Relaxation in nuclear magnetic resonance is a powerful method for obtaining spatially resolved, timescale-specific dynamics information about molecular systems. However, dynamics in biomolecular systems are generally too complex to be fully characterized based on NMR data alone. This is a familiar problem, addressed by the Lipari-Szabo model-free analysis, a method that captures the full information content of NMR relaxation data in case all internal motion of a molecule in solution is sufficiently fast. We investigate model-free analysis, as well as several other approaches, and find that model-free, spectral density mapping, LeMaster’s approach, and our detector analysis form a class of analysis methods, for which behavior of the fitted parameters has a well-defined relationship to the distribution of correlation times of motion, independent of the specific form of that distribution. In a sense, they are all “model-free.” Of these methods, only detectors are generally applicable to solid-state NMR relaxation data. We further discuss how detectors may be used for comparison of experimental data to data extracted from molecular dynamics simulation, and how simulation may be used to extract details of the dynamics that are not accessible via NMR, where detector analysis can be used to connect those details to experiments. We expect that combined methodology can eventually provide enough insight into complex dynamics to provide highly accurate models of motion, thus lending deeper insight into the nature of biomolecular dynamics.

No description available.

Afin d’optimiser par une approche moléculaire des catalyseurs hétérogènes, qu’ils soient dits sites uniques ou des particules supportées, il est nécessaire d’accéder à une compréhension détaillée de leur structure et de leur processus de formation. Dans ce but, les techniques classiques de caractérisation (adsorption, IR, EXAFS, TEM…) ont été combinées à la RMN solide, pour accéder à la structure fine et à la dynamique des espèces présentes en surface. Dans ce cadre, nous avons tout d’abord montré que la formation d’espèces Au(I) (densité de surface de 0.35/nm2) entouré de fragments hydrophobes (OSiMe3) par greffage contrôlé de {AuN(SiMe3)2}4 sur silice se transforment en particules d’or de ca. 1.8nm supportées sur silice passivée par réduction ménagée sous H2 à 300°C. Ce système a démontré des propriétés particulières en oxydation et hydrogénation, et permet d’affiner les mécanismes d’activation de l’O2 sur les nanoparticules d’or. Cette approche a aussi été utilisée pour la préparation et la caractérisation de particules de ruthénium supportées. La réactivité de ces particules d’or et ruthénium vis-à-vis de petites molécules (H2, phosphines, éthylène et CO) a été étudiée, en particulier par RMN. Toutefois, la faible densité d’espèces de surface sur ces particules constitue un des problèmes majeurs pour obtenir des spectres RMN de bonne qualité. Ainsi, nous avons développé une méthode basée sur l’augmentation du signal RMN des espèces de surface de matériaux par polarisation dynamique nucléaire (DNP). Cette approche, très prometteuse, d’abord appliquée à des matériaux hybrides (inorganique-organiques), devrait lever un des freins majeurs de la caractérisation des sites de surface des matériaux et en particulier des catalyseurs hétérogènes / In order to optimize heterogeneous catalysts through a molecular approach, whether based on single-sites or supported nanoparticles, it is necessary to access to a detailed understanding of its structures and formation mechanism. To reach this goal, classical characterization techniques (adsorption, IR, EXAFS, TEM…) have been combined with solid state NMR in order to access to the detailed structure and the dynamics of surface species. Here, we showed that the formation of well-dispersed Au(I) surface species (0.35/nm2) surrounded by hydrophobic groups (OSiMe3) by the controlled grafting of {AuN(SiMe3)2}4 and its conversion into 1.8nm gold nanoparticles supported on fully passivated silica upon a mild reduction under H2 (300°C). This system displays good activity and selectivity in air oxidation and hydrogenation reactions and provides new information on the activation of O2 on gold nanoparticles. By a similar approach, supported ruthenium nanoparticles have been prepared and characterized. Reactivity of Au and Ru nanoparticles with probe molecules (H2, phosphines, ethylene and CO) has been studied, in particular by NMR. However, the low density of these surface species, especially for supported nanoparticles is still one of the main problems, making difficult to obtain high quality NMR spectra in a reasonable time. Therefore, we have developed a method based on the enhancement of NMR signals of surface species via dipolar nuclear polarization (DNP). This very promising approach has first been applied very successfully to hybrid materials and silica; this opens new avenues in the characterization of surface species of materials and particularly heterogeneous catalysts

