Microgravity-like Crystallization of Paramagnetic Species in Strong Magnetic Fields

The crystallization of paramagnetic species in a magnetic field gradient under microgravity-like conditions is an area of interest for both fundamental and applied science. In this paper, a setup for the crystallization of paramagnetic species in the magnetic field up to 7 T generated by a superconducting magnet is described. The research includes calculations of the conditions necessary to compensate for the gravitational force for several types of paramagnetic substances using the magnetic field of superconducting magnets (4.7 T, 7 T, 9.4 T, and 16.4 T). Additionally, for the first time, the crystallization of copper sulfate and cobalt sulfate, as well as a mixture of copper sulfate and cobalt sulfate under gravitational force compensation in a superconducting magnet, was performed. This paper experimentally demonstrates the feasibility of growing paramagnetic crystals within the volume of a test tube on the example of copper and cobalt sulfate crystals. A comparison of crystals grown from the solution of a mixture of copper and cobalt sulfates under the same conditions, with and without the presence of a magnetic field, showed changes in both the number and size of crystals.

Magnetic field dependence of the para-ortho conversion rate of molecular hydrogen in SABRE experiments

The use of parahydrogen - the isomer of molecular hydrogen with zero nuclear spin - is important for promising and actively developing methods for spin hyperpolarization of nuclei called parahydrogen induced polarization (PHIP). However, the dissolved parahydrogen in PHIP experiments quickly loses its spin order, resulting in the formation of orthohydrogen and reduction of the overall nuclear polarization of the substrate. This process is due to the difference of chemical shifts of hydride protons, as well as spin-spin couplings between nuclei, in the intermediate catalytic complexes, and it has not been rigorously explained so far. We proposed a new experimental technique based on magnetic field cycling for measuring the rate of molecular hydrogen para-ortho conversion in solution and applied it for non-hydrogenative PHIP Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE) experiments. The para-ortho conversion rate was measured over a wide range of magnetic field from 0.5 mT to 9.4 T. It was found that the conversion rate strongly depends on the magnetic field in which the reaction occurs, as well as on the concentrations of reactants. The rate decreases with increasing the concentration of pyridine ligand and increases with increasing the concentration of iridium catalyst. The model, which takes into account the reversible exchange of molecular hydrogen with the catalyst, nuclear spin-spin interaction of hydride protons with nuclei of ligands within catalytic complex and nuclear Zeeman interactions, qualitatively describes the experimental data. Two types of complexes with different spin system symmetry contribute to the molecular hydrogen conversion. In asymmetric complexes possessing hydride protons with different chemical shifts due to the presence of chlorine anion ligand the para-ortho conversion rate increases with magnetic field, while for symmetric complexes this mechanism is not operable. In the magnetic field where level anti-crossing occurs the resonant feature for the rate of para-ortho conversion is found. The results of this work can be utilized for finding the optimal conditions for obtaining the maximum hyperpolarization in the experiments employing parahydrogen.

UiO-66 framework with an encapsulated spin probe: synthesis and exceptional sensitivity to mechanical pressure

Probes sensitive to mechanical stress are in demand for the analysis of pressure distribution in materials, and the design of pressure sensors based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is highly promising due to their structural tunability. We report a new pressure-sensing material, which is based on the UiO-66 framework with trace amounts of a spin probe (0.03 wt%) encapsulated in cavities. To obtain this material, we developed an approach for encapsulation of stable nitroxide radical TEMPO ((2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl) into the micropores of UiO-66 during its solvothermal synthesis. Pressure read-out using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy allows monitoring the degradation of the defected MOF structure upon pressurization, where full collapse of pores occurs at as low a pressure as 0.13 GPa. The developed methodology can be used in and ex situ and provides sensitive tools for non-destructive mapping of pressure effects in various materials.

Parahydrogen-Induced Hyperpolarization of Unsaturated Phosphoric Acid Derivatives

Parahydrogen-induced nuclear polarization offers a significant increase in the sensitivity of NMR spectroscopy to create new probes for medical diagnostics by magnetic resonance imaging. As precursors of the biocompatible hyperpolarized probes, unsaturated derivatives of phosphoric acid, propargyl and allyl phosphates, are proposed. The polarization transfer to ¹H and ³¹P nuclei of the products of their hydrogenation by parahydrogen under the ALTADENA and PASADENA conditions, and by the PH-ECHO-INEPT+ pulse sequence of NMR spectroscopy, resulted in a very high signal amplification, which is among the largest for parahydrogen-induced nuclear polarization transfer to the ³¹P nucleus.

