Hartmann-Hahn 2D-map to optimize the RAMP-CPMAS NMR experiment for pharmaceutical materials.

Cross polarization-magic angle spinning (CPMAS) is the most used experiment for solid-state NMR measurements in the pharmaceutical industry, with the well-known variant RAMP-CPMAS its dominant implementation. The experimental work presented in this contribution focuses on the entangled effects of the main parameters of such an experiment. The shape of the RAMP-CP pulse has been considered as well as the contact time duration, and a particular attention also has been devoted to the radio-frequency (RF) field inhomogeneity. (13)C CPMAS NMR spectra have been recorded with a systematic variation of (13)C and (1)H constant radiofrequency field pair values and represented as a Hartmann-Hahn matching two-dimensional map. Such a map yields a rational overview of the intricate optimal conditions necessary to achieve an efficient CP magnetization transfer. The map also highlights the effects of sweeping the RF by the RAMP-CP pulse on the number of Hartmann-Hahn matches crossed and how RF field inhomogeneity helps in increasing the CP efficiency by using a larger fraction of the sample. In the light of the results, strategies for optimal RAMP-CPMAS measurements are suggested, which lead to a much higher efficiency than constant amplitude CP experiment.

Direct quantification of M/G ratio from (13)C CP-MAS NMR spectra of alginate powders by multivariate curve resolution.

Multivariate curve resolution (MCR) was applied to (13)C cross-polarisation (CP) magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of non-depolymerised alginate powders obtained from brown seaweed plus a pure mannuronate sample isolated from Pseudomonas fluorescens for estimation of the mannuronic acid/guluronic acid ratio (M/G ratio). An excellent MCR model with a correlation coefficient of r(2)=0.99 was established between the estimated M/G ratios and the M/G ratios obtained from the traditional (1)H solution state NMR method. The new method allows for successful determination of the M/G ratio independent of the calcium content (at least up to 2.4%, which was the upper limit in this study) with a root mean square error of prediction of 0.05. It is thus concluded that (13)C CP-MAS NMR in combination with multivariate curve resolution is a reliable, convenient (no sample preparation is required) and relatively rapid method for M/G ratio determinations of alginates and it may serve as a good alternative to the chemical techniques traditionally used.

Fast acquisition of multi-dimensional spectra in solid-state NMR enabled by ultra-fast MAS.

The advantages offered by ultra-fast (>60 kHz) magic angle spinning (MAS) rotation for the study of biological samples, notably containing paramagnetic centers are explored. It is shown that optimal conditions for performing solid-state (13)C NMR under 60 kHz MAS are obtained with low-power CW (1)H decoupling, as well as after a low-power (1)H,(13)C cross-polarization step at a double-quantum matching condition. Acquisition with low-power decoupling highlights the existence of rotational decoupling sidebands. The sideband intensities and the existence of first and second rotary conditions are explained in the framework of the Floquet-van Vleck theory. As a result, optimal (13)C spectra of the oxidized, paramagnetic form of human copper zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD) can be obtained employing rf-fields which do not exceed 40 kHz during the whole experiment. This enables the removal of unwanted heating which can lead to deterioration of the sample. Furthermore, combined with the short (1)H T(1)s, this allows the repetition rate of the experiments to be shortened from 3 s to 500 ms, thus compensating for the sensitivity loss due to the smaller sample volume in a 1.3 mm rotor. The result is that 2D (13)C-(13)C correlation could be acquired in about 24 h on less than 1 mg of SOD sample.

Non-covalent interactions of a drug molecule encapsulated in a hybrid silica gel.

The drug molecule Propranolol has been encapsulated by a sol-gel process in an organic-inorganic hybrid matrix by in-situ self-assembly; the 2D HETCOR solid state NMR spectroscopy provides direct proof of the intimate spatial relationship between the host matrix and guest drug molecules.

Formation of solvent cages around organometallic complexes in thin films of supported ionic liquid.

The first experimental evidence for the formation of ordered three-dimensional structures in solutions of organometallic complexes in a thin film of supported ionic liquid was obtained. The ordering effect leads to drastically reduced mobility of ionic liquid and complex molecules.

Two-dimensional one pulse MAS of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei.