Depuis sa découverte dans les années 50, la DNP suscite un intérêt croissant en résonance magnétique. La DNP peut être définie comme le transfert d'aimantation entre des électrons célibataires et les noyaux de l'échantillon induit par irradiation micro-onde. Depuis sa renaissance à hauts champs dans les années 90, grâce à l'introduction des gyrotrons comme source micro-onde haute fréquence haute puissance, la plupart des développements et applications de la méthode concernent des échantillons d'intérêt biologique en solution solide. L'intérêt de notre groupe pour la caractérisation d'espèces de surface, tels que les catalyseurs supportés sur silice nous a conduit à appliquer la DNP à des espèces de surface. Le but de cette thèse est le développement de cette méthode nommée DNP SENS. Pour cela de nouveaux agents de polarisations sont tout d'abord introduits, avec une discussion sur l'influence des temps de relaxation électroniques sur l'efficacité DNP. L'optimisation de la préparation des échantillons pour maximiser la sensibilité RMN est discutée, ainsi que l'interaction entre les radicaux et la surface. Ces développements ont permis la caractérisation de nombreux matériaux et quelques exemples sont donnés ici. Enfin, une dernière partie se concentre sur l'application de la DNP à des conducteurs de polarisation, et montre la possibilité d'hyperpolarisés des objets de taille micrométrique. / Since its discovery in the 1950's, DNP has been a topic of significant interest in magnetic resonance. DNP is the transfer of polarization between single electrons and nuclei, driven by micro-wave irradiation. Since its renaissance at high field in the 90's, due to the introduction of gyrotrons as high-power, high-frequency microwave sources most application of this technique have been samples of biological interest in frozen solution. The long standing interest of our group in the characterization of surface species such as supported catalysts on silica lead us to apply this technique to the study of surfaces. The goal of this thesis is the development of this method, dubbed DNP Surface Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy. To that end, we first introduce new polarizing agents, soluble in organic solvents. The influence of the electron relaxation times on the DNP enhancements is demonstrated and efficient tailored polarizing agents are introduced. The optimization of the sample preparation to obtain optimal sensitivity is also discussed, as well as the interaction between the radical and the surface. These developments made it possible to apply the technique to many functionalized materials, with some examples developed in this manuscript. Finally, the issue of DNP on polarization conductors is discussed, and we show how microcrystals can be efficiently polarized using DNP.

Highly-exact structural characterization is the crucial step in the development and manufacturing process of pharmaceutical materials. Their structural composition is, however, often very complex and hardly identifiable. The eligible way for obtaining definite structural interpretation of these systems appears the high-resolution solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy. For this purpose the reliable tool - the ssNMR toolbox for comprehensive characterization of various pharmaceutical solids is described. The rigorous optimization of ssNMR techniques is carried out on enormous number of measured samples containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with systems ranging from APIs formulated in solid dispersions to pure forms revealing extensive molecular disorder. In this study the influence of polymeric matrix on the creation of solid dispersion type susceptible for finely tuned controlled drug release is likewise discussed. The distinction between variable structural alignments of API molecules in 3D dimension of complicated pharmaceutical solids is allowed via simple strategy - factor analysis applied to hardly describable ssNMR spectra (13 C CP/MAS NMR and 19 F MAS NMR). The results of this ssNMR investigation contribute to better understanding of solid dispersion...