Simultaneous 15 N polarization of several biocompatible substrates in ethanol-water mixtures by signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) method

Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) is a popular method for generating strong signal enhancements in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In SABRE experiments, the source of polarization is provided by the nonthermal spin order of parahydrogen (pH₂ , the H₂ molecule in its nuclear singlet spin state). Polarization formation requires that both pH₂ and a substrate molecule bind to an Ir-based complex where polarization transfer occurs. Subsequently, the complex dissociates and free polarized substrate molecules are formed. In this work, we present approaches towards biocompatible SABRE, meaning that several small biomolecules are simultaneously polarized by using the SABRE method in water-ethanol solutions at room temperature. We are able to demonstrate significant ¹⁵ N-NMR signal enhancements in water-ethanol solutions for biomolecules like nicotinamide, metronidazole, adenosine-5'-monophosphate, and 4-methylimidazole and found that the first three substrates are polarized at the same level as a well-known pyridine. We show that simultaneous polarization of several molecules is indeed feasible when the reactions are carried out at an ultralow field of about 400-500 nT. The achieved enhancements are between 100-fold and 15,000-fold. The resulting ¹⁵ N polarization (maximal value about 4% achieved for metronidazole and pyridine at 45°C) strongly depends on the sample temperature, pH₂ bubbling pressure, and pH₂ flow. One more parameter, which is important for optimizing the enhancement, is the solvent pH. Hence, this study presents a step in developing biocompatible SABRE polarization and gives a clue on how such SABRE experiments should be optimized to achieve the highest NMR signal enhancement.

Singlet to triplet conversion in molecular hydrogen and its role in parahydrogen induced polarization

Detailed experimental and comprehensive theoretical analysis of singlet-triplet conversion in molecular hydrogen dissolved in a solution together with organometallic complexes used in experiments with parahydrogen (the H₂ molecule in its nuclear singlet spin state) is reported. We demonstrate that this conversion, which gives rise to formation of orthohydrogen (the H₂ molecule in its nuclear triplet spin state), is a remarkably efficient process that strongly reduces the resulting NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) signal enhancement, here of ¹⁵N nuclei polarized at high fields using suitable NMR pulse sequences. We make use of a simple improvement of traditional pulse sequences, utilizing a single pulse on the proton channel that gives rise to an additional strong increase of the signal. Furthermore, analysis of the enhancement as a function of the pulse length allows one to estimate the actual population of the spin states of H₂. We are also able to demonstrate that the spin conversion process in H₂ is strongly affected by the concentration of ¹⁵N nuclei. This observation allows us to explain the dependence of the ¹⁵N signal enhancement on the abundance of ¹⁵N isotopes.

Nuclear singlet relaxation by chemical exchange

The population imbalance between nuclear singlet states and triplet states of strongly coupled spin-1/2 pairs, also known as nuclear singlet order, is well protected against several common relaxation mechanisms. We study the nuclear singlet relaxation of ¹³C pairs in aqueous solutions of 1,2-¹³C₂ squarate over a range of pH values. The ¹³C singlet order is accessed by introducing ¹⁸O nuclei in order to break the chemical equivalence. The squarate dianion is in chemical equilibrium with hydrogen-squarate (SqH^-) and squaric acid (SqH₂) characterized by the dissociation constants pK₁ = 1.5 and pK₂ = 3.4. Surprisingly, we observe a striking increase in the singlet decay time constants T_S when the pH of the solution exceeds ∼10, which is far above the acid-base equilibrium points. We derive general rate expressions for chemical-exchange-induced nuclear singlet relaxation and provide a qualitative explanation of the T_S behavior of the squarate dianion. We identify a kinetic contribution to the singlet relaxation rate constant, which explicitly depends on kinetic rate constants. Qualitative agreement is achieved between the theory and the experimental data. This study shows that infrequent chemical events may have a strong effect on the relaxation of nuclear singlet order.

Validation of Structural Grounds for Anomalous Molecular Mobility in Ionic Liquid Glasses

Ionic liquid (IL) glasses have recently drawn much interest as unusual media with unique physicochemical properties. In particular, anomalous suppression of molecular mobility in imidazolium IL glasses vs. increasing temperature was evidenced by pulse Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Although such behavior has been proven to originate from dynamics of alkyl chains of IL cations, the role of electron spin relaxation induced by surrounding protons still remains unclear. In this work we synthesized two deuterated imidazolium-based ILs to reduce electron-nuclear couplings between radical probe and alkyl chains of IL, and investigated molecular mobility in these glasses. The obtained trends were found closely similar for deuterated and protonated analogs, thus excluding the relaxation-induced artifacts and reliably demonstrating structural grounds of the observed anomalies in heterogeneous IL glasses.