We show that the two-dimensional one pulse (TOP) representation of magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance data of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei has significant advantages over the conventional one-dimensional spectrum. The TOP spectrum, which correlates NMR frequency to spinning sideband order, provides a rapid determination of the number of sites as well as the size of the their quadrupolar coupling. Additionally, synchronous acquisition spectra of the central and satellite transition resonances can be separated by different projections of the TOP spectrum, with higher resolution spectra often found in the satellite transitions projection. A previously perceived problem of centerband aliasing in TOP can be eliminated with an algorithm that uses larger subspectral widths and the sideband order dimension to distinguish centerbands from sidebands.

Proton to carbon-13 INEPT in solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

A refocused INEPT through-bond coherence transfer technique is demonstrated for NMR of rigid organic solids and is shown to provide a valuable building block for the development of NMR correlation experiments in biological solids. The use of efficient proton homonuclear dipolar decoupling in combination with a direct spectral optimization procedure provides minimization of the transverse dephasing of coherences and leads to very efficient through-bond (1)H-(13)C INEPT transfer for crystalline organic compounds. Application of this technique to 2D heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy leads to up to a factor of 3 increase in sensitivity for a carbon-13 enriched sample in comparison to standard through-bond experiments and provides excellent selectivity for one-bond transfer. The method is demonstrated on a microcrystalline sample of the protein Crh (2 x 10.4 kDa).

High-resolution 17O NMR spectroscopy of wadsleyite (beta-Mg2SiO4).

The sensitivity of high-resolution 17O (I = 5/2) NMR spectroscopy of solids has advanced significantly in recent years. Here, we show that excellent results are now obtainable from milligram quantities of 17O-enriched materials, thereby allowing the technique to be applied to silicate phases synthesized under very high pressures in a multiple-anvil apparatus. We report the first 17O NMR study of beta-Mg2SiO4 (9.6 mg of 35% 17O-enriched material, synthesized at p = 16 GPa and T = 1873 K), a dense phase believed to have a significant role in the Earth's mantle. Using STMAS at magnetic fields of B0 = 9.4 and 11.7 T and MQMAS at B0 = 18.8 T, we have resolved and assigned all four crystallographically distinct O sites and determined their chemical shift and quadrupolar parameters.

Experimental aspects of proton NMR spectroscopy in solids using phase-modulated homonuclear dipolar decoupling.

In this paper we demonstrate experimentally that the continuously phase-modulated homonuclear decoupling sequence DUMBO-1 is suitable for high-resolution proton NMR spectroscopy of rigid solids. Over a wide range of experimental conditions, we show on the model sample L-alanine as well as on small peptides that proton linewidths of less than 0.5 ppm can be obtained under DUMBO-1 decoupling. In particular the DUMBO-1 sequence yields well resolved proton spectra both at slow and fast MAS. The DUMBO-1 decoupling scheme can in principle be inserted in any multi-nuclear or multi-dimensional solid-state NMR experiment which requires a high-resolution 1H dimension. An example is provided with the 13C-1H MAS-J-HMQC experiment.

1H detection in MAS solid-state NMR spectroscopy of biomacromolecules employing pulsed field gradients for residual solvent suppression.

In this communication, we demonstrate the feasibility of 1H detection in MAS solid-state NMR for a microcrystalline, uniformly 2H,15N-labeled sample of a SH3 domain of chicken alpha-spectrin, using pulsed field gradients for suppression of water magnetization. Today, B0 gradients are employed routinely in solution-state NMR for coherence order selection and solvent suppression. We suggest to use gradients to purge water magnetization which cannot be suppressed using conventional water suppression schemes. The achievable gain in sensitivity for 1H detection is in the order of 5 compared to the 15N detected version of the experiment (at a MAS rotation frequency of 13.5 kHz). We expect that this labeling concept which achieves high sensitivity due to 1H detection, in combination with the possibility to measure long range 1H-1H distances as we have shown previously, to be a useful tool for the determination of protein structures in the solid state.

Continuous decomposition of sporopollenin from pollen of Typha angustifolia L. by acidic methanolysis.

Sporopollenin from the pollen of Typha angustifolia L. was exposed to a series of 36 subsequent acidic methanolysis procedures. The remaining decomposition products were investigated using several spectroscopic methods including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C-CPMAS-NMR) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS). Substantial weight losses of the sporopollenin material occur after each acidic methanolysis step, while FT-IR and 13C-CPMAS-NMR spectra display no noticeable differences after 12, 24 and 36 steps. These findings are interpreted as a hint that the sporopollenin polymer has a uniform composition, i.e. relatively small monomer moieties of similar primary structure are present. Moreover, the weight losses account for the presence of substantial amounts of ether linkages in the sporopollenin polymer.