Assessment of techniques for DOSY NMR data processing

Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) NMR is based on a pulse-field gradient spin-echo NMR experiment, in which components experience diffusion. Consequently, the signal of each component decays with different diffusion rates as the gradient strength increases, constructing a bilinear NMR data set of a mixture. By calculating the diffusion coefficient for each component, it is possible to obtain a two-dimensional NMR spectrum: one dimension is for the conventional chemical shift and the other for the diffusion coefficient. The most interesting point is that this two-dimensional NMR allows non-invasive “chromatography” to obtain the pure spectrum for each component, providing a possible alternative for LC-NMR that is more expensive and time-consuming. Potential applications of DOSY NMR include identification of the components and impurities in complex mixtures, such as body fluids, or reaction mixtures, and technical or commercial products, e.g. comprising polymers or surfactants.

Data processing is the most important step to interpret DOSY NMR. Single channel methods and multivariate methods have been proposed for the data processing but all of them have difficulties when applied to real-world cases. The big challenge appears when dealing with more complex samples, e.g. components with small differences in diffusion coefficients, or severely overlapping in the chemical shift dimension. Two single channel methods, including SPLMOD and continuous diffusion coefficient (CONTIN), and two multivariate methods, called direct exponential curve resolution algorithm (DECRA) and multivariate curve resolution (MCR), are critically evaluated by simulated and real DOSY data sets. The assessments in this paper indicate the possible improvement of the DOSY data processing by applying iterative principal component analysis (IPCA) followed by MCR-alternating least square (MCR-ALS).     

On‐Line Monitoring of Chemical Reactions by using Bench‐Top Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Real‐time nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy measurements carried out with a bench‐top system installed next to the reactor inside the fume hood of the chemistry laboratory are presented. To test the system for on‐line monitoring, a transfer hydrogenation reaction was studied by continuously pumping the reaction mixture from the reactor to the magnet and back in a closed loop. In addition to improving the time resolution provided by standard sampling methods, the use of such a flow setup eliminates the need for sample preparation. Owing to the progress in terms of field homogeneity and sensitivity now available with compact NMR spectrometers, small molecules dissolved at concentrations on the order of 1 mmol L^?1 can be characterized in single‐scan measurements with 1 Hz resolution. Owing to the reduced field strength of compact low‐field systems compared to that of conventional high‐field magnets, the overlap in the spectrum of different NMR signals is a typical situation. The data processing required to obtain concentrations in the presence of signal overlap are discussed in detail, methods such as plain integration and line‐fitting approaches are compared, and the accuracy of each method is determined. The kinetic rates measured for different catalytic concentrations show good agreement with those obtained with gas chromatography as a reference analytical method. Finally, as the measurements are performed under continuous flow conditions, the experimental setup and the flow parameters are optimized to maximize time resolution and signal‐to‐noise ratio.     

NMR Microscopy—Fundamentals,Limits and Possible Applications

Alongside the numerous applications of NMR spectroscopy to structural elucidation in analytical chemistry, and to biochemical and morphological studies by NMR tomography, NMR microscopy makes possible a whole new range of applications. These include imaging, the investigation of biological objects such as plants and small animals, and also the observation of microscopic structures and structural changes in polymers and ceramics. NMR spectroscopy can also be conducted combinationally as volume-selective spectroscopy, whereby it is possible to spatially resolve the NMR-specific parameters: spin density ?, chemical shifts δ, and the relaxation times T₁ and T₂. The numerous well developed methods available make it possible to study dynamic processes by fast imaging with a temporal resolution in milliseconds. This not only allows the imaging of moving objects without incurring movement artefacts but also the measurement of diffusion constants in isotropic and anisotropic diffusion—in the latter case allowing, in principle, the determination of the complete diffusion tensor. The spatially resolved measurement of the relaxation times yields information on molecular mobility and bonding, e. g. the bonding of water, or other solvents, to polymers, the mobility of fluids in polymers or ceramics, or the three-dimensional evaluation of pore size in porous materials. In biomedicine, NMR microscopy allows the observation of growth on the cellular level, the study of embryos, and the development of therapeutic methods in animal experiments. It can lead to a drastic reduction in the number of animal experiments, and in combination with volume-selective spectroscopy gives valuable information on in-vivo metabolism.     

