fast chemical shift anisotropy sideband patterns is proposed. The experiment, dubbed ROSES, is performed under fast magic-angle spinning and leads to an isotropic spectrum in the directly detected omega(2) dimension. In the evolution dimension omega(1), the isotropic chemical shift is reduced by a factor S, and spinning sidebands are observed spaced by a scaled effective spinning speed omega(R)/S. These spinning sidebands patterns are not identical to those observed with standard slow magic-angle spinning experiments. Chemical shift anisotropy parameters can be accurately extracted with standard methods from these spinning sideband patterns. The experiment is demonstrated with carbon-13 experiments on powdered samples of a dipeptide and a cyclic undecapeptide, cyclosporin-A.     

Homonuclear zero-quantum recoupling in fast magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance

Solid-state magic-angle-spinning NMR pulse sequences which implement zero-quantum homonuclear dipolar recoupling are designed with the assistance of symmetry theory. The pulse sequences are compensated on a short time scale by the use of composite pulses and on a longer time scale by the use of supercycles. (13)C dipolar recoupling is demonstrated in powdered organic solids at high spinning frequencies. The new sequences are compared to existing pulse sequences by means of numerical simulations. Experimental two-dimensional magnetization exchange spectra are shown for [U-(13)C]-L-tyrosine.     

Heteronuclear local field NMR spectroscopy under fast magic-angle sample spinning conditions

The acquisition of bidimensional heteronuclear nuclear magnetic resonance local field spectra under moderately fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) conditions is discussed. It is shown both experimentally and with the aid of numerical simulations on multispin systems that when sufficiently fast MAS rates are employed, quantitative dipolar sideband patterns from directly bonded spin pairs can be acquired in the absence of ¹H–¹H multiple-pulse homonuclear decoupling even for “real” organic solids. The MAS speeds involved are well within the range of commercially available systems (10–14 kHz) and provide sidebands with sufficient intensity to enable a reliable quantification of heteronuclear dipolar couplings from methine groups. Simulations and experiments show that useful information can be extracted in this manner even from more tightly coupled –CH₂– moieties, although the agreement with the patterns simulated solely on the basis of heteronuclear interactions is not in this case as satisfactory as for methines. Preliminary applications of this simple approach to the analysis of molecular motions in solids are presented; characteristics and potential extensions of the method are also discussed.     

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy under periodic modulation by fast magic-angle sample spinning and pulses: a review

Fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) holds promise for new approaches to pulsed high-resolution NMR in solids where homogeneous interactions dominate. Prerequisite for developing new pulse methods is the understanding of signal encoding by spin interactions under MAS conditions and of interferences between MAS and pulses. This review discusses corresponding strategies and techniques in a coherent way with particular concentration on homonuclear decoupling techniques for line-narrowing in solids.     

C–H dipolar recoupling under very fast magic-angle spinning using virtual pulses

A new solid-state NMR pulse sequence for recoupling ¹³C–¹H dipolar interactions under magic-angle spinning is proposed, which works under a spinning speed of a few to several tens kilohertz. The sequence is composed of two different frequency switched Lee–Goldburg sequences, and the modulation of the spin part of the ¹³C–¹H dipolar interaction is introduced by a virtual pulse sequence consisting of unitary operators connecting the rotating frame and the tilted rotating frame. When the cycle time of the spinning is equal to or twice the cycle time of the sequence, the ¹³C–¹H dipolar interactions can be recoupled. The sequence is insensitive to experimental imperfections such as rf inhomogeneity or frequency offset, and the resulting lineshape can be represented by a simple analytical equation based on the zeroth-order average Hamiltonian. Experimental results for [2-¹³C] -valine·HCl are reported.     

An efficient amplification pulse sequence for measuring chemical shift anisotropy under fast magic-angle spinning

A two-dimensional experiment for measuring chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) is presented. The chemical shift anisotropy evolution is amplified by a sequence of π-pulses that repetitively interrupt MAS averaging. The amplification generates spinning sideband manifolds in the indirect dimension separated by the isotropic shift along the direct dimension. The basic unit of the pulse sequence is designed based on the magic-angle turning experiment and can be concatenated for larger amplification factors.     

F/Si distance determination in fluoride-containing octadecasil by Hartmann–Hahn cross-polarization under fast magic-angle spinning

¹⁹F/²⁹Si Hartmann–Hahn continuous wave cross-polarization (CP) has been applied under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) to a powder sample of octadecasil. Strong oscillations occur during CP on a sideband matching condition between the isolated ²⁹Si–¹⁹F spin pairs formed by the silicons in the D4R units and the fluoride anions. The magnitude of the dipolar coupling constant was deduced directly from the line-splitting between the intense singularities of the Pake-like patterns obtained by Fourier transformation of the oscillatory polarization transfer. The corresponding Si–F internuclear distance, r=2.62±0.05 Å, is found to be in very good agreement with the X-ray crystal structure and the value of 2.69±0.04 Å recently reported from rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) and transferred echo double resonance (TEDOR) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Furthermore, the CP technique is still reliable under fast MAS where both REDOR and TEDOR sequences suffer from severe artefacts due to finite pulse lengths. In octadecasil, a spinning frequency of 14 kHz is shown to be necessary for an effective suppression of ¹⁹F–¹⁹F spin diffusion. The influences of experimental missettings and radiofrequency (RF) field inhomogeneity are taken into account.     

