Altering the polymorphic product distribution in a solid-state dehydration process by rapid sample rotation in a solid-state NMR probe

Initial Primer Synthesis of a DNA Primase Monitored by Real-Time NMR Spectroscopy

Primases are crucial enzymes for DNA replication, as they synthesize a short primer required for initiating DNA replication. We herein present time-resolved nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in solution and in the solid state to study the initial dinucleotide formation reaction of archaeal pRN1 primase. Our findings show that the helix-bundle domain (HBD) of pRN1 primase prepares the two substrates and then hands them over to the catalytic domain to initiate the reaction. By using nucleotide triphosphate analogues, the reaction is substantially slowed down, allowing us to study the initial dinucleotide formation in real time. We show that the sedimented protein-DNA complex remains active in the solid-state NMR rotor and that time-resolved 31P-detected cross-polarization experiments allow monitoring the kinetics of dinucleotide formation. The kinetics in the sedimented protein sample are comparable to those determined by solution-state NMR. Protein conformational changes during primer synthesis are observed in time-resolved 1H-detected experiments at fast magic-angle spinning frequencies (100 kHz). A significant number of spectral changes cluster in the HBD pointing to the importance of the HBD for positioning the nucleotides and the dinucleotide.

Disentangling the Effect of Pressure and Mixing on a Mechanochemical Bromination Reaction by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

Mechanical forces, including compressive stresses, have a significant impact on chemical reactions. Besides the preparative opportunities, mechanochemical conditions benefit from the absence of any organic solvent, the possibility of a significant synthetic acceleration and unique reaction pathways. Together with an accurate characterization of ball-milling products, the development of a deeper mechanistic understanding of the occurring transformations at a molecular level is critical for fully grasping the potential of organic mechanosynthesis. We herein studied a bromination of a cyclic sulfoximine in a mixer mill and used solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for structural characterization of the reaction products. Magic-angle spinning (MAS) was applied for elucidating the product mixtures taken from the milling jar without introducing any further post-processing on the sample. Ex situ ¹³ C-detected NMR spectra of ball-milling products showed the formation of a crystalline solid phase with the regioselective bromination of the S-aryl group of the heterocycle in position 4. Completion is reached in less than 30 minutes as deduced from the NMR spectra. The bromination can also be achieved by magnetic stirring, but then, a longer reaction time is required. Mixing the solid educts in the NMR rotor allows to get in situ insights into the reaction and enables the detection of a reaction intermediate. The pressure alone induced in the rotor by MAS is not sufficient to lead to full conversion and the reaction occurs on slower time scales than in the ball mill, which is crucial for analysing mixtures taken from the milling jar by solid-state NMR. Our data suggest that on top of centrifugal forces, an efficient mixing of the starting materials is required for reaching a complete reaction.

In-situ reaction monitoring of a mechanochemical ball mill reaction with solid state NMR

We present an approach towards the in situ solid state NMR monitoring of mechanochemical reactions in a ball mill. A miniaturized vibration ball mill is integrated into the measuring coil of a home-built solid state NMR probe, allowing for static solid state NMR measurements during the mechanochemical reaction within the vessel. The setup allows to quantitatively follow the product evolution of a prototypical mechanochemical reaction, the formation of zinc phenylphosphonate from zinc acetate and phenylphosphonic acid. MAS NMR investigations on the final reaction mixture confirmed a reaction yield of 89% in a typical example. Thus, NMR spectroscopy may in the future provide complementary information about reaction mechanisms of mechanochemical reactions and team up with other analytical methods which have been employed to follow reactions in situ, such as Raman spectroscopy or X-ray diffraction.

