Structure of metal adducts of anthracyclines probed by absorption,circular dichroism and paramagnetic NMR

A structural study of metal ion adducts of a new anthracycline disaccharide (MEN 10755) was undertaken. The trivalent lanthanide ion Yb(III) was employed as paramagnetic structural probe for ¹H NMR analysis. Through a comparative spectroscopic investigation [UV–Vis absorption and circular dichroism (CD), ¹H NMR], the isomorphism between its adducts with lanthanide ions (La³⁺, Yb³⁺, Lu³⁺) and calcium (one of the most representative biological cations) was verified. Solution behavior and cation binding were also investigated by means of optical titrations. In agreement with other anthracyclines, MEN 10755 was found to dimerize in aqueous solution [estimated K_dim (pH7.6) = 7 × 10³], but not in methanol. A prevalent complex Yb³⁺–MEN 10755 (1:1) in both buffered aqueous and methanolic solutions (estimated K_compl = 2100 M ^?1) was observed. A numerical analysis of the LIR and LIS ¹H NMR literature data for a similar adduct (Yb³⁺–daunorubicin) was performed using newly developed software, PERSEUS (Paramagnetic Enhanced Relaxation and Shifts for Eliciting Ultimate Structures), and the structure of the complex was characterized, locating definitely the binding site on the O‐11, O‐12 quinone system. The components of the anisotropic part of the magnetic susceptibility tensor were also determined. Finally, a study of the time‐dependent formation of an Yb³⁺–MEN 10755 complex through ¹H NMR, UV–Vis CD and induced NIR CD was carried out. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Laser-induced NMR shift of a paramagnetic system

Perturbation theory on optical ac Stark effect is applied to study the NMR spectroscopy in paramagnetic systems. Application of the circularly or linearly polarized optical field would lead to shifts in the NMR lines, which is proportional to the laser intensity and the induced polarizability tensors by hyperfine interaction. The induced shift for 193Ir NMR spectrum of [IrBrg]2- is expected to be of the order of 1-10 Hz as resonance is approached with light intensity 10 W·cm-2. For the supersonic molecular beam samples 193IrC, the laser-induced NMR shift is estimated to be as large as 1-10 MHz near resonance.     

A justification for using NMR model-free methods when investigating the solution structures of rhombic paramagnetic lanthanide complexes

The detailed analysis of the 1H NMR hyperfine shifts according to the model-free methods shows that the semi-rigid monometallic complexes [Ln(L)(NO3)3] (Ln = Eu-Yb) are isostructural in solution. The associated separation of contact and pseudo-contact contributions to the hyperfine NMR shifts in each rhombic lanthanide complex at room temperature provides paramagnetic susceptibility tensors whose principal magnetic axes match the expected symmetry requirements. Moreover, both axial (Delta chi(ax)) and rhombic (Delta chi(rh)) paramagnetic anisotropies display satisfactory linear dependence on Bleaney's factors, a correlation predicted by the approximate high-temperature expansion of the magnetic susceptibility limited to T(-2). Consequently, the simple, and chemically attracting NMR model-free methods are not limited to axial systems, and can be safely used for the investigation of the solution structures of any lanthanide complexes. Molecular-based structural criteria for the reliable estimation of paramagnetic susceptibility tensors by NMR are discussed, together with the assignment of the labels of the crystal-field and magnetic axes within Bleaney's approach.     

Strategies for measurements of pseudocontact shifts in protein NMR spectroscopy.

Paramagnetic metal ions bound to proteins generate a dipolar field that can be accurately probed by pseudocontact shifts (PCS) displayed by the protein's nuclear spins. PCS are highly useful for determining the coordinates of individual spins in the molecule and for rapid structure determinations of entire protein-protein and protein-ligand complexes. However, PCS measurements require reliable resonance assignments for the molecule in its paramagnetic state and in a diamagnetic reference state. This article discusses different approaches for pairwise resonance assignments, with emphasis on a strategy which exploits chemical exchange between the two states.     

Bulk and nanoscale semiconducting materials: Structural advances using solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy continues to make major strides in the investigation of semiconducting materials. As an analytical technique, NMR offers an element-specific probe of virtually any chemical system and is uniquely suited to the selective study of materials exhibiting disorder or inhomogeneity, where long-range structural techniques may fail. With the advances in experimentation, hardware and high-polarization techniques realized over the past decade, challenging studies on difficult nuclei from bulk to nano-sized materials have now become practical. Below, we feature five recent works that have advanced our atomic-level understanding of new semiconducting materials using NMR spectroscopy.     

NMR spectra of paramagnetic complexes of 1-vinylimidazole with iron group metals

The high-resolution ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of 1-vinylimidazole complexes with iron group metals were recorded. The contact coupling in these systems was established in the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra. The applicability of the NMR spectra transformed by long-range hyperfine coupling for elucidating the molecular structure of the ligand was shown. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1430–1433, June, 2005.     

Structural studies of {Li} 2-lithiopyrrolidines using NMR spectroscopy

A selection of N-substituted 2-lithiopyrrolidines were prepared and their structures were investigated by ⁶Li and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Evidence is presented for aggregation and dynamic solvation effects, depending on the nature of the N-substituent and substituents on the pyrrolidine ring. Studies were performed with N-Boc (coordinating carbonyl group), N-methoxyethyl (coordinating methoxy group) and N-alkyl (no coordinating group) heterocycles to represent three different classes of organolithiums: dipole-stabilized, unstabilized and chelated, and unstabilized.     