Das Verständnis der Mechanismen, nach denen biologische Systeme ablaufen, ist ein wichtiger Fokus der aktuellen Strukturbiologie. Kernmagnetische Resonanzspektroskopie (NMR) ist eine geeignete Technik, um solche Ziele anzustreben sowie Struktur und Dynamik von Biomolekülen zu erforschen, um komplementäre Informationen zum Verständnis von Proteinfunktionalität zu erhalten. Rasante Fortschritte sind vor nicht langer Zeit auf dem Gebiet biologischer Festkörper-NMR (ssNMR) erzielt worden, was zu vollständiger Strukturaufklärung zahlreicher Peptide und kleiner Proteine, der Beschreibung von Protein-Komplexbildung sowie der der dynamischen Eigenschaften kleiner Proteine geführt hat. Festkörper-NMR ist die Methode der Wahl bei struktureller und dynamischer Charakterisierung von Membranproteinen und aggregierten amyloidogenen Systemen, die schwer löslich und kaum mit Lösungs-NMR oder Röntgenkristallographie zugänglich sind. Moderne Festkörper-NMR ist noch immer limitiert, was Auflösung und Empfindlichkeit betrifft, und macht weitere Entwicklungen auf den Gebieten der Probenpräparation und des Pulssequenz-Designs erforderlich. In meiner Arbeit untersuche ich die potenzielle Verwendung von Deuterierung in der Protein Festkörper-NMR zur Erhöhung von Empfindlichkeit und Auflösung in 15N-1H Korrelationsexperimenten. Der erzielte Fortschritt auf diesen Gebieten erlaubt die Verfolgung von Proteinrückgratbewegungen mit hoher Genauigkeit, die vorher nicht verfügbar war. Wir zeigen zum ersten Mal, dass TROSY Experimente für Festkörper-NMR gewinnbringend sind. Außerdem wurde eine Pulssequenz für 13C-13C J Kopplung zur Erhöhung der Auflösung in der Kohlenstoff-Dimension entwickelt. / Understanding the mechanisms how biological systems work is an important objective of current structural biology. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a well suited technique to approach these goals and to study structure and dynamics of biomolecules in order to obtain complimentary information for understanding functionality of proteins. Recently, rapid progress has been made in the field of biological solid state NMR (ssNMR), which resulted in complete structure elucidation of several peptides and small proteins, the characterization of protein complex formation and the characterization of dynamic properties of small proteins. Solid state NMR is the method of choice for structural and dynamic characterization of membrane proteins and aggregated amyloidogenic systems, which are poorly soluble and can not be easily studied by solution state NMR and X-ray spectroscopy. Modern solid state NMR is still limited in resolution and sensitivity, and requires developments in sample preparation and pulse sequence design. In my thesis, I study the potential use of deuteration in protein solid state NMR for sensitivity, as well as for resolution enhancement in 15N-1H correlation experiments. Achieved progress in these fields allows to monitor backbone motion with high accuracy, which has not been available before. We show for the first time that TROSY type experiments can be beneficial for solid state NMR. In addition, a pulse sequence for 13C-13C J decoupling was developed to increase resolution in the carbon dimension.

We present the synthesis and characterisation of novel single organic molecules known as phenoxylene borazines and borazatruxenes. Using temperature-dependant and concentration-dependant 1H NMR, we probe the supramolecular aggregation of these molecules in solution. Finally, we synthesise 2D hybrid material comprised of electron delocalised benzene rings and electron localised borazine rings. Using a combination of solid-state 11B and 13C NMR techniques, Raman spectroscopy and XPS, we confirm the presence of benzene and borazine regions in these novel materials.

Recentemente, grande interesse tem sido demonstrado por cerâmicas transparentes dopadas com íons terras raras trivalentes, como meios ativos para lasers na região espectral do infravermelho próximo. Em particular, cerâmicas dopadas com altas concentrações de Nd3+ e Yb3+ são muito estudadas pela possibilidade de gerar emissão laser de alta potência em torno de 1,0 mm. Embora a cerâmica transparente de titanato zirconato de chumbo e lantânio (PLZT), com composição La/ Zr/Ti = 9/65/35, seja originalmente reconhecida por suas propriedades ferroelétricas e eletro-ópticas, a mesma também apresenta características interessantes como matriz hospedeira de íons oticamente ativos. Recentemente, de Camargo et al. realizaram vários estudos espectroscópicos que comprovam a potencialidade laser de amostras dopadas com Yb3+, Er3+, Tm3+ e em especial Nd3+. Apesar de a cerâmica PLZT:Nd ser a mais promissora, se comparada a líder de mercado YAG:Nd (sistema ítrio-alumínio garnet dopado com neodímio), ainda não foi