First-Order Liquid-Liquid Transition without Density Discontinuity in Molten Sodium Acetate Trihydrate and Its Influence on Crystallization

Liquid-liquid transition (LLT) refers to the phase transition among thermodynamically distinct liquid states with identical composition in analogy to the polymorphic transition in solid. The growing awareness of its significance to understanding the nature of liquid also provokes curiosity about its potential impact on crystallization. Here, we report a first-order liquid-liquid transition above liquidus temperature in the melt of sodium acetate trihydrate using nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, and high-precision density measurements, which show negligible change in density associated with the observed LLT. Further, the kinetics and products of crystallization are significantly influenced by LLT, providing a new way for the controlling crystallization pathway and realizing crystal polymorph selection.

A kinetic study of mechanochemical halogen bond formation by in situ31P solid-state NMR spectroscopy

In situ ³¹P solid-state NMR studies of mechanochemical halogen bond formation provide insights into the cocrystallisation process and an estimate of the activation energy.

New in situ solid-state NMR techniques for probing the evolution of crystallization processes: pre-nucleation, nucleation and growth

The application of in situ techniques for investigating crystallization processes promises to yield significant new insights into fundamental aspects of crystallization science. With this motivation, we recently developed a new in situ solid-state NMR technique that exploits the ability of NMR to selectively detect the solid phase in heterogeneous solid–liquid systems (of the type that exist during crystallization from solution), with the liquid phase “invisible” to the measurement. As a consequence, the technique allows the first solid particles produced during crystallization to be observed and identified, and allows the evolution of different solid phases (e.g., polymorphs) present during the crystallization process to be monitored as a function of time. This in situ solid-state NMR strategy has been demonstrated to be a powerful approach for establishing the sequence of solid phases produced during crystallization and for the discovery of new polymorphs. The most recent advance of the in situ NMR methodology has been the development of a strategy (named “CLASSIC NMR”) that allows both solid-state NMR and liquid-state NMR spectra to be measured (essentially simultaneously) during the crystallization process, yielding information on the complementary changes that occur in both the solid and liquid phases as a function of time. In this article, we present new results that highlight the application of our in situ NMR techniques to successfully unravel different aspects of crystallization processes, focusing on: (i) the application of a CLASSIC NMR approach to monitor competitive inclusion processes in solid urea inclusion compounds, (ii) exploiting liquid-state NMR to gain insights into co-crystal formation between benzoic acid and pentafluorobenzoic acid, and (iii) applications of in situ solid-state NMR for the discovery of new solid forms of trimethylphosphine oxide and l-phenylalanine. Finally, the article discusses a number of important fundamental issues relating to practical aspects, the interpretation of results and the future scope of these techniques, including: (i) an assessment of the smallest size of solid particle that can be detected in in situ solid-state NMR studies of crystallization, (ii) an appraisal of whether the rapid sample spinning required by the NMR measurement technique may actually influence or perturb the crystallization behaviour, and (iii) a discussion of factors that influence the sensitivity and time-resolution of in situ solid-state NMR experiments.

Monitoring Cocrystal Formation via In Situ Solid-State NMR

A detailed understanding of the mechanism of organic cocrystal formation remains elusive. Techniques that interrogate a reacting system in situ are preferred, though experimentally challenging. We report here the results of a solid-state in situ NMR study of the spontaneous formation of a cocrystal between a pharmaceutical mimic (caffeine) and a coformer (malonic acid). Using (13)C magic angle spinning NMR, we show that the formation of the cocrystal may be tracked in real time. We find no direct evidence for a short-lived, chemical shift-resolved amorphous solid intermediate. However, changes in the line width and line center of the malonic acid methylene resonance, in the course of the reaction, provide subtle clues to the mode of mass transfer that underlies cocrystal formation.

In situ solid-state (1)H NMR studies of hydration of the solid acid catalyst ZSM-5 in its ammonium form

Hydration of the ammonium form of the solid acid catalyst ZSM-5 is investigated by applying a technique that has been developed recently for carrying out in situ solid-state NMR studies of adsorption processes. From (1)H MAS NMR spectra recorded as a function of time and temperature during the hydration process, insights are established on the nature of the interaction between the adsorbed water molecules and the ammonium cations in the ZSM-5 material. The change in isotropic chemical shift for the ammonium cations is consistent with the formation of N-Hcdots, three dots, centeredO hydrogen bonding with the water molecules. Studies of the adsorption of deuterated water, and dehydration of the hydrated material, are also reported.

