Metal Binding to Sodium Heparin Monitored by Quadrupolar NMR

Heparins and heparan sulfate polysaccharides are negatively charged glycosaminoglycans and play important roles in cell-to-matrix and cell-to-cell signaling processes. Metal ion binding to heparins alters the conformation of heparins and influences their function. Various experimental techniques have been used to investigate metal ion-heparin interactions, frequently with inconsistent results. Exploiting the quadrupolar 23Na nucleus, we herein develop a 23Na NMR-based competition assay and monitor the binding of divalent Ca2+ and Mg2+ and trivalent Al3+ metal ions to sodium heparin and the consequent release of sodium ions from heparin. The 23Na spin relaxation rates and translational diffusion coefficients are utilized to quantify the metal ion-induced release of sodium ions from heparin. In the case of the Al3+ ion, the complementary approach of 27Al quadrupolar NMR is employed as a direct probe of ion binding to heparin. Our NMR results demonstrate at least two metal ion-binding sites with different affinities on heparin, potentially undergoing dynamic exchange. For the site with lower metal ion binding affinity, the order of Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Al3+ is obtained, in which even the weakly binding Al3+ ion is capable of displacing sodium ions from heparin. Overall, the multinuclear quadrupolar NMR approach employed here can monitor and quantify metal ion binding to heparin and capture different modes of metal ion-heparin binding.

A 43 Ca nuclear magnetic resonance perspective on octacalcium phosphate and its hybrid derivatives

⁴³ Ca nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been extensively applied to the detailed study of octacalcium phosphate (OCP), Ca₈ (HPO₄ )₂ (PO₄ )₄ .5H₂ O, and hybrid derivatives involving intercalated metabolic acids (viz., citrate, succinate, formate, and adipate). Such phases are of importance in the development of a better understanding of bone structure. High-resolution ⁴³ Ca magic angle spinning (MAS) experiments, including double-rotation (DOR) ⁴³ Ca NMR, as well as ⁴³ Ca{¹ H} rotational echo DOR (REDOR) and ³¹ P{⁴³ Ca} REAPDOR NMR spectra, were recorded on a ⁴³ Ca-labeled OCP phase at very high magnetic field (20 T), and complemented by ab initio calculations of NMR parameters using the Gauge-Including Projector Augmented Wave-density functional theory (GIPAW-DFT) method. This enabled a partial assignment of the eight inequivalent Ca²⁺ sites of OCP. Natural-abundance ⁴³ Ca MAS NMR spectra were then recorded for the hybrid organic-inorganic derivatives, revealing changes in the ⁴³ Ca lineshape. In the case of the citrate derivative, these could be interpreted on the basis of computational models of the structure. Overall, this study highlights the advantages of combining high-resolution ⁴³ Ca NMR experiments and computational modeling for studying complex hybrid biomaterials.

Distance measurements to quadrupolar nuclei: Evolution of the rotational echo double resonance technique

Molecular structure determination is the basis for understanding chemical processes and the property of materials. The direct dependence of the magnetic dipolar interaction on the distance makes solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) an excellent tool to study molecular structure when X-ray crystallography fails to provide atomic-resolution data. Although techniques to measure distances between pairs of isolated nuclear spin-1/2 pairs are routine and easy to implement using the rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) experiment (Gullion & Schaefer, 1989), the existence of a nucleus with a spin > 1/2, appearing in approximately 75% of the elements in the periodic table, poses a challenge due to difficulties stemming from the large nuclear quadrupolar coupling constant (QCC). This mini-review presents the existing solid-state magic-angle spinning NMR techniques aimed toward the efficient and accurate determination of internuclear distances between a spin-1/2 and a "quadrupolar" nucleus having a spin larger than one half. Analytical expressions are provided for the various recoupling curves stemming from different techniques, and a coherent nomenclature for these various techniques is suggested. Treatment of some special cases such as multiple spin effects and spins with close Larmor frequencies is also discussed. The most advanced methods can recouple spins with quadrupolar frequencies up to tens of megahertz and beyond, expanding the distance measurement capabilities of solid-state NMR to an increasingly growing number of applications and nuclear spin systems.

Broadband adiabatic inversion cross-polarization to integer-spin nuclei with application to deuterium NMR

Solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy of integer-spin quadrupolar nuclei is important for the molecular-level characterization of a variety of materials and biological solids; of the integer spins, ² H (S = 1) is by far the most widely studied, due to its usefulness in probing dynamical motions. SSNMR spectra of integer-spin nuclei often feature very broad powder patterns that arise largely from the effects of the first-order quadrupolar interaction; as such, the acquisition of high-quality spectra continues to remain a challenge. The broadband adiabatic inversion cross-polarization (BRAIN-CP) pulse sequence, which is capable of cross-polarization (CP) enhancement over large bandwidths, has found success for the acquisition of SSNMR spectra of integer-spin nuclei, including ¹⁴ N (S = 1), especially when coupled with Carr-Purcell/Meiboom-Gill pulse sequences featuring frequency-swept WURST pulses (WURST-CPMG) for T₂ -based signal enhancement. However, to date, there has not been a systematic investigation of the spin dynamics underlying BRAIN-CP, nor any concrete theoretical models to aid in its parameterization for applications to integer-spin nuclei. In addition, the BRAIN-CP/WURST-CPMG scheme has not been demonstrated for generalized application to wideline or ultra-wideline (UW) ² H SSNMR. Herein, we provide a theoretical description of the BRAIN-CP pulse sequence for spin-1/2 → spin-1 CP under static conditions, featuring a set of analytical equations describing Hartmann-Hahn matching conditions and numerical simulations that elucidate a CP mechanism involving polarization transfer, coherence exchange, and adiabatic inversion. Several experimental examples are presented for comparison with theoretical models and previously developed integer-spin CP methods, demonstrating rapid acquisition of ² H NMR spectra from efficient broadband CP.

