Measurements of relative chemical shift tensor orientations in solid-state NMR: new slow magic angle spinning dipolar recoupling experiments

Spatial reorientation experiments for NMR of solids and partially oriented liquids

Motional reorientation experiments are extensions of Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) where the rotor axis is changed in order to average out, reintroduce, or scale anisotropic interactions (e.g. dipolar couplings, quadrupolar interactions or chemical shift anisotropies). This review focuses on Variable Angle Spinning (VAS), Switched Angle Spinning (SAS), and Dynamic Angle Spinning (DAS), all of which involve spinning at two or more different angles sequentially, either in successive experiments or during a multidimensional experiment. In all of these experiments, anisotropic terms in the Hamiltonian are scaled by changing the orientation of the spinning sample relative to the static magnetic field. These experiments vary in experimental complexity and instrumentation requirements. In VAS, many one-dimensional spectra are collected as a function of spinning angle. In SAS, dipolar couplings and/or chemical shift anisotropies are reintroduced by switching the sample between two different angles, often 0° or 90° and the magic angle, yielding a two-dimensional isotropic-anisotropic correlation spectrum. Dynamic Angle Spinning (DAS) is a related experiment that is used to simultaneously average out the first- and second-order quadrupolar interactions, which cannot be accomplished by spinning at any unique rotor angle in physical space. Although motional reorientation experiments generally require specialized instrumentation and data analysis schemes, some are accessible with only minor modification of standard MAS probes. In this review, the mechanics of each type of experiment are described, with representative examples. Current and historical probe and coil designs are discussed from the standpoint of how each one accomplishes the particular objectives of the experiment(s) it was designed to perform. Finally, applications to inorganic materials and liquid crystals, which present very different experimental challenges, are discussed. The review concludes with perspectives on how motional reorientation experiments can be applied to current problems in chemistry, molecular biology, and materials science, given the many advances in high-field NMR magnets, fast spinning, and sample preparation realized in recent years.

Determination of relative tensor orientations by γ-encoded chemical shift anisotropy/heteronuclear dipolar coupling 3D NMR spectroscopy in biological solids

In this paper, we present 3D chemical shift anisotropy (CSA)/dipolar coupling correlation experiments, based on γ-encoded R-type symmetry sequences. The γ-encoded correlation spectra are exquisitely sensitive to the relative orientation of the CSA and dipolar tensors and can provide important structural and dynamic information in peptides and proteins. We show that the first-order (m = ±1) and second-order (m = ±2) Hamiltonians in the R-symmetry recoupling sequences give rise to different correlation patterns due to their different dependencies on the crystallite orientation. The relative orientation between CSA and dipolar tensors can be determined by fitting the corresponding correlation patterns. The orientation of (15)N CSA tensor in the quasi-molecular frame is determined by the relative Euler angles, α(NH) and β(NH), when the combined symmetry schemes are applied for orientational studies of (1)H-(15)N dipolar and (15)N CSA tensors. The correlation experiments introduced here work at moderate magic angle spinning frequencies (10-20 kHz) and allow for simultaneous measurement of multiple sites of interest. We studied the orientational sensitivity of γ-encoded symmetry-based recoupling techniques numerically and experimentally. The results are demonstrated on [(15)N]-N-acetyl-valine (NAV) and N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (MLF) tripeptide.

Contribution of first-principles calculations to multinuclear NMR analysis of borosilicate glasses

Boron-11 and silicon-29 NMR spectra of xSiO(2)-(1-x)B(2)O(3) glasses (x=0.40, 0.80 and 0.83) have been calculated using a combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with density functional theory (DFT) calculations of NMR parameters. Structure models of 200 atoms have been generated using classical force fields and subsequently relaxed at the PBE-GGAlevel of DFT theory. The gauge including projector augmented wave (GIPAW) method is then employed for computing the shielding and electric field gradient tensors for each silicon and boron atom. Silicon-29 MAS and boron-11 MQMAS NMR spectra of two glasses (x=0.40 and 0.80) have been acquired and theoretical spectra are found to well agree with the experimental data. For boron-11, the NMR parameter distributions have been analysed using a Kernel density estimation (KDE) approach which is shown to highlight its main features. Accordingly, a new analytical model that incorporates the observed correlations between the NMR parameters is introduced. It significantly improves the fit of the (11)B MQMAS spectra and yields, therefore, more reliable NMR parameter distributions. A new analytical model for a quantitative description of the dependence of the silicon-29 and boron-11 isotropic chemical shift upon the bond angles is proposed, which incorporates possibly the effect of SiO(2)-B(2)O(3) intermixing. Combining all the above procedures, we show how distributions of Si-O-T and B-O-T (T=Si, B) bond angles can be estimated from the distribution of isotropic chemical shift of silicon-29 and boron-11, respectively.