Solid-state 13C NMR investigations of the glycosidic linkage in alpha-alpha' trehalose

The sugar trehalose is known to play a central role in the desiccation tolerance of many organisms. Essential to trehalose's role are its glass forming abilities and ability to directly interact with lipid molecules. Detailed information on the structure and dynamics of glassy trehalose and its interactions with lipids, however, have been elusive. We have used solid-state NMR and ab initio quantum mechanical methods (Gaussian 94) in order to characterize the possible molecular conformations of trehalose. Using a simplified structure (2-(tetrahydropyran-2-yloxy) tetrahydropyran) as a model we have calculated the energy and 13C magnetic shielding parameters as a function of the two glycosidic torsion angles. Combining ab initio derived maps and using the 13C lineshape as constraints we were able to construct the torsion angle distribution map for alpha-alpha' trehalose. We believe measurements of 13C isotropic chemical shift and other solid-state NMR tensor parameter distributions in combination with ab initio methods can prove useful in identifying sources of structural disorder in glassy trehalose. By monitoring these structural distributions new information about the membrane surface associative properties of trehalose and other sugars should be accessible.

Squaric acid as an internal standard for temperature measurements in 13C MAS NMR

Squaric acid (3,4-dihydroxy-3-cyclobutene-1,2-dione) is suggested as an internal standard for temperature measurements in 13C MAS NMR studies in the temperature range from 373 K to 520 K. Compared to previously utilized standards, squaric acid has several important advantages, such as fast kinetics of the phase transition, higher temperature range for 13C studies, and an almost constant sample volume through the transition temperature range. Thus, we found squaric acid to be suitable for the probe calibration with the reference temperature at 373.2 K. Moreover, upon partial deuteration the reference temperature can be gradually increased to 520 K. Additionally, the described procedure makes it possible to quantitatively estimate the temperature gradient across the sample. We also discuss the effect of spinning related stress on the temperature measurement technique and how this effect could be minimized.