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation mechanisms in kaolinite confirmed by magic-angle spinning

Spin-lattice relaxation mechanisms in kaolinite have been reinvestigated by magic-angle spinning (MAS) of the sample. MAS is useful to distinguish between relaxation mechanisms: the direct relaxation rate caused by the dipole-dipole interaction with electron spins is not affected by spinning while the spin diffusion-assisted relaxation rate is. Spin diffusion plays a dominant role in ¹H relaxation. MAS causes only a slight change in the relaxation behavior, because the dipolar coupling between ¹H spins is strong. ²⁹Si relaxes directly through the dipole-dipole interaction with electron spins under spinning conditions higher than 2 kHz. A spin diffusion effect has been clearly observed in the ²⁹Si relaxation of relatively pure samples under static and slow-spinning conditions. ²⁷Al relaxes through three mechanisms: phonon-coupled quadrupole interaction, spin diffusion and dipole-dipole interaction with electron spins. The first mechanism is dominant, while the last is negligibly small. Spin diffusion between ²⁷Al spins is suppressed completely at a spinning rate of 2.5 kHz. We have analyzed the relaxation behavior theoretically and discussed quantitatively. Concentrations of paramagnetic impurities, electron spin-lattice relaxation times and spin diffusion rates have been estimated.     

Multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning spectroscopy using nonlinear sampling

NMR spectroscopy is a relatively insensitive technique and many biomolecular applications operate near the limits of sensitivity and resolution. A particularly challenging example is detection of the quadrupolar nucleus 17O, due to its low natural abundance, large quadrupole couplings, and low gyromagnetic ratio. Yet the chemical shift of 17O spans almost 1000 ppm in organic molecules and it serves as a potentially unique reporter of hydrogen bonding in peptides, nucleic acids, and water, and as a valuable complement to 13C and 15N NMR. Recent developments including the multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning (MQMAS) experiment have enabled the detection of 17O in biological solids, but very long data acquisitions are required to achieve sufficient sensitivity and resolution. Here, we perform nonlinear sampling in the indirect dimension of MQMAS experiments to substantially reduce the total acquisition time and improve sensitivity and resolution. Nonlinear sampling prevents the use of the discrete Fourier transform; instead, we employ maximum entropy (MaxEnt) reconstruction. Nonlinearly sampled MQMAS spectra are shown to provide high resolution and sensitivity in several systems, including lithium sulfate monohydrate (LiSO(4)-H(2)17O) and L-asparagine monohydrate (H(2)17O). The combination of nonlinear sampling and MaxEnt reconstruction promises to make the application of 17O MQMAS practical in a wider range of biological systems.     

Analytical solutions to several magic-angle spinning NMR experiments

Using the Anderson–Weiss (AW) formalism, analytical expressions of the NMR signal are obtained for the following magic-angle spinning (MAS) experiments: total suppression of sidebands (TOSS); phase adjusted spinning sidebands (PASS); rotational-echo double-resonance (REDOR); rotor-encoded REDOR (REREDOR); cross-polarization magic-angle spinning (CPMAS); exchange induced sidebands (EIS); one-dimensional exchange spectroscopy by sideband alternation (ODESSA); time-reverse ODESSA (trODESSA); centerband-only detection of exchange (CODEX). In order to test the validity of the AW approach, the Gaussian powder approximation is compared with exact powder calculations. A quantitative study of the effect of molecular dynamics on the efficiency of the TOSS and REDOR pulse sequences is then presented.     

Double-quantum dipolar recoupling at high magic-angle spinning rates

A full investigation of the possible homonuclear double-quantum recoupling sequences, based on the RN family of sequences with N < or = 20, is given. Several new RN sequences, R16(6)(5), R18(8)(5), and R18(10)(5), were applied at high magic-angle spinning rates and compared with theory. The R18(10)(5) technique can be used to recouple dipolar couplings at spinning rates up to 39 kHz, and the application of the sequence in an INADEQUATE experiment is shown for a spinning rate of 30 kHz.     

Effects of magic-angle spinning on spin-lattice relaxations in talc

The spin-lattice relaxation times T₁ of ¹H and ²⁹Si spins in talc have been measured at room temperature with and without magic-angle spinning (MAS) of the sample. Paramagnetic impurities work as relaxation centers. ¹H T₁ depends on the spinning rate, whereas ²⁹Si T₁ is independent of the spinning rate. These facts demonstrate that spin diffusion plays an important role in ¹H relaxation but not in ²⁹Si relaxation. ²⁹Si spins relax through dipole-dipole interactions with electron spins directly, which mechanism is not affected by spinning. The relaxation rates have been analyzed theoretically.     