15 N SABRE Hyperpolarization of Metronidazole at Natural Isotope Abundance

Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE) is gaining increased attention as a tool to enhance weak Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) signals. In SABRE, spin order is transferred from parahydrogen (H₂ in its nuclear singlet spin state) to a substrate molecule in a transient Ir-based complex. In recent years, SABRE polarization of biologically active substrates has been demonstrated, notably of metronidazole - an antibiotic and antiprotozoal drug. In this work, we study ¹⁵ N SABRE polarization of metronidazole at natural isotope abundance. We are able to demonstrate significant ¹⁵ N polarization reaching 15 %, which corresponds to a signal enhancement of 46,000 at 9.4 T for the nitrogen atom with lone electron pair. Additionally, the other two N-atoms can be polarized, although less efficiently. We present a detailed study of the field dependence of polarization and explain the maxima in the field dependence using the concept of coherent polarization transfer at level anti-crossings in the SABRE complex. A study of spin relaxation phenomena presented here enables optimization of the magnetic field for efficient storage of non-thermal polarization.

Hyperpolarization of cis-15 N2 -Azobenzene by Parahydrogen at Ultralow Magnetic Fields*

The development of nuclear spins hyperpolarization, and the search for molecules that can be efficiently hyperpolarized is an active area in nuclear magnetic resonance. In this work we present a detailed study of SABRE SHEATH (signal amplification by reversible exchange in shield enabled alignment transfer to heteronuclei) experiments on 15 N2 -azobenzene. In SABRE SHEATH experiments the nuclear spins of the target are hyperpolarized through transfer of spin polarization from parahydrogen at ultralow fields during a reversible chemical process. Azobenzene exists in two isomers, trans and cis. We show that all nuclear spins in cis-azobenzene can be efficiently hyperpolarized by SABRE at suitable magnetic fields. Enhancement factors (relative to 9.4 T) reach up to 3000 for 15 N spins and up to 30 for the 1 H spins. We compare two approaches to observe either hyperpolarized magnetization of 15 N/1 H spins, or hyperpolarized singlet order of the 15 N spin pair. The results presented here will be useful for further experiments in which hyperpolarized cis-15 N2 -azobenzene is switched by light to trans-15 N2 -azobenzene for storing the produced hyperpolarization in the long-lived spin state of the 15 N pair of trans-15 N2 -azobenzene.

Constant-adiabaticity pulse schemes for manipulating singlet order in 3-spin systems with weak magnetic non-equivalence

Parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) is a source of nuclear spin hyperpolarization, and this technique allows for the preparation of biomolecules for in vivo metabolic imaging. PHIP delivers hyperpolarization in the form of proton singlet order to a molecule, but most applications require that a heteronuclear (e.g. ¹³C or ¹⁵N) spin in the molecule is hyperpolarized. Here we present high field pulse methods to manipulate proton singlet order in the [1-¹³C]fumarate, and in particular to transfer the proton singlet order into ¹³C magnetization. We exploit adiabatic pulses, i.e., pulses with slowly ramped amplitude, and use constant-adiabaticity variants: the spin Hamiltonian is varied in such a way that the generalized adiabaticity parameter is time-independent. This allows for faster polarization transfer, and we achieve 96.2% transfer efficiency in thermal equilibrium experiments. We demonstrate this in experiments using hyperpolarization, and obtain 6.8% ¹³C polarization. This work paves the way for efficient hyperpolarization of nuclear spins in a variety of biomolecules, since the high-field pulse sequences allow individual spins to be addressed.

Photochemically Induced Dynamic Nuclear Polarization of Heteronuclear Singlet Order

Photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) is a method to hyperpolarize nuclear spins using light. In most cases, CIDNP experiments are performed in high magnetic fields and the sample is irradiated by light inside a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Here we demonstrate photo-CIDNP hyperpolarization generated in the Earth's magnetic field and under zero- to ultralow-field (ZULF) conditions. Irradiating a sample containing tetraphenylporphyrin and para-benzoquinone for several seconds with light-emitting diodes produces strong hyperpolarization of ¹H and ¹³C nuclear spins, enhancing the NMR signals more than 200 times. The hyperpolarized spin states at the Earth's field and in ZULF are different. In the latter case, the state corresponds to the singlet order between scalar-coupled ¹H-¹³C nuclear spins. This state has a longer lifetime than the state hyperpolarized at Earth's field. The method is simple and cost-efficient and should be applicable to many molecular systems known to exhibit photo-CIDNP, including amino acids and nucleotides.

