Optimum spin-state selection for all multiplicities in the acquisition dimension of the HSQC experiment

Revealing elusive conformations of sucrose from hydrogen bond J-coupling in H2O: A combined NMR and quantum mechanics study

Hydrogen bonding is a crucial feature of biomolecules, but its characterization in glycans dissolved in aqueous solutions is challenging due to rapid hydrogen exchange between hydroxyl groups and H2O. In principle, the scalar (J) coupling constant can reveal the relative orientation of the atoms in the molecule. In contrast to J-coupling through H-bonds reported in proteins and nucleic acids, research on J-coupling through H-bonds in glycans dissolved in water is lacking. Here, we use sucrose as a model system for H-bonding studies; its structure, which consists of glucose (Glc) and fructose (Frc), is well-studied, and it is readily available. We apply the in-phase, antiphase-HSQC-TOCSY and quantify previously unreported through H-bond J-values for Frc-OH1-Glc-OH2 in H2O. While earlier reports of Brown and Levy indicate this H-bond as having only a single direction, our reported findings indicate the potential presence of two involving these same atoms, namely, G2OH ➔ F1O and F1OH ➔ G2O (where F and G stand for Frc and Glc, respectively). The calculated density functional theory J-values for the G2OH ➔ F1O agree with the experimental values. Additionally, we detected four other possible H-bonds in sucrose, which require different phi, psi (ϕ, ψ) torsion angles. The ϕ, ψ values are consistent with previous predictions of du Penhoat et al. and Venable et al. Our results will provide new insights into the molecular structure of sucrose and its interactions with proteins.

How to measure long-range proton-carbon coupling constants from 1 H-selective HSQMBC experiments

Heteronuclear long-range scalar coupling constants (ⁿ J_CH ) are a valuable tool for solving problems in organic chemistry and are especially suited for stereochemical and configurational analyses of small molecules and natural products. This tutorial will focus on the step-by-step implementation of several 2D ¹ H frequency selective HSQMBC experiments for the easy and accurate measurement of either the magnitude or both the magnitude and the sign of long-range ⁿ J_CH couplings. The performance of these experiments will be showcased with several scenarios in a range of different experimental conditions.

ASAP-HSQC-TOCSY for fast spin system identification and extraction of long-range couplings

Based on Ernst-angle-type excitation and Acceleration by Sharing Adjacent Polarization (ASAP), a fast HSQC-TOCSY experiment is introduced. In the approach, the DIPSI-2 isotropic mixing period of the ASAP-HSQC is simply shifted, which provides a TOCSY period without additional application of rf-energy. The ASAP-HSQC-TOCSY allows the acquisition of a conventional 2D in about 30 s. Alternatively, it allows the acquisition of highly carbon-resolved spectra (several Hz digital resolution) on the order of minutes. An ASAP-HSQC-TOCSY-IPAP variant, finally, allows the sign-sensitive extraction of heteronuclear long-range coupling constants from a pair of highly resolved spectra in less than an hour. Pulse sequences, several example spectra, and a discussion of results are given.

Trichophycins B-F, Chlorovinylidene-Containing Polyketides Isolated from a Cyanobacterial Bloom

NMR-guided isolation (based on 1D ¹H and ¹³C NMR resonances consistent with a chlorovinylidene moiety) resulted in the characterization of five new highly functionalized polyketides, trichophycins B-F (1-5), and one nonchlorinated metabolite tricholactone (6) from a collection of Trichodesmium bloom material from the Gulf of Mexico. The planar structures of 1-6 were determined using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and complementary spectroscopic procedures. Absolute configuration analysis of 1 and 2 were carried out by ¹H NMR analysis of diastereomeric Mosher esters in addition to ECD spectroscopy, J-based configuration analysis, and DFT calculations. The absolute configurations of 3-6 were proposed on the basis of comparative analysis of ¹³C NMR chemical shifts, relative configurations, and optical rotation values to compounds 1 and 2. Compounds 1-5 represent new additions to the trichophycin family and are hallmarked by a chlorovinylidene moiety. These new trichophycins and tricholactone (1-6) feature intriguing variations with respect to putative biosynthetic starting units, halogenation, and terminations, and trichophycin E (4) features a rare alkynyl bromide functionality. The phenyl-containing trichophycins showed low cytotoxicity to neuro-2A cells, while the alkyne-containing trichophycins showed no toxicity.

