High-field Solid-state NMR Research Articles

Application of (19) F time-domain NMR to measure content in fluorine-containing drug products.

It is necessary to show that the active content in the dosage form of drugs is within a certain narrow range of the label claim. In case of fluorinated drugs, the active content can be measured by high field solid state NMR because the excipients lack fluorine. To make NMR reachable to any laboratory, simple to use, and at a low cost, measurement of (19) F nucleus using a 23 MHz (for (1) H) low field benchtop time-domain (TD) NMR was investigated. Three fluorinated drug products, cinacalcet, lansoprazole, and ciprofloxacin, were chosen for this study. The doses for these drug products range from 15 to 500 mg. The average drug content measured using (19) F TD-NMR compares well with the reported label claims for the three drugs tested. (19) F TD-NMR is a simple and non-destructive technique to measure drug content in tablets. In addition, the accessibility and simplicity of the technique makes it an excellent process analytical technology tool for development and manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Investigation of Aluminum Site Changes of Dehydrated Zeolite H-Beta during a Rehydration Process by High-Field Solid-State NMR

Aluminum site changes of dehydrated H-Beta zeolite during a rehydration process are systematically investigated by 27Al MAS and MQ MAS NMR at a high magnetic field up to 19.9 T. Benefiting from the high magnetic field, more detailed information is obtained from the considerably broadened and overlapped spectra of dehydrated H-Beta zeolite. Dynamic changes of aluminum sites are demonstrated during the rehydration process. In completely dehydrated H-Beta, invisible aluminums can reach 29%. The strength of quadrupole interactions for framework aluminum sites decreases gradually during the progressive water adsorption process. Extra-framework aluminum (EFAL) species, that is, penta- (34 ppm) and octahedral- (4 ppm) coordinated aluminum atoms, rise initially with increasing amount of water adsorption, and finally change into either tetra-coordinated framework or extra-framework aluminum in water saturated samples, with the remaining octahedrally coordinated aluminum lying at 0 and −4 ppm, respectively. Quantit...

Structural basis of the green-blue color switching in proteorhodopsin as determined by NMR spectroscopy.

Proteorhodopsins (PRs) found in marine microbes are the most abundant retinal-based photoreceptors on this planet. PR variants show high levels of environmental adaptation, as their colors are tuned to the optimal wavelength of available light. The two major green and blue subfamilies can be interconverted through a L/Q point mutation at position 105. Here we reveal the structural basis behind this intriguing color-tuning effect. High-field solid-state NMR spectroscopy was used to visualize structural changes within green PR directly within the lipid bilayer upon introduction of the green-blue L105Q mutation. The observed effects are localized within the binding pocket and close to retinal carbons C14 and C15. Subsequently, magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy with sensitivity enhancement by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) was applied to determine precisely the retinal structure around C14-C15. Upon mutation, a significantly stretched C14-C15 bond, deshielding of C15, and a slight alteration of the retinal chain's out-of-plane twist was observed. The L105Q blue switch therefore acts locally on the retinal itself and induces a conjugation defect between the isomerization region and the imine linkage. Consequently, the S0-S1 energy gap increases, resulting in the observed blue shift. The distortion of the chromophore structure also offers an explanation for the elongated primary reaction detected by pump-probe spectroscopy, while chemical shift perturbations within the protein can be linked to the elongation of late-photocycle intermediates studied by flash photolysis. Besides resolving a long-standing problem, this study also demonstrates that the combination of data obtained from high-field and DNP-enhanced MAS NMR spectroscopy together with time-resolved optical spectroscopy enables powerful synergies for in-depth functional studies of membrane proteins.

Local Flips and Chain Motion in Polyethylene Crystallites: A Comparison of Melt-Crystallized Samples, Reactor Powders, and Nanocrystals

The crystallization and the mechanical properties of polyethylene, which is one of the most important commodity polymers, are influenced by the crystalline α-relaxation. This process originates from the diffusive chain transport through the crystallites as mediated by local 180° flips. Recent studies have stressed the relevance of the chain folding morphology on the chain diffusion, but its relation to the rate of jumps of the individual repeat units has not yet been addressed. In this study, we compare samples with very different morphology, including nanocrystals as a unique new model system, and use proton low-field and carbon-13 high-field solid-state NMR spectroscopy to determine the rate of local jumps and the large-scale crystalline–amorphous diffusion coefficient, respectively. We find that samples with tight folds (reactor powders and nanocrystals) display on average lower activation energies of the local jumps. Nanocrystals stand out in that they feature a significantly broader distribution of l...