Sequential assignment of NMR spectra of peptides at natural isotopic abundance with zero- and ultra-low-field total correlation spectroscopy (ZULF-TOCSY)

A novel method dubbed ZULF-TOCSY results from the combination of Zero and Ultra-Low Field (ZULF) with high-field, high-resolution NMR, leading to a generalization of the concept of total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY). ZULF-TOCSY is a new building block for NMR methods, which has the unique property that the polarization is evenly distributed among all NMR-active nuclei such as 1H, 13C, 15N, 31P, etc., provided that they belong to the same coupling network, and provided that their relaxation is not too fast at low fields, as may occur in macromolecules. Here, we show that ZULF-TOCSY correlations can be observed for peptides at natural isotopic abundance, such as the protected hexapeptide Boc-Met-enkephalin. The analysis of ZULF-TOCSY spectra readily allows one to make sequential assignments, thus offering an alternative to established heteronuclear 2D experiments like HMBC. For Boc-Met-enkephalin, we show that ZULF-TOCSY allows one to observe all expected cross-peaks between carbonyl carbons and α-CH protons, while the popular HMBC method provides insufficient information.

Tailored flavoproteins acting as light-driven spin machines pump nuclear hyperpolarization

The solid-state photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) effect generates non-Boltzmann nuclear spin magnetization, referred to as hyperpolarization, allowing for high gain of sensitivity in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Well known to occur in photosynthetic reaction centers, the effect was also observed in a light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) domain of the blue-light receptor phototropin, in which the functional cysteine was removed to prevent photo-chemical reactions with the cofactor, a flavin mononucleotide (FMN). Upon illumination, the FMN abstracts an electron from a tryptophan to form a transient spin-correlated radical pair (SCRP) generating the photo-CIDNP effect. Here, we report on designed molecular spin-machines producing nuclear hyperpolarization upon illumination: a LOV domain of aureochrome1a from Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and a LOV domain named 4511 from Methylobacterium radiotolerans (Mr4511) which lacks an otherwise conserved tryptophan in its wild-type form. Insertion of the tryptophan at canonical and novel positions in Mr4511 yields photo-CIDNP effects observed by 15N and 1H liquid-state high-resolution NMR with a characteristic magnetic-field dependence indicating an involvement of anisotropic magnetic interactions and a slow-motion regime in the transient paramagnetic state. The heuristic biomimetic design opens new categories of experiments to analyze and apply the photo-CIDNP effect.

Total Correlation Spectroscopy across All NMR-Active Nuclei by Mixing at Zero Field

Multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is based on a combination of well-established building blocks for polarization transfer. These blocks are used to design correlation experiments through one or a few chemical bonds or through space. Here, we introduce a building block that enables polarization transfer across all NMR-active nuclei in a coupled network of spins: isotropic mixing at zero and ultralow field (ZULF). Exploiting mixing under ZULF-NMR conditions, heteronuclear TOtal Correlation SpectroscopY (TOCSY) experiments were developed to highlight coupled spin networks. We demonstrate ¹H-¹³C and ¹H-¹⁵N correlations in ZULF-TOCSY spectra of labeled amino acids, which allow one to obtain cross-peaks among all heteronuclei belonging to the same coupled network, even when the direct interaction between them is negligible. We also demonstrate the potential of ZULF-TOCSY to analyze complex mixtures on a growth medium of isotope-labeled biomolecules. ZULF-TOCSY enables the quick identification of individual compounds in the mixture by their coupled spin networks. The ZULF-TOCSY method will lead to the development of a new toolbox of experiments to analyze complex mixtures by NMR.

Algorithmic cooling of nuclear spins using long-lived singlet order

Algorithmic cooling methods manipulate an open quantum system in order to lower its temperature below that of the environment. We achieve significant cooling of an ensemble of nuclear spin-pair systems by exploiting the long-lived nuclear singlet state, which is an antisymmetric quantum superposition of the "up" and "down" Zeeman states. The effect is demonstrated by nuclear magnetic resonance experiments on a molecular system containing a coupled pair of near-equivalent ¹³C nuclei. The populations of the system are subjected to a repeating sequence of cyclic permutations separated by relaxation intervals. The long-lived nuclear singlet order is pumped well beyond the unitary limit. The pumped singlet order is converted into nuclear magnetization which is enhanced by 21% relative to its thermal equilibrium value.