Multiplicity-edited 1 H-1 H TOCSY experiment

A ¹ H-¹ H total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY) experiment incorporating ¹³ C multiplicity information is proposed. In addition, broadband ¹ H homodecoupling in the indirect dimension can be implemented using a perfect BIRD module that affords exclusive ¹ H chemical shift evolution with full decoupling of all heteronuclear and homonuclear (including ² J_HH ) coupling constants. As a complement to the normal TOCSY and the recent PSYCHE-TOCSY experiments, this novel multiplicity-edited TOCSY experiment distinguishes between CH/CH₃ (phased up) and CH₂ (phased down) cross-peaks, which facilitates resonance analysis and assignment.

Investigation of two- and three-bond carbon-hydrogen coupling constants in cinnamic acid based compounds

Two- and three-bond coupling constants (² J_HC and ³ J_HC ) were determined for a series of 12 substituted cinnamic acids using a selective 2D inphase/antiphase (IPAP)-single quantum multiple bond correlation (HSQMBC) and 1D proton coupled ¹³ C NMR experiments. The coupling constants from two methods were compared and found to give very similar values. The results showed coupling constant values ranging from 1.7 to 9.7 Hz and 1.0 to 9.6 Hz for the IPAP-HSQMBC and the direct ¹³ C NMR experiments, respectively. The experimental values of the coupling constants were compared with discrete density functional theory (DFT) calculated values and were found to be in good agreement for the ³ J_HC . However, the DFT method under estimated the ² J_HC coupling constants. Knowing the limitations of the measurement and calculation of these multibond coupling constants will add confidence to the assignment of conformation or stereochemical aspects of complex molecules like natural products. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Extending long-range heteronuclear NMR connectivities by HSQMBC-COSY and HSQMBC-TOCSY experiments

The detection of long-range heteronuclear correlations presenting J(CH) coupling values smaller than 1-2Hz is a challenge in the structural analysis of small molecules and natural products. HSQMBC-COSY and HSQMBC-TOCSY pulse schemes are evaluated as complementary NMR methods to standard HMBC/HSQMBC experiments. Incorporation of an additional J(HH) transfer step in the basic HSQMBC pulse scheme can favor the sensitive observation of traditionally missing or very weak correlations and, in addition, facilitates the detection of a significant number of still longer-range connectivities to both protonated and non-protonated carbons under optimum sensitivity conditions. A comparative (1)H-(13)C study is performed using strychnine as a model compound and several examples are also provided including (1)H-(15)N applications.

Rotational isomerism of some chloroacetamides: theoretical and experimental studies through calculations, infrared and NMR

The geometries involved in the conformational equilibria of 2,2-dichloro-N-cyclohexyl-N-methyl-acetamide (DCCMA) and 2-chloro-N,N-dicyclohexylacetamide (CDCA) were investigated. Theoretical calculations at the B3LYP/cc-pVDZ level of theory showed that gauche forms (ClCCO) are the most stable and the predominant conformers in isolated phase. Both compounds had the conformational behavior in solvents of different polarities estimated from theoretical calculations with the PCM (Polarizable Continuum Model), at the same level of theory, using infrared data from deconvolution of the carbonyl absorption bands and (13)C NMR spectra. Their IR spectra showed two carbonyl absorptions and that the conformer with the highest dipole moment had its population increased when the most polar solvents were used, in accordance with the theoretical calculation in solution. (1)JCH coupling constants were obtained from their NMR spectra, and revealed that there was population variation of conformers with solvent exchange. Experimental data (NMR and IR) as well as calculations including the solvent effects followed the same trend.

Straightforward measurement of individual (1)J(CH) and (2)J(HH) in diastereotopic CH(2) groups

The C-H(A) cross-peak corresponding to a diastereotopic CHAHB methylene spin system exhibits a characteristic 1:0:1 multiplet pattern along the indirect dimension of a ω1-coupled HSQC spectrum. It is shown here that the use of the initial (13)C Boltzmann polarization instead of the regular INEPT-based (1)H Boltzmann polarization makes visible the central lines of this multiplet pattern. A spin-state-selective method is proposed for the efficient measurement of both (1)J(CHA) and (1)J(CHB) along the indirect dimension of a 2D spectrum as well as to the magnitude and the sign of the geminal (2)J(HAHB) coupling constant from the straightforward analysis of a single four-component E.COSY cross-peak. Additionally, the extraction of (1)J(CH) values for CH and CH3 multiplicities can be also performed from the same spectrum. The success of the method is also illustrated for the determination of residual dipolar (1)D(CH) and (2)D(HH) coupling constants in a small molecule weakly aligned in a PMMA swollen gel.

