NMR spectroscopy investigation of the cooperative nature of the internal rotational motions in acetophenone.

The proton NMR spectrum of the doubly enriched acetophenone-carbonyl,methyl-13C2 isotopomer dissolved in a liquid-crystalline solvent (LXNMR) was analyzed to yield a data set of 19 dipolar couplings. The presence of so many couplings, and in particular the dependence of some of them on the acetyl carbons enabled the investigation of the structure of the acetyl moiety and of possible cooperative motions about the aryl-carbonyl and carbonyl-methyl bonds. Methodological aspects, and approximations relating to the application of the vibrational correction procedure in the presence of large-amplitude torsional motions, are discussed. Results show that it is possible to discriminate between a continuous and a discrete conformer distribution about the angle phi(1) but not among a few proposed continuous shapes of U(iso)({phi}). In this study, the use of dipolar couplings with a non-negligible contribution from the indirect spin-spin coupling tensor J, (D(C8C9) in our case), for structural determination is extended from rigid to flexible molecules. The 1/2J(aniso)(C8C9) contribution was derived theoretically using the density functional theory linear response (DFT-LR) first-principles calculation of the J(C8C9) spin-spin coupling tensor.     

Leading-order relativistic effects on nuclear magnetic resonance shielding tensors

We present perturbational ab initio calculations of the nuclear-spin-dependent relativistic corrections to the nuclear magnetic resonance shielding tensors that constitute, together with the other relativistic terms reported by us earlier, the full leading-order perturbational set of results for the one-electron relativistic contributions to this observable, based on the (Breit-)Pauli Hamiltonian. These contributions are considered for the H(2)X (X = O,S,Se,Te,Po) and HX (X = F,Cl,Br,I,At) molecules, as well as the noble gas (Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn) atoms. The corrections are evaluated using the relativistic and magnetic operators as perturbations on an equal footing, calculated using analytical linear and quadratic response theory applied on top of a nonrelativistic reference state provided by self-consistent field calculations. The (1)H and heavy-atom nuclear magnetic shielding tensors are compared with four component, nearly basis-set-limit Dirac-Hartree-Fock calculations that include positronic excitations, as well as available literature data. Besides the easy interpretability of the different contributions in terms of familiar nonrelativistic concepts, the accuracy of the present perturbational scheme is striking for the isotropic part of the shielding tensor, for systems including elements up to Xe.     

Nuclear spin optical rotation and Faraday effect in gaseous and liquid water

Nuclear spin optical rotation (NSOR) of linearly polarized light, due to the nuclear spins through the Faraday effect, provides a novel probe of molecular structure and could pave the way to optical detection of nuclear magnetization. We determine computationally the effects of the liquid medium on NSOR and the Verdet constant of Faraday rotation (arising from an external magnetic field) in water, using the recently developed theory applied on a first-principles molecular dynamics trajectory. The gas-to-liquid shifts of the relevant antisymmetric polarizability and, hence, NSOR magnitude are found to be -14% and -29% for (1)H and (17)O nuclei, respectively. On the other hand, medium effects both enhance the local electric field in water and, via bulk magnetization, the local magnetic field. Together these two effects partially cancel the solvation influence on the single-molecular property. We find a good agreement for the hydrogen NSOR with a recent pioneering experiment on H(2)O(l).     

Semi-Constant-Time HMSQC (SCT-HMSQC-HA) for the Measurement of JHH Couplings in N-Labeled Proteins

A simple method for accurately measuring ³J_H^NH^α coupling constants in ¹⁵N-labeled proteins is described. This semi-constant-time HMSQC-HA experiment combines the rapidity and convenience of the recently introduced CT-HMQC-HA scheme (Postingl and Otting, J. Biomol. NMR 12, 319–324 (1998)) with the high resolution and robustness of the HSQC experiment. The proposed method is demonstrated for the 76-residue human ubiquitin and Saccharopolyspora erythraea calerythrin (176 residues). Our results imply that the SCT-HMSQC-HA experiment is suitable also for proteins with less favorable NMR properties due to its good resolution and sensitivity.     

NMR shielding constants in PH3, absolute shielding scale, and the nuclear magnetic moment of 31P

Ab initio values of the absolute shielding constants of phosphorus and hydrogen in PH(3) were determined, and their accuracy is discussed. In particular, we analyzed the relativistic corrections to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shielding constants, comparing the constants computed using the four-component Dirac-Hartree-Fock approach, the four-component density functional theory (DFT), and the Breit-Pauli perturbation theory (BPPT) with nonrelativistic Hartree-Fock or DFT reference functions. For the equilibrium geometry, we obtained σ(P) = 624.309 ppm and σ(H) = 29.761 ppm. Resonance frequencies of both nuclei were measured in gas-phase NMR experiments, and the results were extrapolated to zero density to provide the frequency ratio for an isolated PH(3) molecule. This ratio, together with the computed shielding constants, was used to determine a new value of the nuclear magnetic dipole moment of (31)P: μ(P) = 1.1309246(50) μ(N).     