Nuclear spin-hyperpolarization generated in a flavoprotein under illumination: experimental field-dependence and theoretical level crossing analysis

The solid-state photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) effect generates non-equilibrium nuclear spin polarization in frozen electron-transfer proteins upon illumination and radical-pair formation. The effect can be observed in various natural photosynthetic reaction center proteins using magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and in a flavin-binding light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) domain of the blue-light receptor phototropin. In the latter system, a functionally instrumental cysteine has been mutated to interrupt the natural cysteine-involving photochemistry allowing for an electron transfer from a more distant tryptophan to the excited flavin mononucleotide chromophore. We explored the solid-state photo-CIDNP effect and its mechanisms in phototropin-LOV1-C57S from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by using field-cycling solution NMR. We observed the 13C and, to our knowledge, for the first time, 15N photo-CIDNP signals from phototropin-LOV1-C57S. Additionally, the 1H photo-CIDNP signals of residual water in the deuterated buffer of the protein were detected. The relative strengths of the photo-CIDNP effect from the three types of nuclei, 1H, 13C and 15N were measured in dependence of the magnetic field, showing their maximum polarizations at different magnetic fields. Theoretical level crossing analysis demonstrates that anisotropic mechanisms play the dominant role at high magnetic fields.

Polarization of low-γ nuclei by transferring spin order of parahydrogen at high magnetic fields

In this work, we optimize the performance of a previously proposed method for transferring parahydrogen induced polarization to "insensitive" spin-1/2 NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) nuclei, which have low gyromagnetic ratio and low natural abundance. By optimizing the reaction conditions and pressure of the parahydrogen gas and using adiabatically switched radiofrequency fields we achieve high polarization transfer efficiency and report carbon spin polarization of dimethyl acetylene dicarboxylate reaching 35%, which corresponds to ¹³C NMR signal enhancements of about 43,000 at 9.4 Tesla. Such polarization levels allow one to work with mM concentrations at natural carbon abundance and to detect ¹³C NMR signal in single scan. In combination with a pseudo phase cycle, the polarization transfer method used here also enables efficient suppression of unwanted background signals.

Oxidative damage to epigenetically methylated sites affects DNA stability, dynamics and enzymatic demethylation

DNA damage can affect various regulatory elements of the genome, with the consequences for DNA structure, dynamics, and interaction with proteins remaining largely unexplored. We used solution NMR spectroscopy, restrained and free molecular dynamics to obtain the structures and investigate dominant motions for a set of DNA duplexes containing CpG sites permuted with combinations of 5-methylcytosine (mC), the primary epigenetic base, and 8-oxoguanine (oxoG), an abundant DNA lesion. Guanine oxidation significantly changed the motion in both hemimethylated and fully methylated DNA, increased base pair breathing, induced BI→BII transition in the backbone 3′ to the oxoG and reduced the variability of shift and tilt helical parameters. UV melting experiments corroborated the NMR and molecular dynamics results, showing significant destabilization of all methylated contexts by oxoG. Notably, some dynamic and thermodynamic effects were not additive in the fully methylated oxidized CpG, indicating that the introduced modifications interact with each other. Finally, we show that the presence of oxoG biases the recognition of methylated CpG dinucleotides by ROS1, a plant enzyme involved in epigenetic DNA demethylation, in favor of the oxidized DNA strand. Thus, the conformational and dynamic effects of spurious DNA oxidation in the regulatory CpG dinucleotide can have far-reaching biological consequences.

Proton Relaxometry of Long-Lived Spin Order

A study of long-lived spin order in chlorothiophene carboxylates at both high and low magnetic fields is presented. Careful sample preparation (removal of dissolved oxygen in solution, chelating of paramagnetic impurities, reduction of convection) allows one to obtain very long-lived singlet order of the two coupled protons in chlorothiophene derivatives, having lifetimes of about 130 s in D₂ O and 240 s in deuterated methanol, which are much longer than the T₁ -relaxation times (18 and 30 s, respectively, at a field B 0 =9.4 T). In protonated solvents the relaxation times become shorter, but the lifetime is still substantially longer than T 1 . In addition, long-lived coherences are shown to have lifetimes as long as 30 s. Thiophene derivatives can be used as molecular tags to study slow transport, slow dynamics and slow chemical processes, as has been shown in recent years.

Transport of hyperpolarized samples in dissolution-DNP experiments

The magnetic field strength during sample transfer in dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization influences the resulting spectra.