possível obter ação laser da primeira, devido à presença de fases espúrias (imperceptíveis a olho nu), que comprometem a qualidade óptica do material, especialmente para concentrações de dopagem maiores que 1,0% peso de Nd2O3. Uma vez que a qualidade estrutural tem implicação direta na qualidade óptica/espectroscópica de materiais ópticos, faz-se necessário estender os estudos visando otimizar a obtenção de amostras transparentes com mais altos níveis de dopagem. Neste trabalho apresenta-se um método alternativo para a dopagem da matriz PLZT com os íons TR = Nd3+ e Yb3+, e utiliza-se de várias técnicas (DR-X, DTA-TG, FT-IR, Raman, RMN e Luminescência), para caracterizar os compostos precursores e/ou produtos. O novo método baseia-se na obtenção prévia de óxidos precursores dopados, seguida da utilização destes para o preparo das cerâmicas PLZT:TR. As caracterizações foram conduzidas em função da concentração de dopantes (0,1 4,0% peso TR2O3), comparativamente ao método de dopagem convencional utilizado nos trabalhos anteriores. A espectroscopia de ressonância magnética nuclear em sólidos em 207Pb, mostrou-se uma ferramenta bastante útil na elucidação de questões estruturais desses sistemas tão complexos. Como os íons paramagnéticos Nd3+ e Yb3+ não podem ser diretamente acessados por RMN, a estratégia para caracterizar suas distribuições espaciais foi investigar suas respectivas mímicas diamagnéticas Y3+ e Sc3+ (núcleos 45Sc e 89Y). Resultados de DR-X apresentam menor formação de fase secundária nas amostras preparadas via método alternativo, sendo identificado as fases secundárias como (La,Nd)2(Zr,Ti)2O7 (estrutura do tipo pirocloro), ZrO2 em fase parcialmente monoclínica e cúbica e ZrO2 em fase cúbica, das amostras dopadas com Nd3+, Y3+ e Yb3+, respectivamente. De acordo com os resultados de DR-X, experimentos de RMN permitiram melhor avaliação quanto a inserção do íon dopante a medida que há formação de fase secundária e mostraram que a inserção dos íons dopantes é homogênea, bem como resultados de luminescência, com o limite de solubilidade do íon dopante sempre menor do que o necessário para que seja observado supressão da luminescência dos íons emissores. / In recent years, there has been a great interest for rare-earth (RE) doped transparent ceramics as near-infrared laser active media. Particularly, Nd3+ and Yb3+-doped ceramics are of special interest due to the possibility of generating high power emissions at around 1.0 mm. Even though lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramics, with composition La/Zr/Ti = 9/65/35, are mostly known by their ferroelectric and electro-optic properties, recent works by de Camargo et al. have also indicated their potentiality as laser active media. In this regard, the most promising system is PLZT:Nd (as compared to YAG:Nd - neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet), however, laser action of the former has not yet been possible, the reason lying in the presence of secondary phases (invisible to the naked eye) that compromise the optical quality of the ceramics, especially for samples with concentration higher than 1.0 wt% Nd2O3. Since the structural quality of samples has a direct implication on their spectroscopic and optical qualities, the goals pursued in this work are to present means to obtain highly transparent samples with higher incorporation of dopants, as well as to understand some fundamental questions regarding the microstructure of PLZT:RE ceramics. Thus, an alternative method, based on the obtainment of RE-doped precursor oxides, is presented for the synthesis of PLZT:RE and several techniques (XRD, DTA-TG, FT-IR, Raman, NMR and Luminescence) are used to characterize the samples, as a function of doping concentration (0,1 4,0 wt% RE2O3). These studies are done in comparison to the conventional method used in previous works. Solid state NMR spectroscopy of 207Pb proved to be a very useful tool for the understanding of these complex systems. Because Nd3+ and Yb3+ are paramagnetic and thus inaccessible by NMR, the strategy used for the characterization of their spatial distribution was to study samples doped with their respective diamagnetic mimics Sc3+ and Y3+ (45Sc and 89Y nuclei). XRD results have shown formation of less secondary phase for samples prepared by alternative method, being identified as secondary phase pyrochlore structure (La,Nd)2(Zr,Ti)2O7, partially monoclinic/cubic ZrO2 and cubic ZrO2 of the samples doped with Nd3+, Y3+ and Yb3+ respectively. NMR measurements allowed to make proposals about dopant ion insertion while secondary phase is formed and showed homogeneous distribution of dopant into the matrix, aswell luminescence measurements with maximum dopant solubility being less than enough to show any suppression of luminescence.

