Rapid-Pulsing Artifact-Free Double-Quantum-Filtered Homonuclear Spectroscopy

Resolving Atomic-Level Dynamics and Interactions of High-Molecular-Weight Hyaluronic Acid by Multidimensional Solid-State NMR

High-molecular-weight (HMW) hyaluronic acid (HA) is a highly abundant natural polysaccharide and a fundamental component of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Its size and concentration regulate tissues' macro- and microenvironments, and its upregulation is a hallmark feature of certain tumors. Yet, the conformational dynamics of HMW-HA and how it engages with the components of the ECM microenvironment remain poorly understood at the molecular level. Probing the molecular structure and dynamics of HMW polysaccharides in a hydrated, physiological-like environment is crucial and also technically challenging. Here, we deploy advanced magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR spectroscopy in combination with isotopic enrichment to enable an in-depth study of HMW-HA to address this challenge. This approach resolves multiple coexisting HA conformations and dynamics as a function of environmental conditions. By combining 13C-labeled HA with unlabeled ECM components, we detect by MAS NMR HA-specific changes in global and local conformational dynamics as a consequence of hydration and ECM interactions. These measurements reveal atom-specific variations in the dynamics and structure of the N-acetylglucosamine moiety of HA. We discuss possible implications for interactions that stabilize the structure of HMW-HA and facilitate its recognition by HA-binding proteins. The described methods apply similarly to the studies of the molecular structure and dynamics of HA in tumor contexts and in other biological tissues as well as HMW-HA hydrogels and nanoparticles used for biomedical and/or pharmaceutical applications.

[P3Se4](+): A Binary Phosphorus-Selenium Cation

Although a fairly large number of binary group 15/16 element cations have been reported, no example involving phosphorus in combination with a group 16 element has been synthesized and characterized to date. In this contribution is reported the synthesis and structural characterization of the first example of such a cation, namely a nortricyclane-type [P3Se4](+). This cation has been independently discovered by three groups through three different synthetic routes, as described herein. The molecular and electronic structure of the [P3Se4](+) cage and its crystal properties in the solid state have been characterized comprehensively by using X-ray diffraction, Raman, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies, as well as quantum chemical calculations.

Assignment of the (13)C NMR spectrum by correlation to dipolar coupled proton-pairs and estimation of order parameters of a thiophene based liquid crystal

Materials with widely varying molecular topologies and exhibiting liquid crystalline properties have attracted considerable attention in recent years. (13)C NMR spectroscopy is a convenient method for studying such novel systems. In this approach the assignment of the spectrum is the first step which is a non-trivial problem. Towards this end, we propose here a method that enables the carbon skeleton of the different sub-units of the molecule to be traced unambiguously. The proposed method uses a heteronuclear correlation experiment to detect pairs of nearby carbons with attached protons in the liquid crystalline core through correlation of the carbon chemical shifts to the double-quantum coherences of protons generated through the dipolar coupling between them. Supplemented by experiments that identify non-protonated carbons, the method leads to a complete assignment of the spectrum. We initially apply this method for assigning the (13)C spectrum of the liquid crystal 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl oriented in the magnetic field. We then utilize the method to assign the aromatic carbon signals of a thiophene based liquid crystal thereby enabling the local order-parameters of the molecule to be estimated and the mutual orientation of the different sub-units to be obtained.

Complete structural elucidation of an oxidized polysialic acid drug intermediate by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Polysialic acid (PSA) is a high molecular weight glycan composed of repeat units of α(2→8) linked 5-N-acetyl-neuraminic acid. Mild periodate oxidation of PSA selectively targets the end sialic acid ring containing three adjacent alcohols generating a putative aldehyde, which can be used for terminal attachment of PSA to therapeutic proteins. The work presented here permitted complete NMR peak assignments of not only the repeat units, but also the two terminal units at each end of oxidized PSA, an intermediate, which can be used to improve drug performance. The assignments were made using a variety of NMR techniques on oligomers of sialic acid as well as oxidized PSA with molecular masses of 4 and 20 kDa. This enabled structure elucidation that showed the actual moiety formed was not the expected aldehyde or its hydrate, but is a hemiacetal between the oxidation site on the terminal sialic acid ring and the penultimate ring. The existence of a hemiacetal structure has major implications on stability, reactivity, and conjugation chemistry of oxidized PSA. The assignment process also revealed deuterium exchange of the axial hydrogen at the 3- (methylene) position of the ring, which was in agreement with the literature.