Analysis of Carbohydrate Mixtures by Diffusion Difference NMR Spectroscopy

Summary.  Diffusion difference NMR spectroscopy can be used as a fast and powerful tool to separate carbohydrates in a mixture by their translational diffusion properties. This method is of general interest for analyzing natural and synthetic mixtures and for monitoring and optimizing synthetic reactions. The proposed subtraction procedure applied to two varying diffusion encoded spectra can be combined with homo- and heteronuclear as well as with one- and multi-dimensional NMR experiments. Received November 26, 2001. Accepted November 30, 2001     

Optimising reaction performance in the pharmaceutical industry by monitoring with NMR

Quality assurance and process understanding are assuming increasing importance in the production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). NMR has the potential to report on physical processes, quantities, structures, and speciation as chemical reactions progress. Following the progression of chemical reactions by placing the sample in an NMR tube, one can perform a large number of useful studies that provide chemical and mechanistic insight. But this simple approach can have limitations, and we have therefore constructed an apparatus comprising a laboratory reactor coupled with an NMR flow cell. The reactor duplicates the exact reaction conditions that will apply with large-scale production. This reaction mixture is sampled and pumped to a high-resolution NMR flow cell where the spectrum is recorded through the course of the reaction. We demonstrate the utility of reaction monitoring using NMR both for simple cases where tubes can be used, and describe the design of the on-flow apparatus and highlight its utility with an example.     

Exploration of continuous-flow benchtop NMR acquisition parameters and considerations for reaction monitoring

This study focused on fundamental data acquisition parameter selection for a benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system with continuous flow, applicable for reaction monitoring. The effect of flow rate on the mixing behaviors within a flow cell was observed, along with an exponential decay relationship between flow rate and the apparent spin–lattice relaxation time (T1*) of benzaldehyde. We also monitored sensitivity (as determined by signal-to-noise ratios; SNRs) under various flow rates, analyte concentrations, and temperatures of the analyte flask. Results suggest that a maximum SNR can be achieved with low to medium flow rates and higher analyte concentrations. This was consistent with data collected with parameters that promote either slow or fast data acquisition. We further consider the effect of these conditions on the analyte's residence time, T1*, and magnetic field inhomogeneity that is a product of continuous flow. Altogether, our results demonstrate how fundamental acquisition parameters can be manipulated to achieve optimal data acquisition in continuous-flow NMR systems.     

Assessing 2D electrophoretic mobility spectroscopy (2D MOSY) for analytical applications

Electrophoretic displacement of charged entity phase modulates the spectrum acquired in electrophoretic NMR experiments, and this modulation can be presented via 2D FT as 2D mobility spectroscopy (MOSY) spectra. We compare in various mixed solutions the chemical selectivity provided by 2D MOSY spectra with that provided by 2D diffusion‐ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) spectra and demonstrate, under the conditions explored, a superior performance of the former method. 2D MOSY compares also favourably with closely related LC‐NMR methods. The shape of 2D MOSY spectra in complex mixtures is strongly modulated by the pH of the sample, a feature that has potential for areas such as in drug discovery and metabolomics. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Benchtop 19F NMR spectroscopy as a practical tool for testing of remedial technologies for the degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid,a persistent organic pollutant

The development of effective remedial technologies for the destruction of environmental pollutants requires the ability to clearly monitor degradation processes. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool for understanding reaction progress; however, practical considerations often restrict the application of NMR spectroscopy as a tool to better understand the degradation of environmental pollutants. Chief among these restrictions is the limited access smaller environmental research labs and remediation companies have to suitable NMR facilities. Benchtop NMR spectroscopy is a low-cost and user-friendly approach to acquire much of the same information as conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, albeit with reduced sensitivity and resolution. This paper explores the practical application of benchtop NMR spectroscopy to understand the degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid using sodium persulfate, a common reagent for the destruction of groundwater contaminants. It is found that Benchtop ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy is able to monitor the complete degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid into fluoride; however, the observation of intermediate degradation products formed, which can be observed using a conventional NMR spectrometer, cannot be readily distinguished from the parent compound when measurements are performed using the benchtop instrument. Under certain reaction conditions, the formation of fluorinated structures that are resistant to further degradation is readily observed. Overall, it is shown that benchtop ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy has potential as a quick and reliable tool to assist in the development of remedial technologies for the degradation of fluorinated contaminants.     

