Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Techniques: Nuclear Overhauser Effect

Abstract

The nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) is a nuclear magnetic resonance technique, used mainly to measure internuclear distances between 1H nuclei, and thus to provide restraints for structure calculation. The magnitude and rate of buildup of the NOE are strongly dependent on molecular tumbling rates, implying that the NOE behaves very differently for small organic molecules and for large molecules such as proteins; and that it can also be used to provide information on local mobility. The NOE is widely used in drug discovery programs, through techniques such as the transferred NOE and saturation transfer difference (STD).