Excitation of singlet–triplet coherences in pairs of nearly-equivalent spins

We present approaches for an efficient excitation of singlet–triplet coherences in pairs of nearly-equivalent spins.

Assessment of heteronuclear long-lived states at ultralow magnetic fields

A study of long-lived spin states in hetero-nuclear spin systems is presented.

The role of S-bond in tenoxicam keto–enolic tautomerization

A non-covalent interaction between the sulphur atom of thiophenyl moiety and oxygen of the carbonyl group (S-bond) plays a crucial role in keto–enol tautomerization of tenoxicam leading to the crystallization of latter only in zwitterionic (ZWC) and not in β-keto–enolic (BKE) form.

Complete magnetic field dependence of SABRE-derived polarization

Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) is a promising hyperpolarization technique, which makes use of spin-order transfer from parahydrogen (the H₂ molecule in its singlet spin state) to a to-be-polarized substrate in a transient organometallic complex, termed the SABRE complex. In this work, we present an experimental method for measuring the magnetic field dependence of the SABRE effect over an ultrawide field range, namely, from 10 nT to 10 T. This approach gives a way to determine the complete magnetic field dependence of SABRE-derived polarization. Here, we focus on SABRE polarization of spin-1/2 hetero-nuclei, such as ¹³ C and ¹⁵ N and measure their polarization in the entire accessible field range; experimental studies are supported by calculations of polarization. Features of the field dependence of polarization can be attributed to level anticrossings in the spin system of the SABRE complex. Features at magnetic fields of the order of 100 nT-1 μT correspond to "strong coupling" of protons and hetero-nuclei, whereas features found in the mT field range stem from "strong coupling" of the proton system. Our approach gives a way to measuring and analyzing the complete SABRE field dependence, to probing NMR parameters of SABRE complexes and to optimizing the polarization value.

Using optimal control methods with constraints to generate singlet states in NMR

A method is proposed for optimizing the performance of the APSOC (Adiabatic-Passage Spin Order Conversion) technique, which can be exploited in NMR experiments with singlet spin states. In this technique magnetization-to-singlet conversion (and singlet-to-magnetization conversion) is performed by using adiabatically ramped RF-fields. Optimization utilizes the GRAPE (Gradient Ascent Pulse Engineering) approach, in which for a fixed search area we assume monotonicity to the envelope of the RF-field. Such an approach allows one to achieve much better performance for APSOC; consequently, the efficiency of magnetization-to-singlet conversion is greatly improved as compared to simple model RF-ramps, e.g., linear ramps. We also demonstrate that the optimization method is reasonably robust to possible inaccuracies in determining NMR parameters of the spin system under study and also in setting the RF-field parameters. The present approach can be exploited in other NMR and EPR applications using adiabatic switching of spin Hamiltonians.

Field-cycling NMR experiments in an ultra-wide magnetic field range: relaxation and coherent polarization transfer

An experimental method is described allowing fast field-cycling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments over a wide range of magnetic fields from 5 nT to 10 T. The method makes use of a hybrid technique: the high field range is covered by positioning the sample in the inhomogeneous stray field of the NMR spectrometer magnet. For fields below 2 mT a magnetic shield is mounted on top of the spectrometer; inside the shield the magnetic field is controlled by a specially designed coil system. This combination allows us to measure T1-relaxation times and nuclear Overhauser effect parameters over the full range in a routine way. For coupled proton-carbon spin systems relaxation with a common T1 is found at low fields, where the spins are "strongly coupled". In some cases, experiments at ultralow fields provide access to heteronuclear long-lived spin states. Efficient coherent polarization transfer is seen for proton-carbon spin systems at ultralow fields as follows from the observation of quantum oscillations in the polarization evolution. Applications to analysis and the manipulation of heteronuclear spin systems are discussed.

Re-polarization of nuclear spins using selective SABRE-INEPT

A method is proposed for significant improvement of NMR pulse sequences used in high-field SABRE (Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange) experiments. SABRE makes use of spin order transfer from parahydrogen (pH₂, the H₂ molecule in its singlet spin state) to a substrate in a transient organometallic Ir-based complex. The technique proposed here utilizes "re-polarization", i.e., multiple application of an NMR pulse sequence used for spin order transfer. During re-polarization only the form of the substrate, which is bound to the complex, is excited by selective NMR pulses and the resulting polarization is transferred to the free substrate via chemical exchange. Owing to the fact that (i) only a small fraction of the substrate molecules is in the bound form and (ii) spin relaxation of the free substrate is slow, the re-polarization scheme provides greatly improved NMR signal enhancement, ε. For instance, when pyridine is used as a substrate, single use of the SABRE-INEPT sequence provides ε≈260 for ¹⁵N nuclei, whereas SABRE-INEPT with re-polarization yields ε>2000. We anticipate that the proposed method is useful for achieving maximal NMR enhancement with spin hyperpolarization techniques.

