Traditional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy relies on the versatile chemical information conveyed by spectra. To complement conventional NMR, Laplace NMR explores diffusion and relaxation phenomena to reveal details on molecular motions. Under a broad concept of ultrafast multidimensional Laplace NMR, here we introduce an ultrafast diffusion-relaxation correlation experiment enhancing the resolution and information content of corresponding 1D experiments as well as reducing the experiment time by one to two orders of magnitude or more as compared with its conventional 2D counterpart. We demonstrate that the method allows one to distinguish identical molecules in different physical environments and provides chemical resolution missing in NMR spectra. Although the sensitivity of the new method is reduced due to spatial encoding, the single-scan approach enables one to use hyperpolarized substances to boost the sensitivity by several orders of magnitude, significantly enhancing the overall sensitivity of multidimensional Laplace NMR.

This study utilized a mass-resolved detection of ClOOCl to determine its photodissociation cross section, which is the product of the absorption cross section and dissociation quantum yield. An effusive molecular beam of ClOOCl was generated and its photodissociation probability was determined through measuring the decrease in the ClOOCl beam intensity upon laser irradiation. By comparing with a reference molecule, the absolute cross sections of ClOOCl were obtained without knowing its absolute concentration. The determined cross section of ClOOCl at 248.4 nm is (8.85+/-0.42)x10(-18) cm(2) at 200 K, significantly larger than previously reported values. The temperature dependence of the cross section was investigated at 248.4 nm in the range of 160-260 K; only a very small and negative temperature effect was observed. Because 248.4 nm is very close to the peak of the UV absorption band of ClOOCl, this work provides a new calibration point for normalizing relative absorption spectra of ClOOCl. In this work, the photodissociation cross section at 266 nm and 200 K was also reported to be (4.13+/-0.21)x10(-18) cm(2).

When coexpressed with its cognate amber suppressing tRNACUAPyl, a pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase mutant N346A/C348A is able to genetically incorporate twelve meta-substituted phenylalanine derivatives into proteins site-specifically at amber mutation sites in Escherichia coli. These genetically encoded noncanonical amino acids resemble phenylalanine in size and contain diverse bioorthogonal functional groups such as halide, trifluoromethyl, nitrile, nitro, ketone, alkyne, and azide moieties. The genetic installation of these functional groups in proteins provides multiple ways to site-selectively label proteins with biophysical and biochemical probes for their functional investigations. We demonstrate that a genetically incorporated trifluoromethyl group can be used as a sensitive 19F NMR probe to study protein folding/unfolding, and that genetically incorporated reactive functional groups such as ketone, alkyne, and azide moieties can be applied to site-specifically label proteins with florescent probes. This critical discovery allows the synthesis of proteins with diverse bioorthogonal functional groups for a variety of basic studies and biotechnology development using a single recombinant expression system.

Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (D-DNP) offers a substantial signal increase for liquid state NMR. A challenge in realizing the possible gain lies in the transfer of the hyperpolarized sample to the NMR detector without loss of hyperpolarization. Here, we demonstrate that a flow injection method using high pressure liquid leads to improved performance compared to the more common gas driven injection, by suppressing residual fluid motions during the NMR experiment while still achieving short injection time. Apparent diffusion coefficients were determined from pulsed field gradient echo measurements, and were shown to fall below 1.5x the value of a static sample within 0.8 s. Due to the single-scan nature of D-DNP, pulsed field gradients are often the only choice for coherence selection or encoding, but their application requires stationary fluid. Sample delivery driven by a high-pressure liquid will improve the applicability of these types of advanced experiments in D-DNP.

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