Homonuclear BIRD-decoupled spectra for measuring one-bond couplings with highest resolution: CLIP/CLAP-RESET and constant-time-CLIP/CLAP-RESET

Heteronuclear one-bond couplings are of interest for various aspects of structural analysis of small organic molecules, including for example the distinction of axial and equatorial protons or the use of RDCs as angular constraints. Such couplings are most easily measured from pure doublets in HSQC-type spectra. Recently, the fully decoupled RESET HSQC experiment was reported and several other so-called pure-shift methods followed that allow for the removal of splittings due to homonuclear scalar interactions in one and two-dimensional NMR. In this work we present broadband homonuclear decoupled CLIP/CLAP-RESET experiments based on an isotope-selective BIRD filter element using a recently reported improved version of Zangger-Sterk data chunking. The concatenated FIDs result in multiplets in which most homonuclear splittings are removed while the heteronuclear one-bond couplings are retained. Couplings can be extracted in an IPAP fashion without scaling of subspectra by the use of optimized coherence transfer elements like the COB-INEPT. The method leads to complete homonuclear decoupling for CH groups and CH3 groups in isotropic samples, but leaves residual splittings with antiphase contributions for e.g. CH2 groups due to (2)JHH coupling evolution that is not affected by the BIRD element. For this case we present a constant-time version of the proposed BIRD decoupling scheme with full homonuclear decoupling. In addition, the effects of strong coupling are discussed. Strong coupling artifacts cannot be circumvented, but the proposed experiments allow their distinct recognition.

HR-HSBC: Measuring heteronuclear one-bond couplings with enhanced resolution

Heteronuclear one-bond couplings have a variety of applications, and their accurate determination is the basis for obtaining specific structural information of mostly small organic compounds. In this context, it is of utmost importance to reduce signal overlap to a minimum, and a number of techniques has been introduced during the last decades. Here, we introduce a modified version of the HR-HMBC (Magn. Reson. Chem. 2010, 48, 179-183) for heteronuclear one-bond coupling measurements with improved resolution because of the J-resolved-like tilt of corresponding multiplet patterns. The pulse sequence is introduced, and its performance is compared with a standard ω(2)-coupled HSQC experiment. Example spectra on glucose and maltose demonstrate that signals can be resolved that overlap otherwise. The approach is discussed in detail.

P.E.HSQMBC: simultaneous measurement of proton-proton and proton-carbon coupling constants

A long-range optimized P.E.HSQC experiment, named P.E.HSQMBC, is proposed for the simultaneous measurement of a complete set of homonuclear and heteronuclear coupling constants from a single 2D cross-peak. The sign and the magnitude of proton-proton coupling constants are measured along the direct dimension from the relative E.COSY-type multiplet pattern displacement due to the passive one-bond coupling constant splitting generated in the indirect dimension. On the other hand, long-range proton-carbon coupling constants are independently determined in the detected dimension from a traditional fitting analysis of antiphase multiplet patterns or, more conveniently, from the IPAP multiplet displacement obtained from extended HSQMBC experiments.

Efficient measurement of the sign and the magnitude of long-range proton-carbon coupling constants from a spin-state-selective HSQMBC-COSY experiment

A spin state-selective Heteronuclear Single-Quantum Multiple-Bond Connectivities (HSQMBC-COSY) experiment is proposed to measure the sign and the magnitude of long-range proton-carbon coupling constants ((n)J(CH); n > 1) either for protonated or for non-protonated carbons in small molecules. The simple substitution of the selective 180° (1)H pulse in the original selHSQMBC pulse scheme by a hard one allows the simultaneous evolution of both proton-proton and proton-carbon coupling constants during the refocusing period and enables a final COSY transfer between coupled protons. The successful implementation of the IPAP principle leads to separate mixed-phase α/β cross-peaks from which (n)J(CH) values can be easily measured by analyzing their relative frequency displacements in the detected dimension.

A definitive NMR solution for a simple and accurate measurement of the magnitude and the sign of small heteronuclear coupling constants on protonated and non-protonated carbon atoms

Simply successful: a proton-selective HSQMBC-TOCSY experiment can be used to measure small proton-carbon ((n)J(CH); n>1) coupling constants on both protonated and non-protonated carbon atoms. The method combines in a single pulse scheme all the benefits of the widely used HSQMBC and HSQC-TOCSY experiments. The magnitude and the sign of (n)J(CH) can be determined simply with excellent accuracy.

Speeding up the measurement of one-bond scalar (1J) and residual dipolar couplings (1D) by using non-uniform sampling (NUS)

The accurate and precise measurement of one-bond scalar and residual dipolar coupling (RDC) constants is of prime importance to be able to use RDCs for structure determination. If coupling constants are to be extracted from the indirect dimension of HSQC spectra a significant saving of measurement time can be achieved by non-uniform sampling (NUS). Coupling constants can either be obtained with the same precision as in traditionally acquired spectra in a fraction of the measurement time or the precision can be significantly improved if the same amount of measurement time as for traditionally acquired spectra is invested. The application of NUS for the measurement of (1)J (scalar coupling constants) and (1)T (total couplings constants) from different kinds of ω(1)-coupled spectra (including also J-scaled ones) is examined in detail and the possible gains in time or resolution are discussed. When using the newly proposed compressed sensing (CS) algorithm for processing, the quality of the spectra is comparable to the traditionally sampled ones.