Mechanism of spontaneous polarization transfer in high-field SABRE experiments

We propose an explanation of the previously reported SABRE (Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange) effect at high magnetic fields, observed in the absence of RF-excitation and relying only on "spontaneous" polarization transfer from parahydrogen (pH₂, the H₂ molecule in its nuclear singlet spin state) to a SABRE substrate. We propose a detailed mechanism for spontaneous polarization transfer and show that it is comprised of three steps: (i) Generation of the anti-phase Î_1zÎ_2z spin order of catalyst-bound H₂; (ii) spin order conversion Î_1zÎ_2z→(Î_1z+Î_2z) due to cross-correlated relaxation, leading to net polarization of H₂; (iii) polarization transfer to the SABRE substrate, occurring due to NOE. Formation of anti-phase polarization is due to singlet-to-T₀ mixing in the catalyst-bound form of H₂, while cross-correlated relaxation originates from fluctuations of dipole-dipole interactions and chemical shift anisotropy. The proposed mechanism is supported by a theoretical treatment, magnetic field-dependent studies and high-field NMR measurements with both pH₂ and thermally polarized H₂.

cis Versus trans-Azobenzene: Precise Determination of NMR Parameters and Analysis of Long-Lived States of 15N Spin Pairs

We provide a detailed evaluation of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters of the cis- and trans-isomers of azobenzene (AB). For determining the NMR parameters, such as proton-proton and proton-nitrogen J-couplings and chemical shifts, we compared NMR spectra of three different isotopomers of AB: the doubly ¹⁵N labeled azobenzene, ¹⁵N,¹⁵N'-AB, and two partially deuterated AB isotopomers with a single ¹⁵N atom. For the total lineshape analysis of NMR spectra, we used the recently developed ANATOLIA software package. The determined NMR parameters allowed us to optimize experiments for investigating singlet long-lived spin states (LLSs) of ¹⁵N spin pairs and to measure LLS lifetimes in cis-AB and trans-AB. Magnetization-to-singlet-to-magnetization conversion has been performed using the SLIC and APSOC techniques, providing a degree of conversion up to 17 and 24% of the initial magnetization, respectively. Our approach is useful for optimizing the performance of experiments with singlet LLSs; such LLSs can be exploited for preserving spin hyperpolarization, for probing slow molecular dynamics, slow chemical processes and also slow transport processes.

A highly versatile automatized setup for quantitative measurements of PHIP enhancements

The design and application of a versatile and inexpensive experimental extension to NMR spectrometers is described that allows to carry out highly reproducible PHIP experiments directly in the NMR sample tube, i.e. under PASADENA condition, followed by the detection of the NMR spectra of hyperpolarized products with high spectral resolution. Employing this high resolution it is feasible to study kinetic processes in the solution with high accuracy. As a practical example the dissolution of hydrogen gas in the liquid and the PHIP kinetics during the hydrogenation reaction of Fmoc-O-propargyl-l-tyrosine in acetone-d₆ are monitored. The timing of the setup is fully controlled by the pulse-programmer of the NMR spectrometer. By flushing with an inert gas it is possible to efficiently quench the hydrogenation reaction in a controlled fashion and to detect the relaxation of hyperpolarization without a background reaction. The proposed design makes it possible to carry out PHIP experiments in an automatic mode and reliably determine the enhancement of polarized signals.

Magnetic field effect in natural cryptochrome explored with model compound

Many animals sense the Earth's magnetic-field and use it for navigation. It is proposed that a light-dependent quantum effect in cryptochrome proteins, residing in the retina, allows for such an iron-free spin-chemical compass. The photochemical processes, spin-dynamics and its magnetic field dependence in natural cryptochrome are not fully understood by the in vivo and in vitro studies. For a deeper insight into these biophysical mechanisms in cryptochrome, we had introduced a flavin-tryptophan dyad (F10T). Here we present the magnetic field dependence of 1H photo-CIDNP NMR on F10T and a theoretical model for low-field photo-CIDNP of F10T. This model provides mixing mechanism of energy-levels and spin-dynamics at low magnetic fields. Photo-CIDNP has been observed even at Earth's magnetic field (~0.05 mT). These experiments prove F10T to be an excellent model compound establishing the key mechanism of avian-magnetoreception and provide insight into the optimal behaviour of cryptochrome at Earth's magnetic field.