Molecular dynamics as studied by static-powder and magic-angle spinning 2H NMR

The 2H NMR magic-angle spinning (MAS) technique is compared to the static-powder quadrupole echo (QE) and Jeener-Brockaert (JB) pulse sequences for a quantitative investigation of molecular dynamics in solids. The linewidth of individual spinning sidebands of the one-dimensional MAS spectra are observed to be characteristic of the correlation time from approximately 10(-2) to approximately 10(-8) s so that the dynamic range is increased by approximately three orders of magnitude when compared to the QE experiment. As a consequence, MAS 2H NMR is found to be more sensitive to the presence of an inhomogeneous distribution of correlation times than the QE and JB experiments which rely upon lineshape distortions due to anisotropic T2 and T1Q relaxation, respectively. All these results are demonstrated experimentally and numerically using the two-site flip motion of dimethyl sulfone and of the nitrobenzene guest in the alpha-p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene-nitrobenzene inclusion compound.     

Enhanced triple-quantum excitation in 13C magic-angle spinning NMR

We describe a new method for exciting triple-quantum coherences in 13C-labelled powder samples under MAS. The proposed method combines selective double-quantum excitation with rotational resonance and frequency-selective composite pulses. The spin dynamics of this new method are described theoretically. Numerical calculations of the spin dynamics are compared to experimental results on fully 13C-labelled L-alanine. The observed triple-quantum filtering efficiency is around 10% for the most intense spectral peak. The method is also demonstrated on other fully 13C-labelled compounds, including a uniformly 13C-labelled amino acid.     

19F/29Si rotational-echo double-resonance and heteronuclear spin counting under fast magic-angle spinning in fluoride-containing octadecasil

19F/29Si rotational-echo double-resonance (REDOR) and theta-REDOR NMR techniques have been applied under fast magic-angle spinning to a powder sample of fluoride-containing octadecasil. Efficient dipolar recoupling was observed and the effect of finite pulse lengths was found to be negligible using standard radiofrequency field strengths. Moreover, the determined internuclear distance of the 19F-29Si spin pairs formed by the silicons in the D4R units (T-1 site) and the fluoride anions is in very good agreement with previous REDOR and Hartmann-Hahn cross-polarization measurements. Numerical simulation of the REDOR dephasing curves at both the T-1 and T-2 sites considering all fluoride anions in the infinite solid lattice clearly confirm the X-ray crystal structure of octadecasil. Heteronuclear spin-counting theta-REDOR experiments are found to be very useful to obtain direct insight into the local network of dipolar interactions. Indeed, while 19F-29Si pair-like behavior is confirmed at the T-1 site, multiple dipolar interactions are clearly evidenced at the T-2 site.     

Time displacement rotational echo double resonance: heteronuclear dipolar recoupling with suppression of homonuclear interaction under fast magic-angle spinning

We have developed a novel variant of REDOR which is applicable to multiple-spin systems without proton decoupling. The pulse sequence is constructed based on a systematic time displacement of the pi pulses of the conventional REDOR sequence. This so-called time displacement REDOR (td-REDOR) is insensitive to the effect of homonuclear dipole-dipole interaction when the higher order effects are negligible. The validity of td-REDOR has been verified experimentally by the P-31{C-13} measurements on glyphosate at a spinning frequency of 25 kHz. The experimental dephasing curve is in favorable agreement with the simulation data without considering the homonuclear dipole-dipole interactions.     

NMR in rotating magnetic fields: magic-angle field spinning

Magic-angle sample spinning is one of the cornerstones in high-resolution NMR of solid and semisolid materials. The technique enhances spectral resolution by averaging away rank 2 anisotropic spin interactions, thereby producing isotropic-like spectra with resolved chemical shifts and scalar couplings. In principle, it should be possible to induce similar effects in a static sample if the direction of the magnetic field is varied (e.g., magic-angle rotation of the B0 field). Here we will review some recent experimental results that show progress toward this goal. Also, we will explore some alternative approaches that may enable the recovery of spectral resolution in cases where the field is rotating off the magic angle. Such a possibility could help mitigate the technical problems that render difficult the practical implementation of this method at moderately strong magnetic fields.     

QUantitative Cross-Polarization at magic-angle spinning frequency of about 20 kHz

We study the QUantitative Cross-Polarization (QU-CP) method proposed by Hou et al. (Chem. Phys. Lett. 421 (2006) 356) under the moderate MAS speed of 23 kHz, re-examining its two building blocks, namely, the CP polarization transfer from (1)H to (13)C, and the thermal equalization of the (13)C magnetizations. We show that the nuclear-integrated cross-polarization (NI-CP) scheme is conveniently used for (1)H-(13)C polarization transfer, because of its simplicity, robustness to rf-mismatch, and compatibility with fast sample spinning. In the mixing part, in addition to dipolar-assisted rotational-resonance (DARR) recoupling, we examine the Phase-Alternated Recoupling Irradiation Schemes (PARIS and PARIS(xy)), and Second-order Hamiltonian among Analogous Nuclei Generated by Hetero-nuclear Assistance Irradiation (SHANGHAI) sequences, and show that SHANGHAI gives the best performances in equalizing the (13)C magnetizations.