t1-noise elimination by continuous chemical shift anisotropy refocusing

Due to their high gyromagnetic ratio, there is considerable interest in measuring distances and correlations involving protons, but such measurements are compounded by the simultaneous recoupling of chemical shift anisotropy (CSA). This secondary recoupling adds additional modulations to the signal intensities that ultimately lead to t1-noise and signal decay. Recently, Venkatesh et al. demonstrated that the addition of CSA refocusing periods during 1H-X dipolar recoupling led to sequences with far higher stability and performance. Herein, we describe a related effort and develop a symmetry-based recoupling sequence that continually refocuses the 1H CSA. This sequence shows superior performance to the regular and t1-noise eliminated D-HMQC sequences in the case of spin-1/2 nuclei and comparable performance to the later for half-integer quadrupoles.

Automated summary

Due to their high gyromagnetic ratio, measuring distances and correlations involving protons is of considerable interest. However, such measurements are complicated by the recoupling of chemical shift anisotropy (CSA). Recent research has shown that adding CSA refocusing periods during 1H-X dipolar recoupling improves the stability and performance of sequences.