Two-Dimensional Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy: New Possibilities for the Investigation of the Structure and Dynamics of Solid Polymers [New Analytical Methods (38)]

NMR spectroscopy is an effective method not only for examining liquid samples but also for characterizing molecular sturcture, order and dynamics in amorphous and ordered solids. Recent developments in the area of solid-state NMR spectroscopy span from model-dependent studies of conventional one-dimensional spectra to the more definitive two-dimensional (2D) spectra which provide more specific information. For example, with 2D-NMR spectroscopy it is possible to determine the orientational distribution functions of molecular segments in drawn polymers and to distinguish different mechanisms of complex molecular motions. Following an introduction to basic NMR spectroscopy, an overview of the current state-of-the-art of 2D methods in solid-state NMR spectroscopy is presented and demonstrated with selected examples.     

Solvent Effect and Reactivity Trend in the Aerobic Oxidation of 1,3‐Propanediols over Gold Supported on Titania: NMR Diffusion and Relaxation Studies

In recent work, it was reported that changes in solvent composition, precisely the addition of water, significantly inhibits the catalytic activity of Au/TiO₂ catalyst in the aerobic oxidation of 1,4‐butanediol in methanol due to changes in diffusion and adsorption properties of the reactant. In order to understand whether the inhibition mechanism of water on diol oxidation in methanol is generally valid, the solvent effect on the aerobic catalytic oxidation of 1,3‐propanediol and its two methyl‐substituted homologues, 2‐methyl‐1,3‐propanediol and 2,2‐dimethyl‐1,3‐propanediol, over a Au/TiO₂ catalyst has been studied here using conventional catalytic reaction monitoring in combination with pulsed‐field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG‐NMR) diffusion and NMR relaxation time measurements. Diol conversion is significantly lower when water is present in the initial diol/methanol mixture. A reactivity trend within the group of diols was also observed. Combined NMR diffusion and relaxation time measurements suggest that molecular diffusion and, in particular, the relative strength of diol adsorption, are important factors in determining the conversion. These results highlight NMR diffusion and relaxation techniques as novel, non‐invasive characterisation tools for catalytic materials, which complement conventional reaction data.     

表面活性剂在水溶液中性质的质子核磁共振研究

综述了质子核磁共振的几种方法在表面活性剂水溶液研究中的应用.自从上世纪六十年代以来的许多研究表明核磁共振的各种技术是研究表面活性剂溶液的有效手段.它可以提供表面活性剂在水溶液中的cmc、胶束的结构、尺寸、水化、加溶性质和位置，不同表面活性剂胶束之间的相互作用，以及胶束与生物分子和高聚物的相互作用.化学位移已经成为惯常方法，弛豫测量提供动态信息，自扩散系数测量是研究胶束尺寸的很好手段.近来由于核磁共振技术的不断发展，用于研究生物大分子的2D NOESY和HOESY也逐渐应用到研究表面活性剂聚集结构中.由此可以得到有关表面活性剂在水溶液中行为的分子水平信息，是其它谱学方法所不能及的.     