Zwitterionic sulfobetaine lipids that form vesicles with salt-dependent thermotropic properties

We describe a class of zwitterionic sulfobetaine (SB) lipids with fascinating salt-dependent properties. SB lipids are zwitter-neutral across a broad pH range; however they have negative surface potentials in the presence of anions and two salt-dependent transition temperatures. These new SB lipids provide insight on the role of charge orientation at the membrane interface and may be useful components in drug delivery systems.     

Relativistic effects on group-12 metal nuclear shieldings

The leading-order perturbation theory approach to relativistic effects on the nuclear magnetic shielding provides an economic method for obtaining the chemical shifts in heavy-element containing systems. The method features detailed analysis potential in terms of the different physical mechanisms affecting the shielding tensors of heavy nuclei. The perturbative nature, however, results in an increasing error with increasingly heavy elements in the system. In this work, we investigate the performance of the Breit-Pauli perturbation theory (BPPT) against fully relativistic four-component theory in computing the nuclear shielding constants as well as the chemical shifts with respect to corresponding atomic ions of group-12 metals, M = Zn, Cd, and Hg, in dimethyl M(CH(3))(2) and aqueous M(H(2)O)(6)(2+) complexes. It is shown that five out of the total of sixteen BPPT correction terms are responsible for most of the relativistic corrections for the chemical shift of studied metals. The relativity is important already for Cd and BPPT is proven to work well up to Hg for the chemical shift, as calibrated with the fully relativistic method.     

Clean HMBC: suppression of strong-coupling induced artifacts in HMBC spectra

A new experiment, clean HMBC, is introduced for suppression of strong-coupling induced artifacts in HMBC spectra. The culprits of these artifacts are an inherent shortcoming of low-pass J filters in the presence of strong coupling and the (1)H pi pulse in the middle of the evolution period aimed at suppressing evolution under heteronuclear J couplings and (1)H chemical shifts. A pi pulse causes coherence transfer in strongly coupled spin systems and, as is well known in e.g., homonuclear J spectra, this leads to peaks that would not be there in the absence of strong coupling. Similar artifacts occur in HMBC spectra, but they have apparently been overlooked, presumably because they have been assigned to inefficiency of low-pass J filters or not noticed because of a coarse digital resolution in the spectra. Clean HMBC is the HMBC technique of choice for molecules notorious for strong coupling among protons, such as carbohydrates, and the new technique is demonstrated on D-mannose. Finally, a fundamental difference between HMBC and H2BC explains why strong-coupling artifacts are much less of a problem in the latter type of spectra.     

Methods for the measurement of (1)J(NCalpha) and (2)J(NCalpha) from a simplified 2D (13)C(alpha)-coupled (15)N SE-HSQC spectrum

Two methods for the measurement of (2)J(NCalpha) and (1)J(NCalpha) in (15)N/(13)C-labeled small and medium-size proteins are described. The current approach is based on simplified (13)C(alpha)-coupled (15)N HSQC spectra, where the two (2)J(NCalpha) doublets are separated into two subspectra corresponding to the alpha and beta spin states of the residue's own alpha carbon. The displacement of the two (2)J(NCalpha) doublets between the two subspectra provides an accurate value for (1)J(NCalpha). The alpha/beta filtration is achieved by taking the sum and difference of the recorded complementary in-phase and antiphase J-coupled spectra. J-multiplication is utilized in one of the proposed methods. In this method, an additional coupling evolution period, which is incremented in concert with t(1), is included in the pulse sequence making it possible to scale the peak-to-peak separation.     

Chemical distinction by nuclear spin optical rotation

Nuclear spin optical rotation (NSOR) arising from the Faraday effect constitutes a novel, advantageous method for detection of nuclear magnetic resonance, provided that a distinction is seen between different chemical surroundings of magnetic nuclei. Efficient first-principles calculations for isolated water, ethanol, nitromethane, and urea molecules at standard laser wavelengths reveal a range of NSOR for different molecules and inequivalent nuclei, indicating the existence of an optical chemical shift. 1H results for H2O(l) are in excellent agreement with recent pioneering experiments. We also evaluate, for the same systems, the Verdet constants of Faraday rotation due to an external magnetic field. Calculations of NSOR in ethanol and a 11-cis-retinal protonated Schiff base imply an enhanced chemical distinction between chromophores at laser wavelengths approaching optical resonance.