Isoxazolodihydropyridinones: 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides onto 2,4-dioxopiperidines

Practical and efficient methods have been developed for the diversity-oriented synthesis of isoxazolodihydropyridinones via the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides onto 2,4-dioxopiperidines. A select few of these isoxazolodihydropyridinones were further elaborated with triazoles by copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions. A total of 70 compounds and intermediates were synthesized and analyzed for drug likeness. Sixty-four of these novel compounds were submitted to the NIH Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository for high-throughput biological screening.

Structural and dynamic characterization of Li(12)Si(7) and Li(12)Ge(7) using solid state NMR

Local environments and lithium ion dynamics in the binary lithium silicide Li(12)Si(7), and the analogous germanium compound have been characterized by detailed (6)Li, (7)Li, and (29)Si variable temperature static and magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR experiments. In the MAS-NMR spectra, individual lithium sites are generally well-resolved at temperatures below 200K, whereas at higher temperatures partial site averaging is observed on the kHz timescale. The observed lithium chemical shift ranges of up to 60 ppm indicate a significant amount of electronic charge stored on the lithium species, consistent with the expectation of the extended Zintl-Klemm-Bussmann concept used for the theoretical description of lithium silicides. Furthermore the strongly diamagnetic chemical shifts observed for the lithium ions situated directly above the five-membered Si(5) rings suggest the possibility of aromatic ring currents in these structural elements. This assignment is confirmed further by (29)Si{(7)Li} CPMAS-heteronuclear correlation experiments. The (29)Si MAS-NMR spectra of Li(12)Si(7), aided by 2-D J-resolved spectroscopy, are well suited for differentiating between the individual sites within the silicon framework, while further detailed connectivity information is available on the basis of 2-D INADEQUATE and radio frequency driven recoupling (RFDR) spectra. Variable temperature static (7)Li NMR spectra reveal the onset of strong motional narrowing effects, illustrating high lithium ionic mobilities in both of these compounds.

Problems, artifacts and solutions in the INADEQUATE NMR experiment

The INADEQUATE experiment can provide unequalled, detailed information about the carbon skeleton of an organic molecule. However, it also has the reputation of requiring unreasonable amounts of sample. Modern spectrometers and probes have mitigated this problem, and it is now possible to get good structural data on a few milligrams of a typical organic small molecule. In this paper, we analyze the experiment step by step in some detail, to show how each part of the sequence can both contribute to maximum overall sensitivity and can lead to artifacts. We illustrate these methods on three molecules: 1-octanol, the steroid 17alpha-ethynylestradiol and the isoquinoline alkaloid beta-hydrastine. In particular, we show that not only is the standard experiment powerful, but also a version tuned to small couplings can contribute vital structural information on long-range connectivities. If the delay in the spin echo is long, pairs of carbons with small couplings can create significant double-quantum coherence and show correlations in the spectrum. These are two- and three-bond correlations in a carbon chain or through a heteroatom in the molecule. All these mean that INADEQUATE can play a viable and important role in routine organic structure determination.

13C NMR of polyolefins with a new high temperature 10 mm cryoprobe

Recently, a high temperature 10 mm cryoprobe was developed. This probe provides a significant sensitivity enhancement for (13)C NMR of polyolefins at a sample temperature of 120-135 degrees C, as compared to conventional probes. This greatly increases the speed of NMR studies of comonomer content, sequence distribution, stereo- and regioerrors, saturated chain end, unsaturation, and diffusion of polymers. In this contribution, we first compare the (13)C NMR sensitivity of this probe with conventional probes. Then, we demonstrate one of the advantages of this probe in its ability to perform 2D Incredible Natural Abundance Double Quantum Transfer Experiment (2D INADEQUATE) in a relatively short period of time. The 2D INADEQUATE has been rarely used for polymer studies because of its inherently very low sensitivity. It becomes even more challenging for studying infrequent polyolefin microstructures, as low probability microstructures represent a small fraction of carbons in the sample. Here, the 2D INADEQUATE experiment was used to assign the (13)C NMR peaks of 2,1-insertion regioerrors in a poly(propylene-co-1-octene) copolymer.