La détermination de la conformation d’une petite molécule liée à sa cible biologique nous permet de concevoir des drogues de propriété biologique améliorée. Cette détermination peut être difficile dû aux limitations techniques, comme indiqué par le débat sur la conformation de microtubule-lié d’une drogue anticancéreuse – paclitaxel. Les études utilisant la cristallographie des rayons X et la RMN du liquide ne peut pas fournir les informations détaillées sur la conformation espérée. La RMN du solide est un choix raisonnable en mesurant précisément des distances interatomiques de la molécule, et le marquage sélectif au tritium permet de mesurer une distance longue jusqu’à 14,4 Å avec une précision haute grâce au rapport gyromagnetique élevé de ce noyau. Aucune modification structurale n’a été rendue par le marquage au tritium. Ainsi notre sujet ayant pour l’objectif de déterminer la conformation bioactive du paclitaxel comporte la synthèse des 6 isotopomères de paclitaxel ditritiés sur les sites particuliers, suivie par la préparation des complexes de microtubule-paclitaxel marqué. L’analyse de RMN du tritium à l’état solide fournira les distances clés pour la détermination. 2 isotopomères ont été synthétisés par tritier le paclitaxel dibromé et coupler la baccatine tritiée et la chaîne latérale tritiée, respectivement. La stratégie synthétique conçue permet de réaliser la synthèse avec un rendement généralement satisfaisant et une bonne stéréosélectivité. Différentes méthodes de tritiation ont été testées, dont un enrichissement isotopique supérieur à 92% a été obtenu. La synthèse des autres isotopomères ainsi que des complexes de microtubule-paclitaxel est en cours de réaliser dans notre laboratoire. / The determination of the conformation of small molecule bound to its biological target would facilitate people to design improved drugs. This determination can be difficult due to technical limitations, as exemplified by the long standing debate on the microtubule-binding conformation of a natural anticancer drug – paclitaxel. Previous studies using X-ray crystallography and solution-state NMR failed to furnish direct information on the expected conformation. Solid-state NMR may help in this task by providing precise interatomic distances, and the selective labeling on different sites with tritium atoms enables accurate measurement of long-range distances (up to 14.4 Å) owing to the high gyromagnetic ratio of this nucleus, without any structural modification of the molecule. So our project aiming at illustrating the bioactive conformation of paclitaxel consists the syntheses of 6 different paclitaxel isotopomers bearing a pair of tritiums at specified positions, flowing by the preparations of corresponding microtubule-labeled paclitaxel complexes. The solid-state tritium NMR analyses of these complexes would provide key distances for determining the expected conformation. Up to now, 2 paclitaxel isotopomers have been prepared from labelling the dibrominated paclitaxel precursor and from coupling the tritiated taxane rings and the tritiated side chains, respectively. The synthetic strategy allowed us to realize the syntheses in generally high yield and good stereoselectivity. Different tritiation methods have been used, from which an isotopic enrichment of higher than 92% was obtained. The syntheses of other 4 isotopomers, together with the microtubule complexes are currently underway in our lab.

La détermination structurale supramoléculaire de solides organiques est d'une importance capitale pour la compréhension de leurs propriétés et de leur fonction. Des informations structurales à l’échelle atomique peuvent en principe être obtenues pour des composés en phase solide par la spectroscopie RMN (résonance magnétique nucléaire) combinée à la rotation de l’échantillon à l’angle magique (MAS). Cette technique est cependant confrontée à de fortes limitations de sensibilité, notamment en raison de la faible abondance isotopique naturelle (AN) d’isotopes clés, comme le carbone-13 et l’azote-15 (respectivement 1,1% et 0,37%).Une amplification de la sensibilité de plusieurs ordres de grandeur peut être obtenue avec la polarisation nucléaire dynamique (DNP), technique basée sur le transfert de polarisation des spins électroniques aux spins nucléaires. Les progrès récents dans la mise en œuvre pratique de la DNP ouvrent de nouvelles voies passionnantes, explorées dans cette thèse, pour la détermination de la structure des solides organiques.La première étape d’une étude structurale par RMN consiste en l'attribution spectrale des résonances. Malgré la faible AN des isotopes 13C et 15N, nous montrons dans ce travail que l’attribution complète de ces résonances pour un assemblage à base d’un dérivé de Guanosine est possible, grâce à l’utilisation d’expérience de corrélation multidimensionnelle 13C-13C et, pour la première fois, de spectre de corrélation 13C-15N.L'accent est alors mis sur l'obtention d'information structurale sous la forme de distances carbone-carbone et carbone-azote à partir d’expériences de transfert d’aimantation (expériences dites de « recouplage dipolaire »). Plusieurs stratégies sont discutées pour