Stereochemical dependence of 3JCH coupling constants in 2-substituted 4-t-butyl-cyclohexanone and their alcohol derivatives

Theoretical and experimental studies on (3)J(C2H6eq) NMR spin-spin coupling constants in both the 2-X-4-t-butyl-cyclohexanone (X = H, CH(3), F, Cl, and Br) and in their alcohol derivatives series are reported. Results thus found are rationalized in terms of the transmission of the Fermi contact contribution to such couplings. To this end, dependencies of (3)J(C2H6eq) couplings versus the C(2)-C(1)-C(6) angle are compared in both series for equatorial and axial X orientations. The main trend is described in terms of the rear lobes interaction. Besides, for X = halogen atom in equatorial orientation a rather strong interaction between oxygen and halogen lone pairs is observed, and its influence on (3)J(C2H6eq) couplings is discussed and rationalized in terms of different Fermi contact transmission pathways.

Accurate measurement of small heteronuclear coupling constants from pure-phase α/β HSQMBC cross-peaks

A simple proton-selective α/β-HSQMBC experiment is proposed for the accurate measurement of long-range proton-carbon coupling constants (nJCH) in small molecules without need for an individualized and time-consuming post-processing fitting procedure. The method acquires two pure-phase In-phase (IP) and Anti-phase (AP) multiplets completely free of any phase distortion due to the absence of JHH evolution. Accurate nJCH values can be directly measured analyzing the relative displacement of the resulting IPAP cross-peaks. Discussion about signal intensity dependence and cross-talk is made for a range of experimental conditions. The robustness of the method is evaluated by comparing the nJCH value measured from the analysis of the three available IP, AP and IPAP multiplet patterns. Multiple-frequency and region-selective versions of the method can also be efficiently recorded provided that excited protons are not mutually coupled.

One-bond and two-bond J couplings help annotate protein secondary-structure motifs: J-coupling indexing applied to human endoplasmic reticulum protein ERp18

NMR coupling constants, both direct one-bond ((1)J) and geminal two-bond ((2)J), are employed to analyze the protein secondary structure of human oxidized ERp18. Coupling constants collected and evaluated for the 18 kDa protein comprise 1268 values of (1)J(CαHα), (1)J(CαCβ), (1)J(CαC'), (1)J(C'N'), (1)J(N'Cα), (1)J(N') (HN), (2)J(CαN'), (2)J(HNCα), (2)J(C'HN), and (2)J(HαC'). Comparison with (1)J and (2)J data from reference proteins and pattern analysis on a per-residue basis permitted main-chain ϕ,ψ torsion-angle combinations of many of the 149 amino-acid residues in ERp18 to be narrowed to particular secondary-structure motifs. J-coupling indexing is here being developed on statistical criteria and used to devise a ternary grid for interpreting patterns of relative values of J. To account for the influence of the varying substituent pattern in different amino-acid sidechains, a table of residue-type specific threshold values was compiled for discriminating small, medium, and large categories of J. For the 15-residue insertion that distinguishes the ERp18 fold from that of thioredoxin, the J-coupling data hint at a succession of five isolated Type-I β turns at progressively shorter sequence intervals, in agreement with the crystal structure.

IPAP-HSQMBC: measurement of long-range heteronuclear coupling constants from spin-state selective multiplets

A new NMR approach is proposed for the measurement of long-range heteronuclear coupling constants ((n)J(XH), n>1) in natural abundance molecules. Two complementary in-phase (IP) and anti-phase (AP) data are separately recorded from a modified HSQMBC experiment and then added/subtracted to provide spin-state-selective α/β-HSQMBC spectra. The magnitude of (n)J(XH) can be directly determined by simple analysis of the relative displacement between α- and β-cross-peaks. The robustness of this IPAP-HSQMBC experiment is evaluated experimentally and by simulation using a variety of different conditions. Important aspects such as signal intensity dependence and presence of unwanted cross-talk effects are discussed and examples on the measurement of small proton-carbon ((n)J(CH)) and proton-nitrogen ((n)J(NH)) coupling constants are provided.

