Characterization of sinking particles from the northwest Mediterranean Sea using advanced solid-state NMR

Abstract

Sinking particles are the major transporter of organic carbon from surface to the deep ocean, and their chemical composition changes dramatically with depth. However, the exact mechanism controlling the chemical transformation as particles sink is not well understood, and little detail is known about the structural changes. This is mainly due to the paucity of techniques available to analyze the major macromolecular components of sinking particles. Here we applied advanced solid-state NMR techniques, including cross polarization/magic angle spinning (CPMAS), direct polarization/magic angle spinning (DPMAS), two-dimensional 1H– 13C heteronuclear correlation (2D HETCOR) and 1H T 1 inversion recovery, on sinking particles collected in the northwest Mediterranean Sea. The CPMAS 13C NMR spectrum of the 200-m particles is significantly different from that of the DPMAS 13C NMR spectrum: CPMAS overestimates the NCH and CHO groups, but underestimates the aliphatic components, which is attributed to the high mobility of polymethylene units. Thus DPMAS is more suitable for quantifying organic composition of sinking particles. Using 2D HETCOR with 1H spin diffusion, we estimated that the size of domains (similar structural entities either physically or chemically grouped together) in the 200-m sinking particles can be as large as tens of nanometers. The results of CPMAS 13C NMR and 1H inversion recovery on sinking particles from 200, 520 and 920 m indicate that the macromolecular heterogeneity observed in surface particles virtually disappears as particles sink into the deep ocean. This suggests that the macromolecular components at depth are different in structural composition than those in surface waters, and may be compositionally homogenized as particles sink.