l’obtention de courbes de transfert d’aimantation sur des échantillons en AN. La dilution naturelle des isotopes 13C et 15N présente ici un avantage décisif pour ces mesures en réduisant de manière importante la troncature dipolaire, ce qui permet un transfert de polarisation sur de longues distances sans perturbation engendrée par la présence d’un troisième spin. Il en découle une description simplifiée de la dynamique de spin qui peut ainsi être facilement reproduite par des simulations numériques. Cette approche est démontrée expérimentalement sur des nanotubes du peptide diphénylalanine cyclique auto-assemblé (cyclo-FF). Les courbes de transfert d’aimantation 13C-13C et 13C-15N obtenues sont effectivement sensibles à de longues distances allant jusqu'à ~ 7 Å, et sont en excellent accord avec les simulations basées sur la structure cristalline du cyclo-FF. De plus, chaque courbe de transfert d’aimantation est constituée d’une superposition de contributions multiples intra et intermoléculaires, et contiennent donc une information structurale très riche.Il est ensuite montré que le contenu élevé de l'information contenu dans ces courbes de transfert d’aimantation et leur description théorique simple permettent de déterminer à la fois la structure moléculaire et la structure supramoléculaire du cyclo-FF. Ceci est réalisé à l'aide d'un code de calcul dédié qui crée de manière systématique des modèles structuraux par translation/rotation moléculaire et différentes symétries possible de la maille cristalline. Ces modèles sont ensuite classés en fonction de leur accord avec les données expérimentales.La thèse conclut en présentant des améliorations méthodologiques pour la séquence d'impulsions de recouplage dipolaire homonucléaire SR26. Cette séquence est particulièrement puissante pour une utilisation sur des échantillons en AN. Ces améliorations permettent une augmentation de l'efficacité du recouplage et l'acquisition de spectres de corrélation 2D avec de larges fenêtres spectrales.En résumé, cette thèse démontre que l'utilisation d'échantillons organiques en AN présente d’importants avantages pour leur étude structurale par RMN en phase solide qui devient possible avec la technique de DNP sous MAS. / Supramolecular structure determination of organic solids is of utter importance for understanding their properties and function. Structural insights at the atomic level can be provided by magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. However, this technique faces strong limitations in sensitivity due to the low natural isotopic abundance (NA) of the key nuclei 13C and 15N (1.1 % and 0.37 %, respectively). Sensitivity enhancement by several orders of magnitude can be achieved with dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) which is based on polarization transfer from electron to nuclear spins. The recent progress in the practical implementation of DNP opens up new and exciting possibilities for structure determination of organic solids which are explored in this thesis.The first step for structural studies with NMR is resonance assignment. The complete assignment of 13C and 15N resonances at NA is demonstrated here to be feasible based on DNP-enhanced 13C-13C and, for the first time, 13C-15N correlation spectra.The focus is then laid on obtaining structural information in the form of carbon-carbon and carbon-nitrogen distances from the buildup of polarization in dipolar recoupling experiments. Several strategies are discussed for recording such polarization buildup curves at NA. A decisive advantage of these measurements is that dipolar truncation is reduced to a great extent in samples at NA, enabling undisturbed polarization transfer over long distances and a simple description of the spin dynamics by numerical simulations. This is demonstrated experimentally on the self-assembled cyclic diphenylalanine peptide (cyclo-FF). The 13C-13C and 13C-15N buildup curves obtained are indeed sensitive to long distances (up to ~ 7 Å) and are in excellent agreement with the crystal structure of cyclo-FF. Moreover, each buildup curve represents a superposition of multiple intra- and intermolecular distance contributions and can therefore provide a wealth of structural information.It is subsequently shown that the high information content and the simple theoretical description of such polarization buildup curves enables determination of both the molecular and the supramolecular structure of cyclo-FF. This is achieved with the help of a dedicated computational code which creates structural models based on a systematic grid-search and ranks them according to their agreement with the experimental data.The thesis concludes by presenting improvements for the homonuclear dipolar recoupling pulse sequence SR26 which is a powerful sequence for use in NA samples. These improvements enable increased recoupling efficiency and the acquisition of 2D correlation spectra with large spectral widths.Overall, this thesis demonstrates that clear advantages lie in the use of NA samples for structural studies of organic solids, and that MAS-DNP enables structure determination which is mainly based on distance information from NMR data.