Gradient‐based solvent suppression methods on a benchtop spectrometer

Benchtop NMR emerges as an appealing alternative to widely extend the scope of NMR spectroscopy in harsh environments and for on‐line monitoring. Obviously, the use of low‐field magnets induces a dramatic reduction of the spectral resolution leading to frequent peak overlaps. This issue is even more serious because applications such as chemical process monitoring involve the use of non‐deuterated solvents, leading to intense and broad peaks overlapping with the signals of interest. In this article, we highlight the need for efficient suppression methods compatible with flowing samples, which is not the case of the common pre‐saturation approaches. Thanks to a gradient coil included in our benchtop spectrometer, we were able to implement modern and efficient solvent suppression blocks such as WET or excitation sculpting to deliver quantitative spectra in the conditions of the on‐line monitoring. While these methods are commonly used at high field, this is the first time that they are investigated on a benchtop setting. Their analytical performance is evaluated and compared under static and on‐flow conditions. The results demonstrate the superiority of gradient‐based methods, thus highlighting the relevance of implementing this device on benchtop spectrometers. The comparison of major solvent suppression methods reveals an optimum performance for the WET‐180‐NOESY experiment, both under static and on‐flow conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterizations of Some N—Substituted—salicylhydrazide in Mixtures by NMR Diffusion Ordered Spectroscopy

1 INTRODUCTION Metallacrown has emerged as inorganic host molecules. There has been considerable interest in metallacrown chemistry owing to its potential applications in chemically modified electrodes, anion-selective separation agents, liquid-crystal precursors and magnetic materials[1]. Multidentate ligands which can bridge two metal ions are used to synthesize metallacrowns. The cyclic repetition of the ligand bridging two metal ions generates the macrocyclic metal cluster. In the c…     

固体酸催化剂结构与催化反应机理的核磁共振研究

Solid acid catalysts have been widely used in advanced petrochemical processes because of their environmental friendliness, high product selectivity, and easy product separation. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a well-established tool for structure determination and dynamic study of various functional materials. In this review, we focus mainly on our research using solid-state NMR to characterize the acid properties and elucidate the catalytic reaction mechanism of solid acid catalysts. The acid strength of solid acids can be quantitatively measured from the chemical shifts of adsorbed probe molecules such as pyridine, acetone, trialkylphosphine oxides, and trimethylphosphine. The spatial proximity and synergetic effect of various acid sites on solid acid catalysts can be ascertained by two-dimensional (2D) double-quantum magic angle spinning (DQ MAS) NMR spectroscopy. Additionally, in situ solid-state NMR spectroscopy can be used to explore heterogeneous catalytic reaction mechanisms by monitoring the evolution of the reactants, intermediates, and products.     

Ligand-observed in-tube NMR in natural products research: A review on enzymatic biotransformations,protein–ligand interactions,and in-cell NMR spectroscopy

Natural product-observed NMR methods have considerably expanded the potentialities for in-tube NMR monitoring of complex enzymatic biotransformations and investigation of protein-natural product interactions even in living cells. We review, herein, the significant advantages of ligand-observed in-situ NMR monitoring of enzymatic biotransformations without restoring to laborious and time-consuming chromatographic methods. Emphasis will be given to the potentialities of the use of the NMR bioreactor: (i) to investigate through saturation transfer difference (STD), the capacity of natural products to serve as enzyme substrates, (ii) to monitor multiple biotransformation products of natural products with the use of immobilized enzymes and (iii) to investigate interactions of biotransformed products with protein targets. The use of STD and its variants, transfer effect Noes for PHArmacophore Mapping (INPHARMA) NMR, in conjunction with computational methods, can provide excellent tools in investigating competitive binding modes even in proteins with multiple binding sites. The method has been successfully applied in the study of unsaturated free fatty acids (UFFAs)-serum albumin complexes in which the location and conformational states of UFFAs could not be determined accurately, despite numerous X-ray structural studies, due to conformational averaging. This combined method, thus, may find promising applications in the field of protein-natural product recognition research. The emerging concept of in-cell NMR and recent applications will be discussed since they can provide atomic level insights into natural product-protein interactions in living cells without the need of isotope labelled techniques.     