Difference between ²JC2H3 and ²JC3H2 spin-spin couplings in heterocyclic five- and six-membered rings as a probe for studying σ-ring currents: a quantum chemical analysis

Adequate analyses of canonical molecular orbitals (CMOs) can provide rather detailed information on the importance of different σ-Fermi contact (FC) coupling pathways (FC term transmitted through the σ-skeleton). Knowledge of the spatial distribution of CMOs is obtained by expanding them in terms of natural bond orbitals (NBOs). Their relative importance for transmitting the σ-FC contribution to a given spin-spin coupling constants (SSCCs) is estimated by resorting to the expression of the FC term given by the polarisation propagator formalism. In this way, it is possible to classify the effects affecting such couplings in two different ways: delocalisation interactions taking place in the neighbourhood of the coupling nuclei and 'round the ring' effects. The latter, associated with σ-ring currents, are observed to yield significant differences between the FC terms of (2)J(C2H3) and (2)J(C3H2) SSCCs which, consequently, are taken as probes to gauge the differences in σ-ring currents for the five-membered rings (furan, thiophene, selenophene and pyrrol) and also for the six-membered rings (benzene, pyridine, protonated pyridine and N-oxide pyridine) used in the present study.

Correlation of (2)J couplings with protein secondary structure

Geminal two-bond couplings ((2)J) in proteins were analyzed in terms of correlation with protein secondary structure. NMR coupling constants measured and evaluated for a total six proteins comprise 3999 values of (2)J(CalphaN'), (2)J(C'HN), (2)J(HNCalpha), (2)J(C'Calpha), (2)J(HalphaC'), (2)J(HalphaCalpha), (2)J(CbetaC'), (2)J(N'Halpha), (2)J(N'Cbeta), and (2)J(N'C'), encompassing an aggregate 969 amino-acid residues. A seamless chain of pattern comparisons across the spectrum datasets recorded allowed the absolute signs of all (2)J coupling constants studied to be retrieved. Grouped by their mediating nucleus, C', N' or C(alpha), (2)J couplings related to C' and N' depend significantly on phi,psi torsion-angle combinations. beta turn types I, I', II and II', especially, can be distinguished on the basis of relative-value patterns of (2)J(CalphaN'), (2)J(HNCalpha), (2)J(C'HN), and (2)J(HalphaC'). These coupling types also depend on planar or tetrahedral bond angles, whereas such dependences seem insignificant for other types. (2)J(HalphaCbeta) appears to depend on amino-acid type only, showing negligible correlation with torsion-angle geometry. Owing to its unusual properties, (2)J(CalphaN') can be considered a "one-bond" rather than two-bond interaction, the allylic analog of (1)J(N'Calpha), as it were. Of all protein J coupling types, (2)J(CalphaN') exhibits the strongest dependence on molecular conformation, and among the (2)J types, (2)J(HNCalpha) comes second in terms of significance, yet was hitherto barely attended to in protein structure work.

SQ-SQ experiment for determination of relative signs of small nJ(29Si,13C) couplings in a wide variety of silicon compounds

A modification of double quantum-zero quantum (DQ-ZQ) experiment termed single-quantum-single-quantum (SQ-SQ) experiment is proposed for the determination of relative signs and magnitudes of coupling constants. The modification replaces the multiple-quantum evolution period by two synchronously incremented single-quantum periods. Similarly to DQ-ZQ experiment, the sequence requires only two coupling constants that share one nucleus, the one to be measured and a reference one. This allows application to a larger variety of molecular fragments than traditional 2D sequences producing E.COSY or TROSY pattern. The SQ-SQ experiment eliminates the effects of some other couplings during t1, thereby simplifying the 2D pattern and increasing the signal intensity in comparison with DQ-ZQ experiment. The presented sequence is particularly designed for the determination of silicon-carbon coupling constants across several bonds at natural abundance using silicon-hydrogen couplings as the sign reference. The signs of silicon-carbon couplings across two and three bonds in dimethyl(phenoxy)silane which cannot be detected by traditional methods and which have not yet been determined are established by the SQ-SQ method here: 2J(Si,C) = +2.2 Hz and 3J(Si,C) = -1.7 Hz.

Stereochemical dependence of NMR geminal spin-spin coupling constants

In this work it was sought to explore the versatility of geminal spin-spin coupling constants, (2)J(XY) SSCCs, as probes for stereochemical studies. A set of compounds, where their experimental (2)J(XY) SSCCs through the X-C-Y molecular fragment are predicted to be sensitive to hyperconjugative interactions involving either bonding or antibonding orbitals containing the C carbon atom ('coupling pathway'), were analyzed. SSCC calculations were performed for some selected examples using the second order polarization propagator approximation (SOPPA) method or within the DFT-B3LYP framework. Hyperconjugative interactions were calculated within the Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) approach. Results are condensed in two qualitative rules: Rule I(M)-hyperconjugative interactions transferring charge into the coupling pathway yield a positive increase to the Fermi contact (FC), contribution to (2)K(XY) reduced spin-spin coupling constants (RSSCC), and Rule II(M)-hyperconjugative interactions transferring charge from the coupling pathway yield a negative increase to the FC contribution to (2)K(XY) RSSCC.