Structural characterization of proteins with an attached ATCUN motif by paramagnetic relaxation enhancement NMR spectroscopy

The use of a short, three-residue Cu(2+)-binding sequence, the ATCUN motif, is presented as an approach for extracting long-range distance restraints from relaxation enhancement NMR spectroscopy. The ATCUN motif is prepended to the N-termini of proteins and binds Cu(2+) with a very high affinity. Relaxation rates of amide protons in ATCUN-tagged protein in the presence and absence of Cu(2+) can be converted into distance restraints and used for structure refinement by using a new routine, PMAG, that has been written for the structure calculation program CNS. The utility of the approach is demonstrated with an application to ATCUN-tagged ubiquitin. Excellent agreement between measured relaxation rates and those calculated on the basis of the X-ray structure of the protein have been obtained.     

The magnetic properties of myoglobin as studied by NMR spectroscopy

Deoxymyoglobin has been investigated by NMR spectroscopy to determine the magnetic anisotropy through pseudocontact shifts and the total magnetic susceptibility through Evans measurements. The magnetic anisotropy values were found to be Deltachi(ax)=-2.03+/-0.08 x 10(-32) m(3) and Deltachi(rh)=-1.02+/-0.09 x 10(-32) m(3). The negative value of the axial susceptibility anisotropy originates from the z tensor axis lying in the heme plane, unlike all other heme systems investigated so far. This magnetic axis is almost exactly orthogonal to the axial histidine plane. The other two axes lie essentially in the histidine plane, the closest to the heme normal being tilted by about 36 degrees from it, towards pyrrole A on the side of the proximal histidine. From the comparison with cytochrome c' it clearly appears that the position of the one axis lying in the heme plane is related to the axial histidine orientation. Irrespective of the directions, the magnetic anisotropy is smaller than that of the analogous reduced cytochrome c' and of the order of that of low-spin iron(III). The magnetic anisotropy of the system permits the measurement of residual dipolar couplings, which, together with pseudocontact shifts, prove that the solution structure is very similar to that in the crystalline state. Magnetic measurements, at variance with previous data, demonstrate that there is an orbital contribution to the magnetic moment, micro(eff)=5.5 micro(B). Finally, from the magnetic anisotropy data, the hyperfine shifts of iron ligands could be separated in pseudocontact and contact components, and hints are provided to understand the spin-delocalisation mechanism in S=2 systems by keeping in mind the delocalisation patterns in low-spin S=1/2 and high-spin S= 5/2 iron(III) systems.     

Characterization of nonderivatized plant cell walls using high-resolution solution-state NMR spectroscopy

A recently described plant cell wall dissolution system has been modified to use perdeuterated solvents to allow direct in-NMR-tube dissolution and high-resolution solution-state NMR of the whole cell wall without derivatization. Finely ground cell wall material dissolves in a solvent system containing dimethylsulfoxide-d(6) and 1-methylimidazole-d(6) in a ratio of 4:1 (v/v), keeping wood component structures mainly intact in their near-native state. Two-dimensional NMR experiments, using gradient-HSQC (heteronuclear single quantum coherence) 1-bond (13)C--(1)H correlation spectroscopy, on nonderivatized cell wall material from a representative gymnosperm pinus taeda (loblolly pine), an angiosperm Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen), and a herbaceous plant Hibiscus cannabinus (kenaf) demonstrate the efficacy of the system. We describe a method to synthesize 1-methylimidazole-d(6) with a high degree of perdeuteration, thus allowing cell wall dissolution and NMR characterization of nonderivatized plant cell wall structures.     

Structural characterization and quantitation of compound loading of disubstituted benzoates bound to Wang resin through high-resolution magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy

The combination of 1D and 2D high-resolution magic angle spinning NMR experiments led to the assignment of the proton and carbon resonances for several disubstituted benzoates bound to a polystyrene resin through a Wang linker. It is shown that the signal corresponding to the methylene protons of the linker can be utilized to monitor the solid-phase reactions and determine the loading of the compounds on the resin.     

Structural flexibility of titanocene diselenolene complexes: Combined structural and VT NMR investigations

A comparative investigation on five different Cp₂Ti(diselenolene) complexes, i.e. Cp₂Ti(Se₂C₂Z₂) (Z = -CO₂Me), Cp₂Ti[Se₂C₂Z(CF₃)], Cp₂Ti(bds) (bds = 1,2-benzene-diselenato), Cp₂Ti(dsit) (dsit = 1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4,5-diselenato) and Cp₂Ti(ddds) (ddds = 5,6-dihydro-1,4-dithiine-2,3-diselenato) is performed based on structural and variable-temperature NMR data. Preparation of Cp₂Ti[Se₂C₂Z(CF₃)] involves the reaction of Cp₂TiSe₅ with an excess of methyl-4,4,4-trifluorotetrolate while Cp₂Ti(bds) is obtained from the bds²⁻ diselenolate and Cp₂TiCl₂. Their X-ray crystal structures have been determined, showing that Cp₂Ti(bds) is not isostructural with the sulfur analog Cp₂Ti(bdt). Similarly the structures of Cp₂Ti(dsit) and Cp₂Ti(Se₂C₂Z₂) were also determined from single crystal X-ray diffraction. All complexes exhibit a strong folding of the metallacycle along the Se?Se hinge, ranking from 47.8° in Cp₂Ti(Se₂C₂Z₂) to 52.3° in Cp₂Ti(ddds). VT NMR investigations on Cp₂Ti[Se₂C₂Z(CF₃)] and Cp₂Ti(ddds), complementing earlier results on the other complexes, show that the largest activation energies and associated folding angles are observed with the most electron rich diselenolenes (ddds, bds), a behavior closely related to that observed earlier in dithiolene complexes.