A Practical Review of NMR Lineshapes for Spin-1/2 and Quadrupolar Nuclei in Disordered Materials

NMR is a powerful spectroscopic method that can provide information on the structural disorder in solids, complementing scattering and diffraction techniques. The structural disorder in solids can generate a dispersion of local magnetic and electric fields, resulting in a distribution of isotropic chemical shift δ_iso and quadrupolar coupling C_Q. For spin-1/2 nuclei, the NMR linewidth and shape under high-resolution magic-angle spinning (MAS) reflects the distributions of isotropic chemical shift, providing a rich source of disorder information. For quadrupolar nuclei, the second-order quadrupolar broadening remains present even under MAS. In addition to isotropic chemical shift, structural disorder can impact the electric field gradient (EFG) and consequently the quadrupolar NMR parameters. The distributions of quadrupolar coupling and isotropic chemical shift are superimposed with the second-order quadrupolar broadening, but can be potentially characterized by MQMAS (multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning) spectroscopy. We review analyses of NMR lineshapes in 2D DQ–SQ (double-quantum single-quantum) and MQMAS spectroscopies, to provide a guide for more general lineshape analysis. In addition, methods to enhance the spectral resolution and sensitivity for quadrupolar nuclei are discussed, including NMR pulse techniques and the application of high magnetic fields. The role of magnetic field strength and its impact on the strategy of determining optimum NMR methods for disorder characterization are also discussed.

Improved Magnetization Transfers among Quadrupolar Nuclei in Two-Dimensional Homonuclear Correlation NMR Experiments Applied to Inorganic Network Structures

We demonstrate that supercycles of previously introduced two-fold symmetry dipolar recoupling schemes may be utilized successfully in homonuclear correlation nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for probing proximities among half-integer spin quadrupolar nuclei in network materials undergoing magic-angle-spinning (MAS). These (SR221)M, (SR241)M, and (SR281)M recoupling sequences with M=3 and M=4 offer comparably efficient magnetization transfers in single-quantum–single-quantum (1Q–1Q) correlation NMR experiments under moderately fast MAS conditions, as demonstrated at 14.1 T and 24 kHz MAS in the contexts of 11B NMR on a Na2O–CaO–B2O3–SiO2 glass and 27Al NMR on the open framework aluminophosphate AlPO-CJ19 [(NH4)2Al4(PO4)4HPO4·H2O]. Numerically simulated magnetization transfers in spin–3/2 pairs revealed a progressively enhanced tolerance to resonance offsets and rf-amplitude errors of the recoupling pulses along the series (SR221)M< (SR241)M< (SR281)M for increasing differences in chemical shifts between the two nuclei. Nonetheless, for scenarios of a relatively minor chemical-shift dispersions (≲3 kHz), the (SR221)M supercycles perform best both experimentally and in simulations.

An 17 O NMR study of diamagnetic and paramagnetic lanthanide-tris(oxydiacetate) complexes in aqueous solution

¹⁷ O-enriched complexes between oxydiacetate ligand and several diamagnetic and paramagnetic lanthanide(III) metal ions (Ln) were investigated by solution-state ¹⁷ O NMR spectroscopy. The bound-state signals of chelating (O_in ) and nonchelating (O_out ) oxygen atoms of the carboxylate groups were observed for all the samples investigated. The data indicate that the ¹⁷ O line width is dominated by contributions from both quadrupole relaxation and chemical exchange in the case of Pr and Nd complexes. Dissection of the chemical shift induced by metal ions on O_in  into Fermi contact and pseudocontact contributions was performed , and the hyperfine coupling constant (A/ℏ) was estimated. No evidence of structural changes within the series was detected.

A theoretical study of benzaldehyde derivatives as tyrosinase inhibitors using Ab initio calculated NQCC parameters

Tyrosinase is a multifunctional copper-containing enzyme. It can catalyze two distinct reactions of melanin synthesis and benzaldehyde derivatives, which are potential tyrosinase inhibitors. To find the relationships between charge distributions of benzaldehyde and their pharmaceutical behavior, the present study aimed at investigating nuclear quadrupole coupling constants of quadrupolare nuclei in the functional benzaldehyde group and calculating some its derivatives. In addition, the differences between the electronic structures of various derivatives of this depigmenting drug were examined. All ab initio calculations were carried out using Gaussian 03. The results predicted benzaldehyde derivatives to be bicentral inhibitors; nevertheless, the oxygen or hydrogen contents of the aldehyde group were not found to be the only active sites. Furthermore with the presence of the aldehyde group, the terminal methoxy group in C4 was found to contribute to tyrosinase inhibitory activities. In addition, an oxygen atom with high charge density in the side chain was found to play an important role in its inhibitory effect.

Direct Characterization of Metal-Metal Bonds between Nuclei with Strong Quadrupolar Interactions via NMR Spectroscopy

Metal-metal bonds can be difficult to characterize directly. We demonstrate that J couplings between metal nuclei experiencing strong quadrupolar interactions can be easily measured from well-defined splittings in NMR spectra of powdered samples. Using (69/71)Ga NMR, it is shown that homonuclear J coupling, which is four orders of magnitude smaller than the quadrupolar coupling in a series of compounds featuring gallium-gallium bonds, can be extracted with a 2-D NMR experiment. The dependence of the multiplets on crystal symmetry reveals information on the structures of two Ga-Ga-bonded compounds for which diffraction data are unavailable. Interpretation of the data in a molecular orbital framework provides insight into the nature of the metal-metal bond.