Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization of deuterated molecules enhanced by cross-polarization

Short-lived calcium carbonate precursors observed in situ via Bullet-dynamic nuclear polarization

The discovery of (meta)stable pre-nucleation species (PNS) challenges the established nucleation-and-growth paradigm. While stable PNS with long lifetimes are readily accessible experimentally, identifying and characterizing early-stage intermediates with short lifetimes remains challenging. We demonstrate that species with lifetimes ≪ 5 s can be characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy when boosted by 'Bullet' dynamic nuclear polarization (Bullet-DNP). We investigate the previously elusive early-stage prenucleation of calcium carbonates in the highly supersaturated concentration regime, characterizing species that form within milliseconds after the encounter of calcium and carbonate ions and show that ionic pre-nucleation species not only govern the solidification of calcium carbonates at weak oversaturation but also initiate rapid precipitation events at high concentrations. Such, we report a transient co-existence of two PNS with distinct molecular sizes and different compositions. This methodological advance may open new possibilities for studying and exploiting carbonate-based material formation in unexplored parts of the phase space.

Inversion of Hyperpolarized 13C NMR Signals through Cross-Correlated Cross-Relaxation in Dissolution DNP Experiments

Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DDNP) is a versatile tool to boost signal amplitudes in solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. For DDNP, nuclei are spin-hyperpolarized "ex situ" in a dedicated DNP device and then transferred to an NMR spectrometer for detection. Dramatic signal enhancements can be achieved, enabling shorter acquisition times, real-time monitoring of fast reactions, and reduced sample concentrations. Here, we show how the sample transfer in DDNP experiments can affect NMR spectra through cross-correlated cross-relaxation (CCR), especially in the case of low-field passages. Such processes can selectively invert signals of 13C spins in proton-carrying moieties. For their investigations, we use schemes for simultaneous or "parallel" detection of hyperpolarized 1H and 13C nuclei. We find that 1H → 13C CCR can invert signals of 13C spins if the proton polarization is close to 100%. We deduce that low-field passage in a DDNP experiment, a common occurrence due to the introduction of so-called "ultra-shielded" magnets, accelerates these effects due to field-dependent paramagnetic relaxation enhancements that can influence CCR. The reported effects are demonstrated for various molecules, laboratory layouts, and DDNP systems. As coupled 13C-1H spin systems are ubiquitous, we expect similar effects to be observed in various DDNP experiments. This might be exploited for selective spectroscopic labeling of hydrocarbons.

Hyperpolarized water as universal sensitivity booster in biomolecular NMR

NMR spectroscopy is the only method to access the structural dynamics of biomolecules at high (atomistic) resolution in their native solution state. However, this method's low sensitivity has two important consequences: (i) typically experiments have to be performed at high concentrations that increase sensitivity but are not physiological, and (ii) signals have to be accumulated over long periods, complicating the determination of interaction kinetics on the order of seconds and impeding studies of unstable systems. Both limitations are of equal, fundamental relevance: non-native conditions are of limited pharmacological relevance, and the function of proteins, enzymes and nucleic acids often relies on their interaction kinetics. To overcome these limitations, we have developed applications that involve 'hyperpolarized water' to boost signal intensities in NMR of proteins and nucleic acids. The technique includes four stages: (i) preparation of the biomolecule in partially deuterated buffers, (ii) preparation of 'hyperpolarized' water featuring enhanced ¹H NMR signals via cryogenic dynamic nuclear polarization, (iii) sudden melting of the cryogenic pellet and dissolution of the protein or nucleic acid in the hyperpolarized water (enabling spontaneous exchanges of protons between water and target) and (iv) recording signal-amplified NMR spectra targeting either labile ¹H or neighboring ¹⁵N/¹³C nuclei in the biomolecule. Water in the ensuing experiments is used as a universal 'hyperpolarization' agent, rendering the approach versatile and applicable to any biomolecule possessing labile hydrogens. Thus, questions can be addressed, ranging from protein and RNA folding problems to resolving structure-function relationships of intrinsically disordered proteins to investigating membrane interactions.

A novel sample handling system for dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization experiments

We present a system for facilitated sample vitrification, melting, and transfer in dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DDNP) experiments. In DDNP, a sample is typically hyperpolarized at cryogenic temperatures before dissolution with hot solvent and transfer to a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer for detection in the liquid state. The resulting signal enhancements can exceed 4 orders of magnitude. However, the sudden temperature jump from cryogenic temperatures close to 1 K to ambient conditions imposes a particular challenge. It is necessary to rapidly melt the sample to avoid a prohibitively fast decay of hyperpolarization. Here, we demonstrate a sample dissolution method that facilitates the temperature jump by eliminating the need to open the cryostat used to cool the sample. This is achieved by inserting the sample through an airlock in combination with a dedicated dissolution system that is inserted through the same airlock shortly before the melting event. The advantages are threefold: (1) the cryostat can be operated continuously at low temperatures. (2) The melting process is rapid as no pressurization steps of the cryostat are required. (3) Blockages of the dissolution system due to freezing of solvents during melting and transfer are minimized.

