No description available.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been of interest due to their biocompatibility and surface plasmon resonance. Biomolecules can spontaneously adsorb to their surface, a trait that could be exploited for drug targeting. It is unclear, however, whether protein-AuNP interactions at the nanoparticle surface are dependent on nanoparticle size. In this project, we investigate whether surface curvature can induce protein unfolding and multilayer binding in citrate-coated AuNPs of various sizes. An NMR-based approach was utilized to determine the adsorption capacity, and protein NMR spectra were compared to determine whether nanoparticle size influences protein interactions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to support the results. Over a range of AuNP sizes (15-100 nm) proteins appear globular on the nanoparticle surface. Additionally, a single layer of proteins is adsorbed regardless of AuNP size. Our results are consistent for two differently sized proteins, GB3 (6 kDa) and bovine carbonic anhydrase (BCA, 29 kDa).

No description available.

The search for quantum spin liquids (QSLs) introduces some of the most challenging and interesting problems in contemporary physics. The recently discovered iridate Cu2IrO3,which contains a honeycomb lattice of Ir4+ions with effective spin 1/2 coupled by frustrated Ising interactions, presents itself as a promising candidate for a Kitaev QSL. In this study, we use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a spectroscopic technique based on the energy levels of nuclear spin states, to probe the intrinsic spin excitations of Cu2IrO3. By measuring the NMR frequency shift of 63Cu from 4.2 K to 298 K,we demonstrate that its spin susceptibility χ spin behaves nearly identically to its parent compound Na2IrO3, without showing evidence of magnetic ordering at low temperatures. We showed that the upturn of bulk susceptibility χ below T=50 K is due to the contribution of defect spins. The hyperfine coupling constant Ahf between Cu and Ir4+was also estimated by comparing the Knight shift 63K to χ / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

This dissertation explores fundamental aspects of the reaction of group 4 metallocenes with methylaluminoxane (MAO) that lead to active Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization catalysts. A novel experimental approach is described, in which a unique spectroscopic probe (a fluorinated substituent) is attached to the metallocene ancillary ligands and the metallocene/MAO mixtures are analyzed using 19F NMR spectroscopy. Group 4 metallocene dimethides bearing pentafluorophenyl (C6F5) substituents were synthesized and treated with MAO in benzene-d6. 19F NMR spectroscopic analysis demonstrated reversible methide transfer to form "cation-like" methylmetallocenium methylaluminates. A series of quantitative titration studies showed that fewer than 10% of the aluminum centers in MAO actually participate in the methide transfer process. A systematic study of metallocene substituent effects suggested that MAO contains active centers of extremely high but varying Lewis acidity. Activation of group 4 metallocene dichlorides using MAO was also analyzed using 19F NMR. Initial Cl/CH3 exchange was followed by Cl transfer to aluminum, whereas "normal" subsequent transfer of CH3 from Al to the methylmetallocenium cation was apparently inhibited by the abstracted chloride. Additional studies showed that the 19F NMR probe is sensitive to the interactions of Zr-Cl bonds with simple alkylaluminum species such as Me3Al, Me2AlCl, MeAlCl2, and Et3Al. However, the method was arguably less useful than 1H NMR spectroscopy in following the metathesis of Zr-Cl and Al-R (R = Me, Et) bonds. New methods of preparing methylhalometallocenes were investigated. The reactions of eleven metallocene dimethyls with triphenylmethyl chloride were highly selective (> 95%) with the five most electron-deficient metallocenes studied. Two other examples showed good selectivity on an NMR scale but could not be isolated from the 1,1,1-triphenylethane byproduct. Reactions of dimethylmetallocenes with benzyl bromide were also selective for formation of the corresponding methylbromo-metallocenes, however the reactions were too slow to be of practical value. The observation of long initation periods and the analysis of organic byproduct distributions suggested that these halogenation reactions may proceed by a radical chain mechanism rather than simple sigma bond metathesis. To demonstrate "proof of concept" in the use of 19F NMR to analyze the reactions of paramagnetic metallocenes, the coordination of CO and CN- to C6F5-substituted chromocenes were analyzed. Whereas CO coordinates readily to chromocene, cyanide coordinates effectively to 1,1'-bis(pentafluorophenyl)chromocene. This observation is interpreted in terms of the electron-withdrawing effect of the C6F5 substituent, which should strengthen bonding to sigma-donor ligands (CN-) and weaken bonding to pi-acceptors (CO). / Ph. D.