Direct evidence of the role of dispersed ceria on the activation of oxygen in NaX zeolite by coupling the 17O/16O isotopic exchange and 17O solid-state NMR

The possibility to understand the phenomena of oxygen diffusion in the solids may be decisive to explain the role of framework oxygen atoms in a catalytic mechanism or in catalyst regeneration steps. In this work, two highly efficient characterization techniques have been associated: the 17O/16O isotopic exchange and the 17O high field solid-state NMR spectroscopy. This combination leads to a powerful tool to investigate the interaction between gaseous dioxygen molecule and lattice oxygen atoms. Here, it permits to demonstrate the enhancement of the participation of zeolitic oxygen atoms in the exchange with the gas phase when ceria is simply mixed with NaX.

17O NMR Gives Unprecedented Insights into the Structure of Supported Catalysts and Their Interaction with the Silica Carrier

Flame silica was surface-labeled with (17)O, through isotopic enrichment of both siloxanes and silanols. After heat treatment at 200 and 700 °C under vacuum, the resulting partially dehydroxylated silica materials were investigated by high-field solid-state (1)H and (17)O NMR. More specifically, MQ MAS and HMQC sequences were used to probe the (17)O local environment. In a further step, these (17)O-tagged supports were used for the preparation of supported catalysts by reaction with perhydrocarbyl transition metal derivatives (zirconium tetraalkyl, tantalum trisalkyl-alkylidene, and tungsten trisalkyl-alkylidyne complexes). Detailed (17)O 1D and 2D MQ and HMQC MAS NMR studies demonstrate that signals in the Si-OH, Si-O-Si, and Si-O-metal regions are highly sensitive to local structural modifications, thanks to (17)O wide chemical shift and quadrupolar constant ranges. Experimental results were supported by DFT calculations. From the selective surface labeling, unprecedented information on interactions between supported catalysts and their inorganic carrier has been extracted.

High magnetic field solid‐state NMR analyses by combining MAS, MQ‐MAS, homo‐nuclear and hetero‐nuclear correlation experiments

A general strategy of structural analysis of alumina silicate by combining various solid-state NMR measurements such as single pulse, multi-quantum magic angle spinning, double-quantum homo-nuclear correlation under magic angle spinning (DQ-MAS), and cross-polarization hetero-nuclear correlation (CP-HETCOR) was evaluated with the aid of high magnetic field NMR (800 MHz for (1) H Larmor frequency) by using anorthite as a model material. The high magnetic field greatly enhanced resolution of (27) Al in single pulse, DQ-MAS, and even in triple-quantum magic angle spinning NMR spectra. The spatial proximities through dipolar couplings were probed by the DQ-MAS methods for homo-nuclear correlations between both (27) Al-(27) Al and (29) Si-(29) Si and by CP-HETCOR for hetero-nuclear correlations between (27) Al-(29) Si in the anorthite framework. By combining various NMR methodologies, we elucidated detailed spatial correlations among various aluminum and silicon species in anorthite that was hard to be determined using conventional analytical methods at low magnetic field. Moreover, the presented approach is applicable to analyze other alumina-silicate minerals.

Probes for high field solid-state NMR of lossy biological samples

In solid-state NMR hydrated samples of biopolymers are susceptible to radio frequency heating and have a significant impact on probe tuning frequency and performance parameters such as sensitivity. These considerations are increasingly important as magnetic field strengths increase with improved magnet technology. Recent developments in the design, construction, and performance of probes for solid-state NMR experiments on stationary lossy biological samples at high magnetic fields are reviewed.

