Slow motions in microcrystalline proteins as observed by MAS-dependent 15N rotating-frame NMR relaxation

Abstract

15N NMR relaxation rate R1ρ measurements reveal that a substantial fraction of residues in the microcrystalline chicken alpha-spectrin SH3 domain protein undergoes dynamics in the μs–ms timescale range. On the basis of a comparison of 2D site-resolved with 1D integrated 15N spectral intensities, we demonstrate that the significant fraction of broad signals in the 2D spectrum exhibits the most pronounced slow mobility. We show that 15N R1ρ’s in proton-diluted protein samples are practically free from the coherent spin–spin contribution even at low MAS rates, and thus can be analysed quantitatively. Moderate MAS rates (10–30kHz) can be more advantageous in comparison with the rates >50–60kHz when slow dynamics are to be identified and quantified by means of R1ρ experiments.