Desktop NMR and Its Applications From Materials Science To Organic Chemistry

NMR spectroscopy is an indispensable method of analysis in chemistry, which until recently suffered from high demands for space, high costs for acquisition and maintenance, and operational complexity. This has changed with the introduction of compact NMR spectrometers suitable for small‐molecule analysis on the chemical workbench. These spectrometers contain permanent magnets giving rise to proton NMR frequencies between 40 and 80 MHz. The enabling technology is to make small permanent magnets with homogeneous fields. Tabletop instruments with inhomogeneous fields have been in use for over 40 years for characterizing food and hydrogen‐containing materials by relaxation and diffusion measurements. Related NMR instruments measure these parameters in the stray field outside the magnet. They are used to inspect the borehole walls of oil wells and to test objects nondestructively. The state‐of‐the‐art of NMR spectroscopy, imaging and relaxometry with compact instruments is reviewed.     

NMR characterization of pentaerythritol glycolysis products of polyethylene terephthalate

The degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles has been successfully achieved by depolymerization through glycolysis with pentaerythritol. The reaction was performed at 250°C in the presence of an organotin catalyst. The glycolyzed products were characterized by 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The existence of the chemical bond between the polyol and the PET was detected through heteronuclear multiple bond correlation spectroscopy, and the NMR signals of different species were separated according to their diffusion coefficient by diffusion-ordered spectroscopy. This method offers a rapid quantification of glycolyzed products. Furthermore, it was found that the major product was the mono-pentaerythritol ester followed by the di-pentaerythritol ester, and lastly the tri-pentaerythritol ester.     

Application of a new method for simultaneous phase and baseline correction of NMR signals (SINC)

Recently, we presented a new approach for simultaneous phase and baseline correction of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals (SINC) that is based on multiobjective optimization. The algorithm can automatically correct large sets of NMR spectra, which are commonly acquired when reactions and processes are monitored with NMR spectroscopy. The aim of the algorithm is to provide spectra that can be evaluated quantitatively, for example, to calculate the composition of a mixture or the extent of reaction. In this work, the SINC algorithm is tested in three different studies. In an in-house comparison study, spectra of different mixtures were corrected both with the SINC method and manually by different experienced users. The study shows that the results of the different users vary significantly and that their average uncertainty of the composition measurement is larger than the uncertainty obtained when the spectra are corrected with the SINC method. By means of a dilution study, we demonstrate that the SINC method is also applicable for the correction of spectra with low signal-to-noise ratio. Furthermore, a large set of NMR spectra that was acquired to follow a reaction was corrected with the SINC method. Even in this system, where the areas of the peaks and their chemical shifts changed during the course of reaction, the SINC method corrected the spectra robustly. The results show that this method is especially suited to correct large sets of NMR spectra and it is thus an important contribution for the automation of the evaluation of NMR spectra.     

Recent progress in investigations of surface structure and properties of solid oxide materials with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

In this review, some of the latest research developments on the characterization of the structure and properties of oxide materials by applying solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), including the use of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) NMR, ¹⁷O NMR combined with surface selective labeling and ³¹P NMR coupled with phosphorous-containing probe molecules, are discussed.     

In situ 1H NMR study on the trioctylphosphine oxide capping of colloidal InP nanocrystals.

We used trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) capped colloidal InP nanocrystals (Q-InP|TOPO) to explore the potential of solution 1H NMR spectroscopy in studying in situ the capping and capping exchange of sterically stabilized colloidal nanocrystals. The spectrum of Q-InP|TOPO shows resonances of free TOPO, superimposed on broadened spectral features. The latter were assigned to TOPO adsorbed at Q-InP by means of pulsed field gradient diffusion NMR and 1H-13C HSQC spectroscopy. The diffusion coefficient of Q-InP|TOPO nanocrystals was inferred from the decay of the adsorbed TOPO NMR signal. The corresponding hydrodynamic diameter correlates well with the diameter of Q-InP. By using the resolved methyl resonance of adsorbed TOPO, the packing density of TOPO at the InP surface can be estimated. Spectral hole burning was used to demonstrate explicitly that the adsorbed TOPO resonances are heterogeneously broadened. Exchange of the TOPO capping by pyridine was demonstrated by the disappearance of the resonances for adsorbed TOPO and the appearance of pyridine resonances in the 1H NMR spectrum. These results show that solution NMR spectroscopy should be considered a powerful technique for the in situ study of the capping of sterically stabilized colloidal nanocrystals.