Progress in 13C and 1H solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance for paramagnetic systems under very fast magic angle spinning

High-resolution solid-state NMR (SSNMR) of paramagnetic systems has been largely unexplored because of various technical difficulties due to large hyperfine shifts, which have limited the success of previous studies through depressed sensitivity/resolution and lack of suitable assignment methods. Our group recently introduced an approach using very fast magic angle spinning (VFMAS) for SSNMR of paramagnetic systems, which opened an avenue toward routine analyses of small paramagnetic systems by C-13 and H-1 SSNMR [Y. Ishii , J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125, 3438 (2003); N. P. Wickramasinghe , ibid. 127, 5796 (2005)]. In this review, we discuss our recent progress in establishing this approach, which offers solutions to a series of problems associated with large hyperfine shifts. First, we demonstrate that MAS at a spinning speed of 20 kHz or higher greatly improves sensitivity and resolution in both H-1 and C-13 SSNMR for paramagnetic systems such as Cu(II)(DL-alanine)(2)center dot H2O (Cu(DL-Ala)(2)) and Mn(acac)(3), for which the spectral dispersions due to H-1 hyperfine shifts reach 200 and 700 ppm, respectively. Then, we introduce polarization transfer methods from H-1 spins to C-13 spins with high-power cross polarization and dipolar insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer (INEPT) in order to attain further sensitivity enhancement and to correlate H-1 and C-13 spins in two-dimensional (2D) SSNMR for the paramagnetic systems. Comparison of C-13 VFMAS SSNMR spectra with C-13 solution NMR spectra revealed superior sensitivity in SSNMR for Cu(DL-Ala)(2), Cu(Gly)(2), and V(acac)(3). We discuss signal assignment methods using one-dimensional (1D) C-13 SSNMR C-13-H-1 rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) and dipolar INEPT methods and 2D C-13/H-1 correlation SSNMR under VFMAS, which yield reliable assignments of H-1 and C-13 resonances for Cu(Ala-Thr). Based on the excellent sensitivity/resolution and signal assignments attained in the VFMAS approach, we discuss methods of elucidating multiple distance constraints in unlabeled paramagnetic systems by combing simple measurements of C-13 T-1 values and anisotropic hyperfine shifts. Comparison of experimental C-13 hyperfine shifts and ab initio calculated shifts for alpha- and beta-forms of Cu(8-quinolinol)(2) demonstrates that C-13 hyperfine shifts are parameters exceptionally sensitive to small structural difference between the two polymorphs. Finally, we discuss sensitivity enhancement with paramagnetic ion doping in C-13 SSNMR of nonparamagnetic proteins in microcrystals. Fast recycling with exceptionally short recycle delays matched to short H-1 T-1 of similar to 60 ms in the presence of Cu(II) doping accelerated 1D C-13 SSNMR for ubiquitin and lysozyme by a factor of 7.3-8.4 under fast MAS at a spinning speed of 40 kHz. It is likely that the VFMAS approach and use of paramagnetic interactions are applicable to a variety of paramagnetic systems and nonparamagnetic biomolecules. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.