Discerning the degenerate transitions of scalar coupled 1H NMR spectra: correlation and resolved techniques at higher quantum

The blend of spin topological filtering and the spin state selective detection of single quantum transitions by the two dimensional multiple quantum-single quantum correlation and higher quantum resolved techniques have been employed for simplifying the complexity of scalar coupled (1)H NMR spectra. The conventional two dimensional COSY and TOCSY experiments, though identify the coupled spin networks, fail to differentiate them due to severe overlap of transitions. Non-selective excitation of homonuclear higher quantum of protons results in filtering of spin systems irrespective of their spin topologies. The spin state selection by passive (19)F spins provides fewer transitions in each cross section of the single quantum dimension simplifying the analyses of the complex spectra. The degenerate single quantum transitions are further discerned by spin selective double and/or triple quantum resolved experiments that mimic simultaneous heteronuclear and selective homonuclear decoupling in the higher quantum dimension. The techniques aided the determination of precise values of spectral parameters and relative signs of the couplings.

Spin-selective multiple quantum excitation: relative signs of the couplings and ambiguous situations

Homonuclear higher quantum NMR spectra of heteronuclear spin systems result in fewer transitions aiding the analyses. In such experiments the spin states of the heteronuclei do not get disturbed in both single and multiple quantum dimensions resulting in the separation of active homonuclear and passive heteronuclear couplings in two dimensions. The cross sections of the single-quantum dimension get displaced according to the strengths of the passive couplings. The directions of the displacement of these cross sections provide relative signs among the passive couplings. The present study demonstrates the situations when the displacement vectors, though provide the relative signs, could be ambiguous. The dynamics of the spin systems in homo- and heteronuclear multiple quantum studies have been discussed using polarization operator approach. The experimental results on (13)C- and (15)N-labeled isotopomers of acetonitrile, in both isotropic and thermotropic liquid crystalline phases, are reported.

Solution structure determination of oligoureas using methylene spin state selective NMR at 13C natural abundance

Ability of N,N'-linked oligoureas containing proteinogenic side chains to adopt a stable helix conformation in solution has been described recently. NMR as well as circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies were employed to gain insight into their specific fold. It is herein proposed to extend the structural information available on these peptidomimetics by an advantageous use of a methylene spin state selective NMR experiment. Homodecoupling provided by the pulse scheme made it possible to readily measure conformation-dependent (3)J(HH) constants that are difficult if not impossible to obtain with standard NMR experiments. Adding those couplings to the NMR restraints improved the quality of the structure calculations significantly, as judged by a ca 30% decrease of the root mean square deviation (RMSD) obtained over an ensemble of 20 structures. Moreover, accurate determination of individual (1)J(CH) couplings within each methylene group revealed uniform values throughout the oligourea sequence, with (1)J(CH) systematically slightly larger for the pro-S hydrogen than for the pro-R. As shown in this study, the methylene spin state selective NMR experiment displays a good intrinsic sensitivity and could therefore provide valuable structural information at (13)C natural abundance for peptidomimetic molecules and foldamers bearing diastereotopic methylene protons.

Relative signs of 29Si-13C couplings

Two pulse sequences applicable to the determination of relative signs of coupling constants, gHSQC-RELAY(P) and gHSQC-RELAY(D), were developed and tested. These sequences are suitable for determination of relative signs of long-range coupling constants (<2 Hz) between two heteronuclei of low abundance (such as (29)Si and (13)C), and are applicable even to cases in which one of the heteronuclei ((29)Si) does not exhibit coupling with some of the detected protons ((1)H). The two sequences differ in the manner in which they suppress undesirable homonuclear coherence transfers. Each of the sequences can be combined with an isotope filter for better suppression of the centerlines arising from more abundant NMR-inactive isotopes. The sequences were tested on ethoxytrimethylsilane and (E)-(buta-1,3-dienyloxy)trimethylsilane, and we conclude that (2)J((29)Si-O-(13)C) is positive while (3)J((29)Si-O-C-(13)C) is negative in both compounds.