Long-Lived States in Hyperpolarized Deuterated Methyl Groups Reveal Weak Binding of Small Molecules to Proteins

We introduce a method for the detection of weak interactions of small molecules such as metabolites or medicaments that contain deuterated methyl groups with proteins in solution. The technique relies on long-lived imbalances of spin state populations, which are generated by dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (D-DNP) and feature lifetimes that depend on the frequency of internal rotation of deuterated methyl groups. We demonstrate the technique for interactions between deuterated dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO- d₆) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) or trypsin, where the methyl group rotation is slowed down upon protein binding, which causes a marked reduction in the lifetime of the population imbalances.

Relaxation of long-lived modes in NMR of deuterated methyl groups

Long-lived imbalances of spin state populations can circumvent fast quadrupolar relaxation by reducing effective longitudinal relaxation rates by about an order of magnitude. This opens new avenues for the study of dynamic processes in deuterated molecules. Here we present an analysis of the relaxation properties of deuterated methyl groups CD₃. The number of coupled equations that describe cross-relaxation between the 27 symmetry-adapted spin states of a D₃ system can be reduced to only 2 non-trivial "lumped modes" by (i) taking the sums of the populations of all states that equilibrate rapidly within each irreducible representation of the symmetry group, and (ii) by combining populations that have similar relaxation rates although they belong to different irreducible representations. The quadrupolar relaxation rates of the spin state imbalances in CD₃ groups are determined not by the correlation time of overall tumbling of the molecule, but by the frequency of jumps of methyl groups about their three-fold symmetry axis. We access these states via dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (D-DNP), a method that allows one to populate the desired long-lived states at cryogenic temperatures and their subsequent detection at ambient temperatures after rapid dissolution. Experimental examples of DMSO-d₆ and ethanol-d₆ demonstrate that long-lived deuterium spin states are indeed accessible and that their lifetimes can be determined. Our analysis of the system via "lumped" modes allows us to visualize different possible spin-state populations of symmetry A, B, or E. Thus, we identify a long-lived spin state involving all three deuterons in a CD₃ group as an A/E imbalance that can be populated through DNP at low temperatures.

Hyperpolarized NMR Spectroscopy: d-DNP, PHIP, and SABRE Techniques

The intensity of NMR signals can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude by using various techniques for the hyperpolarization of different molecules. Such approaches can overcome the main sensitivity challenges facing modern NMR/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, whilst hyperpolarized fluids can also be used in a variety of applications in material science and biomedicine. This Focus Review considers the fundamentals of the preparation of hyperpolarized liquids and gases by using dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (d-DNP) and parahydrogen-based techniques, such as signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) and parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP), in both heterogeneous and homogeneous processes. The various new aspects in the formation and utilization of hyperpolarized fluids, along with the possibility of observing NMR signal enhancement, are described.

Anisotropic longitudinal electronic relaxation affects DNP at cryogenic temperatures

We report the observation of anisotropic longitudinal electronic relaxation in nitroxide radicals under typical dynamic nuclear polarization conditions. This anisotropy affects the efficiency of dynamic nuclear polarization at cryogenic temperatures of 4 K and high magnetic fields of 6.7 T. Under our experimental conditions, the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum of nitroxides such as TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl) is only partly averaged by electronic spectral diffusion, so that the relaxation times T_1e(ω) vary across the spectrum. We demonstrate how the anisotropy of T_1e(ω) can be taken into account in simple DNP models.

Characterizing Thermal Mixing Dynamic Nuclear Polarization via Cross-Talk between Spin Reservoirs

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) embraces a family of methods to increase signal intensities in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Despite extensive theoretical work that allows one to distinguish at least five distinct mechanisms, it remains challenging to determine the relative weights of the processes that are responsible for DNP in state-of-the-art experiments operating with stable organic radicals like nitroxides at high magnetic fields and low temperatures. Specifically, determining experimental conditions where DNP involves thermal mixing, which denotes a spontaneous heat exchange between different spin reservoirs, remains challenging. We propose an experimental approach to ascertain the prevalence of the thermal mixing regime by monitoring characteristic signature properties of the time evolution of the hyperpolarization. We find that thermal mixing is the dominant DNP mechanism at high nitroxide radical concentrations, while a mixture of different mechanisms prevails at lower concentrations.

Communication: Dissolution DNP reveals a long-lived deuterium spin state imbalance in methyl groups

We report the generation and observation of long-lived spin states in deuterated methyl groups by dissolution DNP. These states are based on population imbalances between manifolds of spin states corresponding to irreducible representations of the C_3v point group and feature strongly dampened quadrupolar relaxation. Their lifetime depends on the activation energies of methyl group rotation. With dissolution DNP, we can reduce the deuterium relaxation rate by a factor up to 20, thereby extending the experimentally available time window. The intrinsic limitation of NMR spectroscopy of quadrupolar spins by short relaxation times can thus be alleviated.