Natural abundance high field 43Ca solid state NMR in cement science

This work is a systematic attempt to determine the possibilities and the limitations of the (43)Ca high field solid state NMR in the study of cement-based materials. The low natural abundance (0.135%) and small gyromagnetic ratio of (43)Ca present a serious challenge even in a high magnetic field. The NMR spectra of a number of cement compounds of known structure and composition are examined. The spectra of several phases important in cement science, e.g., anhydrous beta di-calcium silicate (beta-C(2)S) and tri-calcium (C(3)S) silicate were obtained for the first time and the relation of spectroscopic and structural parameters is discussed. The method was also applied to the hydrated C(3)S and synthetic calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H) of different composition in order to understand the state of calcium and transformations in the structure during hydrolysis. The spectra of hydrated C(3)S reveals a calcium environment similar to that of the C-S-H samples and 11 A Tobermorite. These observations support the validity of using layered crystalline C-S-H systems as structural models for the C-S-H that forms in the hydration of Portland cement.

A Modified Alderman–Grant Coil makes possible an efficient cross-coil probe for high field solid-state NMR of lossy biological samples

The design, construction, and performance of a cross-coil double-resonance probe for solid-state NMR experiments on lossy biological samples at high magnetic fields are described. The outer coil is a Modified Alderman–Grant Coil (MAGC) tuned to the 1H frequency. The inner coil consists of a multi-turn solenoid coil that produces a B 1 field orthogonal to that of the outer coil. This results in a compact nested cross-coil pair with the inner solenoid coil tuned to the low frequency detection channel. This design has several advantages over multiple-tuned solenoid coil probes, since RF heating from the 1H channel is substantially reduced, it can be tuned for samples with a wide range of dielectric constants, and the simplified circuit design and high inductance inner coil provides excellent sensitivity. The utility of this probe is demonstrated on two electrically lossy samples of membrane proteins in phospholipid bilayers (bicelles) that are particularly difficult for conventional NMR probes. The 72-residue polypeptide embedding the transmembrane helices 3 and 4 of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) (residues 194–241) requires a high salt concentration in order to be successfully reconstituted in phospholipid bicelles. A second application is to paramagnetic relaxation enhancement applied to the membrane-bound form of Pf1 coat protein in phospholipid bicelles where the resistance to sample heating enables high duty cycle solid-state NMR experiments to be performed.

A strip-shield improves the efficiency of a solenoid coil in probes for high-field solid-state NMR of lossy biological samples

A strip-shield inserted between a high inductance double-tuned solenoid coil and the glass tube containing the sample improves the efficiency of probes used for high-field solid-state NMR experiments on lossy aqueous samples of proteins and other biopolymers. A strip-shield is a coil liner consisting of thin copper strips layered on a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) insulator. With lossy samples, the shift in tuning frequency is smaller, the reduction in Q, and RF-induced heating are all significantly reduced when the strip-shield is present. The performance of 800MHz 1H/15N and 1H/13C double-resonance probes is demonstrated on aqueous samples of membrane proteins in phospholipid bilayers.

Crystalline Aluminum Hydroxy Fluorides: Structural Insights Obtained by High Field Solid State NMR and Trend Analyses

A series of crystalline aluminum hydroxy fluorides in cubic pyrochlore structure AlFx(OH)3−x·H2O with variable F-content x were investigated by solid-state NMR by applying different magnetic fields up to 21.1 T. Distinguishable octahedral species AlFx(OH)6−x (x = 1−6) were identified in the crystalline aluminum hydroxy fluorides. The subsequent analysis of the highfield 27Al MAS NMR data allows the derivation of the trend analysis graphs giving correlations between the 27Al chemical shifts and the quadrupolar frequencies and the F-content x in AlFx(OH)6−x. Clear trends were obtained for both, which are, along with the 19F MAS chemical-shift trend analysis presented earlier, valuable tools for the interpretation of MAS NMR spectra of amorphous AlFx(OX)3−x compounds (X = H, alkyl). Following the dehydration of the pyrochlores by solid-state NMR eventually reveals a remarkable influence of the incorporated solvent molecules (H2O) on the 19F chemical shift. On that basis, a new chemical-shift trend analysis for 19F chemical shifts in correlation with x in AlFx(OH)6−x units for proton-poor substances (in the Al, F, O, H system) was determined. By using this correlation, high-surface AlF3 has a mean bulk Al:F ratio similar to that found for ACF, namely, AlF2.8(O/OH)0.2.