Komplexstrukturen können über NMR-Experimente aufgeklärt werden, die intermolekulare Wechselwirkungen über den Raum detektieren können. Meist kommen dabei NOE- bzw. ROE-Experimente und Weiterentwicklungen dieser Sequenzen zum Einsatz. Auch mit einfachen Versuchen, wie der Bestimmung der Veränderung der chemischen Verschiebungen bei Komplexierung, lassen sich wertvolle Strukturinformationen gewinnen. Durch die Bindung eines Liganden an ein Makromolekül ändern sich viele NMR-spezifische Parameter des Liganden. Dazu gehören NMR-Relaxationszeiten und Diffusionskoeffizienten mit deren Hilfe sich Dissoziationskonstanten der Komplexe ermitteln lassen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Möglichkeiten der Identifizierung und Charakterisierung von Ligand-Makromolekül-Interaktionen mittels NMR-Spektroskopie. Drei unterschiedliche Fragestellungen wurden bearbeitet. Einfluss von Harnstoff auf beta-Cyclodextrin-Einschlusskomplexe mit Dipeptiden: Bei kapillarelektrophoretischen Enantiomerentrennungen von Dipeptiden mittels beta-Cyclodextrin kommen häufig sehr hohe Konzentrationen an Harnstoff zum Einsatz, um die Wasserlöslichkeit des beta-CD zu verbessern. Dabei wird die eventuelle Beteiligung des Harnstoffs am Komplex oftmals außer Acht gelassen. Durch den Einsatz unterschiedlichster NMR- und Simulations-Techniken konnte die Beteiligung des Harnstoffs an dem Komplex untersucht und aufgeklärt werden. Relaxationsstudien von Fluorchinolonen mit Micrococcus luteus: Ziel dieser Versuchsreihe war es, anhand von longitudinalen und transversalen Relaxationsmessungen Einblick in das Bindungsverhalten von Fluorchinolonen (Gyrasehemmer) an Bakterienzellen zu erhalten. Mittels der Bestimmung von selektiven 1H-T1-Zeiten in Abhängigkeit des Antibiotikum/Bakterien-Verhältnisses konnten Dissoziationskonstanten der untersuchten Pharmaka an die Bakterienzelle ermittelt werden. Desweiteren wurden 19F-Spin-Spin-Relaxationsexperimente durchgeführt. Proteinbindungsstudien von Gyrasehemmern an BSA: Durch die Bindung von Fluorchinolonen an bovines Serumalbumin ändern sich die scheinbare Molekülmasse und der hydrodynamische Radius des Arzneistoffs stark. Durch selektive T1-Relaxationsmessungen konnten für drei Gyrasehemmer mit unterschiedlichen Proteinbindungseigenschaften die jeweiligen Dissoziationskonstanten an das Albumin ermittelt werden. Eine weitere Möglichkeit Dissoziationskonstanten zu bestimmen war es, Diffusionskoeffizienten bei unterschiedlichen Konzentrationsverhältnissen zu bestimnmen. Über die Ermittlung sogenannter „Affinitätsindices“ war es möglich, die Stärke der Proteinbindung zu charakterisieren. Um den Effekt unterschiedlicher Korrelationszeiten verschiedener Kerne auszumitteln, wurde eine Normalisierung dieser Indices durchgeführt. Auch die Werte dieser Affinitätsindices gaben die Stärke der Proteinbindung der unterschiedlichen Antibiotika sehr gut wider. / The structure of a complex can be clarified by NMR-experiments, which detect intermolecular interactions through space e.g. NOE- and ROE-experiments or further developments of these techniques. Beside these, the determination of the chemical shifts provides useful structural informations. Upon binding to a macromolecule, several NMR-parameters of a small ligand change dramatically. This includes parameters such as different NMR-relaxation times and diffusion coefficients which can be used to determine dissociation constants. The present thesis deals with the possibility of identification and characterization of complexes by NMR-spectroscopy. Three different problems were investigated. Influence of urea to beta-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes with dipeptides: Due to the limited aqueous solubility of beta-CD, enantioseparations utilizing beta-CD as chiral selector are often performed in buffers containing high concentrations of urea. Therefore, the involvement of urea in the constitution of the complex should be kept in mind. In this project the influence of urea was investigated and elucidated by using different NMR- and simulation techniques. Relaxation studies of fluoroquinolones with Micrococcus luteus: The main goal of this investigation was to get an insight in the binding behaviour of fluoroquinolones to a bacterial cell by performing longitudinal and transversal relaxation experiments. Using the determination of selective 1H-T1-relaxation times in dependence of varying the antibiotic/bacteria-relation, dissociation constants of the antibiotic to bacterial cells could be identified. Furthermore, 19F-spin-spin-relaxation experiments were performed. Protein binding studies of fluoroquinolones to BSA: By binding of the fluoroquinolones to bovine serum albumin the apparent molecular mass and the hydrodynamic radius of the ligand strongly change. In this project dissociation constants of three different fluoroquinolones with different binding characteristics were determined by measuring selective relaxation rates. Another possibility to assess dissociation constants of fluoroquinolons was the determination of the antibiotics diffusion constants at different concentration levels. The determination of the so called “affinity indices” offered a further possibility to evaluate the degree of protein binding. To eliminate the effect of different correlation times of different nuclei, a normalization of the affinity indices was performed. The fitted affinity indices also reflect the protein binding of the antibiotics properly.