The CLIP/CLAP-HSQC: pure absorptive spectra for the measurement of one-bond couplings

Heteronuclear residual dipolar one-bond couplings of organic molecules at natural abundance are most easily measured using t2 coupled HSQC spectra. However, inevitably mismatched transfer delays result in phase distortions due to residual dispersive antiphase coherences in such experiments. In this article, slightly modified t2 coupled HSQC experiments with clean inphase (CLIP) multiplets are introduced which also reduce the intensities of undesired long-range cross peaks. With the corresponding antiphase (CLAP) experiment, situations where alpha and beta components overlap can be resolved for all multiplicities in an IPAP manner. A comparison of the experiments using hard pulses and shaped broadband excitation and inversion pulses on the heteronucleus is given and potential spectral artefacts are discussed in detail.

Spin state selective coherence transfer: a method for discrimination and complete analyses of the overlapped and unresolved 1H NMR spectra of enantiomers

In general, the proton NMR spectra of chiral molecules aligned in the chiral liquid crystalline media are broad and featureless. The analyses of such intricate NMR spectra and their routine use for spectral discrimination of R and S optical enantiomers are hindered. A method is developed in the present study which involves spin state selective two dimensional correlation of higher quantum coherence to its single quantum coherence of a chemically isolated group of coupled protons. This enables the spin state selective detection of proton single quantum transitions based on the spin states of the passive nuclei. The technique provides the relative signs and magnitudes of the couplings by overcoming the problems of enantiomer discrimination, spectral complexity and poor resolution, permitting the complete analyses of the otherwise broad and featureless spectra. A non-selective 180 degrees pulse in the middle of MQ dimension retains all the remote passive couplings. This accompanied by spin selective MQ-SQ conversion leads to spin state selective coherence transfer. The removal of field inhomogeneity contributes to dramatically enhanced resolution. The difference in the cumulative additive values of chemical shift anisotropies and the passive couplings, between the enantiomers, achieved by detecting Nth quantum coherence of N magnetically equivalent spins provides enhanced separation of enantiomer peaks. The developed methodology has been demonstrated on four different chiral molecules with varied number of interacting spins, each having a chiral centre.

NMR spin-spin couplings involving nuclei in the neighborhood of a carbonyl group. 3JCH couplings in alpha-substituted acetamides

In this work 3JCH spin-spin coupling constants (SSCCs) for the cis- and trans-conformers for alpha-X-acetamides (X = F, Cl, Br and CN) (1-4) were studied in detail since they were found to be notably different for both conformers. These differences are rationalized as originating in the changes of the strong negative hyperconjugative interactions that take place within the carbonyl group. Such changes are found to depend not only on conformation, but also on solvent. For the cis-conformers there is a close proximity between the X-substituent and the in-plane oxygen lone pair of pure p character, which affects notably their respective negative hyperconjugative interactions. Both the efficiency for transmitting the Fermi contact (FC) term through the coupling pathway of 3JCH SSCCs and its potential as a probe to study the stereochemical properties of the XH2C group are discussed.

The effect of carbonyl group in the asymmetry of 3,4JCH coupling constants in norbornanones

A rationalization of the known difference between the 3,4JC4H1 and 3,4JC1H4 couplings transmitted mainly through the 7-bridge in norbornanone is presented in terms of the effects of hyperconjugative interactions involving the carbonyl group. Theoretical and experimental studies of 3,4JCH couplings were carried out in 3-endo- and 3-exo-X-2-norbornanone derivatives (X = Cl, Br) and in exo- and endo-2-noborneol compounds. Hyperconjugative interactions were studied with the natural bond orbital (NBO) method. Hyperconjugative interactions involving the carbonyl pi*(C2=O) and sigma*(C2=O) antibonding orbitals produce a decrease of three-bond contribution to both 3,4JC4H1 and 3,4JC1H4 couplings. However, the latter antibonding orbital also undergoes a strong sigmaC3--C4 --> sigma*(C2=O) interaction, which defines an additional coupling pathway for 3,4JC4H1 but not for 3,4JC1H4. This pathway is similar to that known for homoallylic couplings, the only difference being the nature of the intermediate antibonding orbital; i.e. for 3,4JC4H1 it is of sigma*-type, while in homoallylic couplings it is of pi*-type.

P.E.HSQC: a simple experiment for simultaneous and sign-sensitive measurement of (1JCH+DCH) and (2JHH+DHH) couplings

The angular information content of residual dipolar couplings between nuclei of fixed distance makes the accurate and sign-sensitive measurement of (1JCH+DCH) and (2JHH+DHH) couplings highly desirable. Experiments published so far are typically highly specialized for the effective measurement of a subset of couplings. The P.E.HSQC presented here, is an E.COSY based experiment which allows the simultaneous measurement of all heteronuclear and homonuclear couplings within CH, CH2, and CH3 groups in a single spectrum with the necessary precision and sign information. The simplicity of the approach and the absence of artefacts like phase distortions due to antiphase evolution make it ideally suited for coupling determination of organic molecules at natural abundance.