1H17O nuclear quadrupole double resonance in phenylphosphinic acid and phenylphosphonic acid. 17O quadrupole coupling in P = O and POH bonds

The (17)O nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) frequencies have been measured in phenylphosphinic acid and phenylphosphonic acid using nuclear quadrupole double resonance. The quadrupole coupling constants have been determined with an uncertainty of +/- 10 kHz and the asymmetry parameter eta with an uncertainty of +/- 0.01. The results are compared to the published results of the theoretical calculation and the high-field solid-state NMR measurements. The position of hydrogen in the O-H...O hydrogen bond in phenylphosphinic acid has also been determined. On the basis of the present and the previously published data we show that the principal values of the electric-field-gradient tensor in P = O and P-O-H bonds correlate. A correlation between the nuclear quadrupole parameters and the length of the P-O bond is also observed.

Optimal control based NCO and NCA experiments for spectral assignment in biological solid-state NMR spectroscopy

We present novel pulse sequences for magic-angle-spinning solid-state NMR structural studies of 13C, 15N-isotope labeled proteins. The pulse sequences have been designed numerically using optimal control procedures and demonstrate superior performance relative to previous methods with respect to sensitivity, robustness to instrumental errors, and band-selective excitation profiles for typical biological solid-state NMR applications. Our study addresses specifically 15N to 13C coherence transfers being important elements in spectral assignment protocols for solid-state NMR structural characterization of uniformly 13C, 15N-labeled proteins. The pulse sequences are analyzed in detail and their robustness towards spin system and external experimental parameters are illustrated numerically for typical 15N– 13C spin systems under high-field solid-state NMR conditions. Experimentally the methods are demonstrated by 1D 15N → 13C coherence transfer experiments, as well as 2D and 3D 15N, 13C and 15N, 13C, 13C chemical shift correlation experiments on uniformly 13C, 15N-labeled ubiquitin.

Origins of isotopomeric polymorphism

The complex formed between 4-methylpyridine and pentachlorophenol (4MPPCP) crystallises in a triclinic space group. If the same complex is synthesized from deuterated pentachlorophenol, it crystallizes in an entirely different monoclinic polymorph. Using solid-state NMR of samples synthesized with a full range of deuteration levels, crystallized from solution or the melt, and in the presence or absence of seeds, we have confirmed that the isotopomers indeed have different thermodynamically stable crystal structures. The roots of this phenomenon of isotopomeric polymorphism apparently lie in the differences in hydrogen bonding between the polymorphs. The triclinic form has a relatively short hydrogen bond. High-field solid-state NMR shows both the 1H chemical shift and the 2H electric quadrupole coupling of the hydrogen involved in the bond to be strongly temperature-dependent, indicating a low-lying excited state of the hydrogen bond longitudinal vibration. Inelastic neutron scattering of isotopomers of 4MPPCP has allowed us to identify the three orthogonal vibrational modes of the hydrogen in the hydrogen bond, at 29.7, 145, and 205 meV (240, 1168, and 1651 cm−1). The longitudinal mode is the lowest in energy, and it indicates a slightly asymmetric low-barrier double-well potential. Intrinsic to such potentials is a very small difference in zero-point energies (ZPEs) between the protonated and deuterated forms. As a contrast, the monoclinic form has a comparatively normal hydrogen bond, in which the proton and deuteron ZPEs should be different by approximately 500 cm−1. A scenario can be envisaged where the triclinic protonated form is lower in energy than the monoclinic protonated form, but the triclinic deuterated form is higher in energy than the monoclinic deuterated form. This evidently accounts for the difference in relative stabilities of the two forms upon isotope substitution. Revised version of a paper presented at the International Conference ‘Isotopes 2005 Bath’, 27 June to 1 July 2005, Bath, UK.

Applications of high field solid state NMR techniques to examine problems in geochemistry

Applications of high field solid state NMR techniques to examine problems in geochemistry

High-Field NMR Studies of Molecular Recognition and Structure−Function Relationships in Antimicrobial Piscidins at the Water−Lipid Bilayer Interface

High magnetic field solid-state NMR was performed on amphipathic cationic antimicrobial peptides from fish to characterize their secondary structure and orientation in hydrated phospholipid bilayers. High-resolution distance and orientational restraints on 13C- and 15N-labeled amidated piscidins 1 and 3 provided site-specific information establishing alpha-helicity and an orientation parallel to the membrane surface. Few membrane-bound natural peptides with this topology have been structurally studied at high resolution in the presence of hydrated lipid bilayers. This orientation was foreseen since the partitioning of amphipathic cationic antimicrobial peptides at the water-bilayer interface allows for favorable peptide-lipid interactions, and it may be related to the mechanism of action. The enhanced resolution obtained at 900 MHz evidences a determinant advantage of ultra-high-field NMR for the structural determination of multiple-labeled peptides and proteins.