Robust conversion of singlet spin order in coupled spin-1/2 pairs by adiabatically ramped RF-fields

We propose a robust and highly efficient NMR technique to create singlet spin order from longitudinal spin magnetization in coupled spin-½ pairs and to perform backward conversion (singlet order)→magnetization. In this method we exploit adiabatic ramping of an RF-field in order to drive transitions between the singlet state and the T_± triplet states of a spin pair under study. We demonstrate that the method works perfectly for both strongly and weakly coupled spin pairs, providing a conversion efficiency between the singlet spin order and magnetization, which is equal to the theoretical maximum. We anticipate that the proposed technique is useful for generating long-lived singlet order, for preserving spin hyperpolarization and for analyzing singlet spin order in nearly equivalent spin pairs in specially designed molecules and in low-field NMR studies.

8-Oxoguanine Affects DNA Backbone Conformation in the EcoRI Recognition Site and Inhibits Its Cleavage by the Enzyme

8-oxoguanine is one of the most abundant and impactful oxidative DNA lesions. However, the reasons underlying its effects, especially those not directly explained by the altered base pairing ability, are poorly understood. We report the effect of the lesion on the action of EcoRI, a widely used restriction endonuclease. Introduction of 8-oxoguanine inside, or adjacent to, the GAATTC recognition site embedded within the Drew—Dickerson dodecamer sequence notably reduced the EcoRI activity. Solution NMR revealed that 8-oxoguanine in the DNA duplex causes substantial alterations in the sugar—phosphate backbone conformation, inducing a BI→BII transition. Moreover, molecular dynamics of the complex suggested that 8-oxoguanine, although does not disrupt the sequence-specific contacts formed by the enzyme with DNA, shifts the distribution of BI/BII backbone conformers. Based on our data, we propose that the disruption of enzymatic cleavage can be linked with the altered backbone conformation and dynamics in the free oxidized DNA substrate and, possibly, at the protein—DNA interface.

The formation of catalytically competent enzyme-substrate complex is not a bottleneck in lesion excision by human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase

Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) protects DNA from alkylated and deaminated purine lesions. AAG flips out the damaged nucleotide from the double helix of DNA and catalyzes the hydrolysis of the N-glycosidic bond to release the damaged base. To understand better, how the step of nucleotide eversion influences the overall catalytic process, we performed a pre-steady-state kinetic analysis of AAG interaction with specific DNA-substrates, 13-base pair duplexes containing in the 7th position 1-N6-ethenoadenine (εA), hypoxanthine (Hx), and the stable product analogue tetrahydrofuran (F). The combination of the fluorescence of tryptophan, 2-aminopurine, and 1-N6-ethenoadenine was used to record conformational changes of the enzyme and DNA during the processes of DNA lesion recognition, damaged base eversion, excision of the N-glycosidic bond, and product release. The thermal stability of the duplexes characterized by the temperature of melting, T_m, and the rates of spontaneous opening of individual nucleotide base pairs were determined by NMR spectroscopy. The data show that the relative thermal stability of duplexes containing a particular base pair in position 7, (T_m(F/T) < T_m(εA/T) < T_m(Hx/T) < T_m(A/T)) correlates with the rate of reversible spontaneous opening of the base pair. However, in contrast to that, the catalytic lesion excision rate is two orders of magnitude higher for Hx-containing substrates than for substrates containing εA, proving that catalytic activity is not correlated with the stability of the damaged base pair. Our study reveals that the formation of the catalytically competent enzyme-substrate complex is not the bottleneck controlling the catalytic activity of AAG.

A fast field-cycling device for high-resolution NMR: Design and application to spin relaxation and hyperpolarization experiments

A device for performing fast magnetic field-cycling NMR experiments is described. A key feature of this setup is that it combines fast switching of the external magnetic field and high-resolution NMR detection. The field-cycling method is based on precise mechanical positioning of the NMR probe with the mounted sample in the inhomogeneous fringe field of the spectrometer magnet. The device enables field variation over several decades (from 100μT up to 7T) within less than 0.3s; progress in NMR probe design provides NMR linewidths of about 10(-3)ppm. The experimental method is very versatile and enables site-specific studies of spin relaxation (NMRD, LLSs) and spin hyperpolarization (DNP, CIDNP, and SABRE) at variable magnetic field and at variable temperature. Experimental examples of such studies are demonstrated; advantages of the experimental method are described and existing challenges in the field are outlined.