Alkaline Earth Chloride Hydrates: Chlorine Quadrupolar and Chemical Shift Tensors by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy and Plane Wave Pseudopotential Calculations

A series of alkaline earth chloride hydrates has been studied by solid-state (35/37)Cl NMR spectroscopy in order to characterize the chlorine electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical shift (CS) tensors and to relate these observables to the structure around the chloride ions. Chlorine-35/37 NMR spectra of solid powdered samples of pseudopolymorphs (hydrates) of magnesium chloride (MgCl(2).6H(2)O), calcium chloride (CaCl(2).2H(2)O), strontium chloride (SrCl(2), SrCl(2).2H(2)O, and SrCl(2).6H(2)O), and barium chloride (BaCl(2).2H(2)O) have been acquired under stationary and magic-angle spinning conditions in magnetic fields of 11.75 and 21.1 T. Powder X-ray diffraction was used as an additional tool to confirm the purity and identity of the samples. Chlorine-35 quadrupolar coupling constants (C(Q)) range from essentially zero in cubic anhydrous SrCl(2) to 4.26+/-0.03 MHz in calcium chloride dihydrate. CS tensor spans, Omega, are between 40 and 72 ppm, for example, Omega= 45+/-20 ppm for SrCl(2).6H(2)O. Plane wave-pseudopotential density functional theory, as implemented in the CASTEP program, was employed to model the extended solid lattices of these materials for the calculation of their chlorine EFG and nuclear magnetic shielding tensors, and allowed for the assignment of the two-site chlorine NMR spectra of barium chloride dihydrate. This work builds upon our current understanding of the relationship between chlorine NMR interaction tensors and the local molecular and electronic structure, and highlights the particular sensitivity of quadrupolar nucleus solid-state NMR spectroscopy to the differences between various pseudopolymorphic structures in the case of strontium chloride.

NMR studies of organic polymorphs and solvates

This review article describes the applications of NMR to the study of polymorphs and related forms (solvates) of organic (especially pharmaceutical) compounds, for which it is of increasing academic and practical importance. The nature of the systems covered is briefly introduced, as are the techniques constituting solid-state NMR. The methodologies involved are then reviewed under a number of different headings, ranging from spectral editing through relaxation times to shielding tensors and NMR crystallography. In each case the relevant applications are described. Whilst most studies concentrate on structural matters, motional effects are not neglected. A special section discusses studies of solvates (especially hydrates), and another reviews quantitative analysis.

A multinuclear solid-state magnetic resonance study of silver nitrate triphenylphosphine

Variable-temperature solid-state31P,15N, and2H NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry studies of the 1:1 adduct of silver nitrate and triphenylphosphine (AgNO3·PPh3) reveal a solid–solid phase transition at 300 K. The principal components of the phosphorus and nitrogen chemical shift tensors for both phases are determined from NMR spectra of MAS and stationary samples. In addition, the indirect spin-spin coupling between phosphorus and the naturally occurring isotopes of silver (107Ag and109Ag) are resolved. Experimental2H NMR line shapes for silver nitrate perdeuterated triphenylphosphine are those characteristic of rigid phenyl groups at temperatures above and below the phase-transition temperature. Powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data for AgNO3·PPh3obtained at 193, 295, and 313 K are reported; data obtained at 193 and 295 K are almost identical, but are significantly different from those obtained at 313 K and from an earlier single-crystal X-ray diffraction investigation performed at 298 K. All X-ray studies found that AgNO3·PPh3crystallizes in the monoclinic form, space group P21/c.Key words: 1:1 silver nitrate triphenylphosphine adduct, solid-state NMR, X-ray diffraction, phase transition.