Cross polarization, radio frequency field homogeneity, and circuit balancing in high field solid state NMR probes

Homogeneous radio frequency (RF) fields are important for sensitivity and efficiency of magnetization transfer in solid state NMR experiments. If the fields are inhomogeneous the cross polarization (CP) experiment transfers magnetization in only a thin slice of sample rather than throughout the entire volume. Asymmetric patterns have been observed in plots of the CP signal versus RF field mismatch for an 800 MHz solid-state NMR probe where each channel is resonated in a single-ended mode. A simple model of CP shows these patterns can be reproduced if the RF fields for the two nuclei are centered at different places in the coil. Experimental measurements using B 1 field imaging, nutation arrays on extremely short NMR samples, and de-tuning experiments involving disks of copper incrementally moved through the coil support this model of spatially offset RF fields. We have found that resonating the high frequency channel in a double-ended or “balanced” mode can alleviate this field offset problem, and have implemented this in a three-channel solid state NMR probe of our own design.

High-field 19.6 T 27Al solid-state MAS NMR of in vitro aluminated brain tissue

The combination of 27Al high-field solid-state NMR (19.6 T) with rapid spinning speeds (17.8 kHz) is used to acquire 27Al NMR spectra of total RNA human brain temporal lobe tissues exposed to 0.10 mM Al 3+ (as AlCl 3) and of human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19), grown in 0.10 mM AlCl 3. The spectra of these model systems show multiple Al 3+ binding sites, good signal/noise ratios and apparent chemical shift dispersions. A single broad peak (−3 to 11 ppm) is seen for the aluminated ARPE-19 cells, consistent with reported solution-state NMR chemical shifts of Al-transferrin. The aluminated brain tissue has a considerably different 27Al MAS NMR spectrum. In addition to the transferrin-type resonance, additional peaks are seen. Tentative assignments include: −9 to −3 ppm, octahedral AlO 6 (phosphate and water); 9 ppm, condensed AlO 6 units (Al–O–Al bridges); 24 ppm, tetrahedral AlO 3N and/or octahedral Al–carbonate; and 35 ppm, more N-substituted aluminum and /or tetrahedral AlO 4. Thus, brain tissue is susceptible to a broad range of coordination by aluminum. Furthermore, the moderate 27Al C Q values (all less than 10 MHz) suggest future NMR studies may be performed at 9.4 T and a spin rate of 20 kHz.

The shape and information content of high-field solid-state proton NMR spectra of methyl groups

The possible variation of the lineshape of the high-field 1 H spectrum of methyl groups is explored by simulation and experiment. The spectrum of an isolated methyl group depends, apart from the orientation of the applied field B 0 relative to the C 3-axis of the group, on its rotational tunnel frequency ν t and on its stochastic reorientation rate k. For quantitative analyses, the directional mobility of the C 3-axis must also be taken into account. A distinct but frequently occurring case arises when the methyl groups come as pairs of magnetically equivalent close neighbours. For the experiments, single crystals of four compounds I – IV were grown that were isotopically substituted such that they contained protons only in the methyl positions. The crystal symmetry of all compounds I – IV allowed us to record spectra with all methyl groups being orientationally and otherwise equivalent. I , acetonitrile in deuterated hydroquinone, represents the case of a well-isolated methyl group with a “high” tunnel frequency ν t . Its spectrum is (almost) independent of the temperature T. In II , monomethyl malonic acid, ν t is comparable in size with the strength of the intramolecular dipolar H – H interaction. All seven theoretically expected lines in the 1 H spectrum are clearly resolved in the spectra of II . ν t can be inferred with an uncertainty of only ±300 Hz . ν t ( T) is found to possess a (flat) maximum near 40 K . Compound III , l -alanine, allows the study of the case of a methyl group with an extremely low, although nonzero tunnel frequency ( ν t≈3 kHz) while IV , dimethylglyoxime, represents the case of a close pair of equivalent methyl groups. Its spectrum reflects intriguing structural implications.