Analyses, extensions and comparison of three experimental schemes for measuring ((n)J(CH)+D(CH))-couplings at natural abundance

Three types of experiments for measuring (n)J(CH) heteronuclear long-range coupling constants are examined and extended with state-of-the-art pulse sequence building-blocks: The use of a HMBC with corresponding reference-HSQC for accurate coupling determination is combined with the constant time technique and the conversion of antiphase magnetization into ZQ/DQ-coherences; CPMG-based LR-CAHSQC and BIRD(r,X)-HSQMBC experiments are examined in detail with respect to their coherence transfer properties; finally, the HSQC-TOCSY-IPAP experiment is introduced, a sequence derived from previously published alpha and beta selective HSQC-TOCSYs using a different spin state selection technique and a recently developed ZQ-suppression method. The experiments are characterized with their advantages and disadvantages and compared using strychnine and menthol as standard molecules.

SESAME-HSQC for simultaneous measurement of NH and CH scalar and residual dipolar couplings

We present a novel pulse sequence, SESAME-HSQC, for the simultaneous measurement of several NH and CH scalar and residual dipolar couplings in double labeled proteins. The proposed Spin-statE Selective All Multiplicity Edited (SESAME)-HSQC combines gradient selected and sensitivity enhanced (15)N- and constant-time (13)C-HSQC experiments with the recently introduced spin-state selective method (Nolis et al., J. Magn. Reson. 180 (2006) 39-50) for measuring couplings simultaneously at amide and aliphatic regions. Excellent resolution and high sensitivity is warranted by removing all coupling interactions during the indirectly detected t(1) period, and by employing pulsed field gradients for coherence selection and utilizing coherence order selective spin-state selection. The scalar and residual dipolar couplings can be readily measured from a two-dimensional (15)N/(13)C-HSQC spectrum without additional spectral crowding. SESAME-HSQC can be used for epitope mapping by observing chemical shift changes in both amide and aliphatic regions. Simultaneously, potential conversion in protein conformation can be probed by analyzing changes in residual dipolar couplings induced by ligand binding. The pulse sequence is experimentally verified with a sample of (15)N/(13)C enriched human ubiquitin. The internuclear vector directions determined from the residual dipolar couplings are found to be in excellent correlation with those predicted from ubiquitin's refined solution structure.

Simultaneous alpha/beta spin-state selection for (13)C and (15)N from a time-shared HSQC-IPAP experiment

Two novel HSQC-IPAP approaches are proposed to achieve alpha/beta spin-state editing simultaneously for (13)C and (15)N in a single NMR experiment. The pulse schemes are based on a time-shared (TS) 2D (1)H,(13)C/(1)H,(15)N-HSQC correlation experiment that combines concatenated echo elements for simultaneous J(CH) and J(NH) coupling constants evolution, TS evolution of (13)C and (15)N chemical shifts in the indirect dimension and heteronuclear alpha/beta-spin-state selection by means of the IPAP principle. Heteronuclear alpha/beta-editing for all CH( n ) (n = 1-3) and NH( n ) (1-2) multiplicities can be achieved in the detected F2 dimension of a single TS-HSQC-F2-IPAP experiment. On the other hand, an alternative TS-HSQC-F1-IPAP experiment is also proposed to achieve alpha/beta-editing in the indirect F1 dimension. Experimental and simulated data is provided to evaluate these principles in terms of sensitivity and performance simultaneously on backbone and side-chain CH, CH(2), CH(3), NH, and NH(2) spin systems in uniformly (13)C/(15)N-labeled proteins and in small natural-abundance peptides.

Time-sharing evolution and sensitivity enhancements in 2D HSQC-TOCSY and HSQMBC experiments

Modifications of time-shared (TS) HSQC-like experiments originally developed by Griesinger and co-workers (Sattler M, Maurer M, Schleucher J, Griesinger C. J. Biomol. NMR 1995; 5: 97) are proposed to extract different types of information from a single NMR pulse scheme. It is shown that simultaneous acquisition of 1H,13C and 1H,15N HSQC-TOCSY and HSQMBC experiments can afford experimental sensitivity enhancements of 20-40% with respect to the separate acquisition of individual 13C or 15N data. In addition, the incorporation of a number of independent editing elements can be easily used for different purposes, for instance, to assign unambiguously 1H, 13C, and 15N chemical shifts, to differentiate directly from relayed cross-peaks, or to measure simultaneously long-range proton-carbon and proton-nitrogen coupling constants. The suggested methodologies can be applied to many different classes of nitrogen-containing compounds and illustrative examples are provided for the peptide cyclosporine as a demonstration of the performance of such experiments.