13C-detected IPAP-INADEQUATE for simultaneous measurement of one-bond and long-range scalar or residual dipolar coupling constants

The sensitivity of cryoprobes, which are rapidly becoming available, means that the measurement of coupling constants involving 13C, 13C pairs at the natural abundance of 13C can now, in principle, be done by using tens rather then hundreds of milligrams of compounds. However, a robust method that would yield reliable values of small long-range carbon--carbon coupling constants is still missing. In this Communication, we describe a novel 13C-detected incredible natural-abundance double-quantum transfer experiment (INADEQUATE) experiment for simultaneous correlation of one-bond and long-range 13C- 13C pairs and the measurement of both types of coupling constants in 13C natural abundance samples. This method yields accurate values of one-bond and long-range coupling constants by manipulation of pure phase in-phase (IP) and antiphase (AP) doublets, and is referred to as 13C-detected IPAP-INADEQUATE. It is illustrated by the measurement of interglycosidic (3)J(CCOC) coupling constants in a disaccharide molecule providing important information about the conformation of the glycosidic linkage. Owing to the simplicity of INADEQUATE spectra the carbon-carbon coupling constants are particularly suitable for studies of partially oriented molecules through the measurement of carbon-carbon residual dipolar couplings (RDCs). An example of this approach is presented. We expect the method to find a variety of applications in the conformational analysis of small molecules, determination of diastereoisomers and enantiomers, and studies of molecules in aligned media.

Revisiting the identification of structural units in aqueous silicate solutions by two-dimensional silicon-29 INADEQUATE

(29)Si-(29)Si INADEQUATE experiments have been successfully used on sodium aqueous silicate partially enriched (19% of (29)Si isotope) solutions in order to gain connectivity information and to help in spectral assignments. The structures of almost all known species from the literature were confirmed by this technique. Moreover, accurate scalar J couplings were extracted. The two-dimensional (2D) spectra demonstrated additional cross correlations for some Si-Si bonds never reported before, representing additional oligomeric species. They reveal five silicate cages with the following connectivity sets: Q(2)-Q(2)-Q(3) or Q(3Delta)-Q(3Delta)-Q(3) for one species, Q(2)-Q(2) or Q(3Delta)-Q(3Delta) for three species (Q(3Delta) indicates a three-connected silicon in a three-membered cycle), and Q(3)-Q(3) for one species. All possible molecular graphs for anions containing silicon up to 11 atoms, matching these sequential connnectivities, were enumerated. Additionally, a direct comparison between resonances observed in the 2D experiments with that obtained in the 1D spectrum allows us to assign single-sited silicate anions. Only a few species reported before were not detected, most probably due to their too low concentration in our solutions.

Randomized acquisition for the suppression of systematic F1 artifacts in two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy

2D spectra, particularly for homonuclear correlation, can show a variety of artifactual signals in the F1 domain. Common sources include carry-over of signal modulation from one transient to the next ("rapid pulsing artifacts") and systematic variations in room temperature ("parallel diagonals"). In both cases there is one very simple expedient which can greatly reduce the impact of these sources of error. Multidimensional data sets are almost invariably recorded by simply incrementing or decrementing evolution periods, largely for reasons of convenience and historical precedent. If instead the sampling of the evolution periods is carried out in random order, the perturbations responsible for the sharp F1 signals in the conventional experiment manifest themselves as t1 noise. Since the randomized acquisition redistributes coherent artifactual signals randomly in F1, the maximum artifactual signal is substantially reduced in the randomized experiment and no longer appears in the form of misleading distinct peaks.