No abstract available

A unique characteristic of NMR is that, unlike other spectroscopic techniques, it separates the excitation of signals from their detection. By manipulating the type of signal excitation used, the chemical information content of a spectrum can be controlled. This versatility has made NMR a powerful and flexible weapon in the analytical arsenal of chemists, not only for the determination of structural, chemical, dynamic, and physical properties of molecules, but also for the analysis of mixtures, since NMR has the ability to study these intact without the need for physical separation. Chapter 1 contains an introduction to the theoretical NMR background necessary for this thesis. Chapter 2, 3 and 6 detail the development of new methods that suppress 13C satellites not only in conventional 1D 1H and 19F spectra, but also in 1H DOSY spectra, and can facilitate the analysis of minor components in high dynamic range mixtures (i.e. those with a wide range of concentrations). Chapter 4 introduces a new experiment which suppresses low-level artefacts in pure shift NMR, and gives clean pure shift spectra that can be used for the detection of minor components in the presence of strong signals. Chapter 5 and 7 illustrate how 19F NMR can be exploited for the acquisition of simplified proton spectra associated with a given 19F chemical shift, or for the virtual separation of mixture components using broadband 19F DOSY. Chapter 8 summarises the conclusions extracted from the research introduced in the main body of this thesis, and gives suggestions for future developments. Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 contain published research articles and their Supporting Information and are presented without modification. Chapter 6 is presented as a manuscript intended for publication.

This thesis concerns different areas of biomolecular nuclearmagnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). In the first part of thethesis a new formalism for simulations of NMR pulse sequencesis introduced. The formalism is derived both from classicalmechanics and quantum mechanics and is presented forhomonuclear and heteronuclear spin systems. The formalism hasalso been adapted to systems in chemical exchange. Simulationsof pulse sequences should be more straightforward using the newformalism. In the second part of the thesis the NMR solution structuresof two ribosomal proteins are described. The ribosome isresponsible for protein production in all living cells and tounderstand the mechanism of the ribosome it is important toknow the three dimensional structure. In this thesis thestructures of S16 and S19, two of the proteins in the smallribosomal subunit, are presented. S16 is a mixed α /βprotein with a five-stranded parallel-antiparallel β-sheetand two α -helices. S19 is s mixed α/β proteinwith a three-stranded parallel-antiparallel β -sheet, oneα -helix and a short 310-helix. In the third part of the thesis a program for semiautomaticassignment of NMR-spectra is presented. Assigning resonances inthe NMR spectrum is a labor-intensive process, which can takelong time. In semiautomatic assignment a computer program aidsthe user in finding assignments but leaves all decisions to theuser, thus speeding up the process. The program described inthis thesis is a new version of ANSIG, called Ansig forWindows. The program runs on PCs under Windows and has severaltools for semiautomatic assignment. <b>Keywords:</b>nuclear magnetic resonance, structuredetermination, ribosomal proteins, NMR simulations, NMR theory,NMR assignment software, semiautomatic assignment

<p>This thesis concerns different areas of biomolecular nuclearmagnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). In the first part of thethesis a new formalism for simulations of NMR pulse sequencesis introduced. The formalism is derived both from classicalmechanics and quantum mechanics and is presented forhomonuclear and heteronuclear spin systems. The formalism hasalso been adapted to systems in chemical exchange. Simulationsof pulse sequences should be more straightforward using the newformalism.</p><p>In the second part of the thesis the NMR solution structuresof two ribosomal proteins are described. The ribosome isresponsible for protein production in all living cells and tounderstand the mechanism of the ribosome it is important toknow the three dimensional structure. In this thesis thestructures of S16 and S19, two of the proteins in the smallribosomal subunit, are presented. S16 is a mixed α /βprotein with a five-stranded parallel-antiparallel β-sheetand two α -helices. S19 is s mixed α/β proteinwith a three-stranded parallel-antiparallel β -sheet, oneα -helix and a short 3₁₀-helix.</p><p>In the third part of the thesis a program for semiautomaticassignment of NMR-spectra is presented. Assigning resonances inthe NMR spectrum is a labor-intensive process, which can takelong time. In semiautomatic assignment a computer program aidsthe user in finding assignments but leaves all decisions to theuser, thus speeding up the process. The program described inthis thesis is a new version of ANSIG, called Ansig forWindows. The program runs on PCs under Windows and has severaltools for semiautomatic assignment.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>nuclear magnetic resonance, structuredetermination, ribosomal proteins, NMR simulations, NMR theory,NMR assignment software, semiautomatic assignment</p>