Kazuo Yamauchi

Harvesting Solar Light with Crystalline Carbon Nitrides for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Described herein is the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution using crystalline carbon nitrides (CNs) obtained by supramolecular aggregation followed by ionic melt polycondensation (IMP) using melamine and 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine as a dopant. The solid state NMR spectrum of (15)N-enriched CN confirms the triazine as a building unit. Controlling the amount and arrangements of dopants in the CN structure can dramatically enhance the photocatalytic performance for H2 evolution. The polytriazine imide (PTI) exhibits the apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 15% at 400 nm. This method successfully enables a substantial amount of visible light to be harvested for H2 evolution, and provides a promising route for the rational design of a variety of highly active crystalline CN photocatalysts.

Very fast magic angle spinning 1H-14N 2D solid-state NMR: Sub-micro-liter sample data collection in a few minutes

Substantial resolution and sensitivity enhancements of solid-state (1)H detected (14)N HMQC NMR spectra at very fast MAS rates up to 80 kHz, in a 1mm MAS rotor, are presented. Very fast MAS enhances the (1)H transverse relaxation time and efficiently decouples the (1)H-(14)N interactions, both effects leading to resolution enhancement. The micro-coil contributes to the sensitivity increase via strong (14)N rf fields and high sensitivity per unit volume. (1)H-(14)N HMQC 2D spectra of glycine and glycyl-L-alanine at 70 kHz MAS at 11.7 T are observed in a few minutes with a sample volume of 0.8 μL.

The amide proton NMR chemical shift and hydrogen-bonded structure of peptides and polypeptides in the solid state as studied by high-frequency solid-state 1H NMR

Abstract High-resolution 1 H NMR spectra of glycine (Gly)-containing peptides and polypeptides in the solid state were measured at 800 MHz and at high-speed magic-angle-spinning (MAS) of 30 kHz to elucidate the relationship between the hydrogen-bond length and 1 H NMR chemical shift to add to our previous experimental and theoretical findings that there is a relationship between the hydrogen-bond length and 13 C , 15 N and 17 O chemical shifts of various kinds of amino acid residues of peptides and polypeptides in the solid state. From these experimental results, it is found that the 1 H chemical shifts of Gly amide protons of Gly-containing peptides and polypeptides, for which the hydrogen-bond length between the nitrogen and oxygen atoms (RN…O) have already been determined by X-ray diffraction, move downfield with a decrease in RN…O. Theoretical calculations qualitatively explain these experimental results.

17O NMR chemical shifts and quadrupole coupling constants in solid poly(L-alanine)s determined using a high-speed MAS technique

Abstract The solid-state 17 O NMR spectra of L-alanine-residue containing polypeptides were measured by magic-angle spinning (MAS) at 25 kHz. NMR parameters such as the chemical shift, quadrupolar coupling constant and asymmetry parameter are obtained from the spectra. The relationship between the hydrogen-bonded structure and these NMR parameters is clarified. The hydrogen-bonding structures are related to the quadrupolar coupling constants and the chemical shift values.

Nano-mole scale sequential signal assignment by 1H-detected protein solid-state NMR

We present a 3D (1)H-detected solid-state NMR (SSNMR) approach for main-chain signal assignments of 10-100 nmol of fully protonated proteins using ultra-fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) at ∼80 kHz by a novel spectral-editing method, which permits drastic spectral simplification. The approach offers ∼110 fold time saving over a traditional 3D (13)C-detected SSNMR approach.

Intra- and Intermolecular Effects on 1H Chemical Shifts in a Silk Model Peptide Determined by High-Field Solid State 1H NMR and Empirical Calculations

A combination of solid state 1H NMR chemical shift measurements and empirical chemical shift calculations has been used to interpret 1H solid state chemical shifts of a model peptide (Ala-Gly)15 for the crystalline domain of Bombyx mori silk fibroin in silk I and silk II structures, including a treatment of both intra- and intermolecular arrangements. Silk I and silk II are the structures of silk fibroin before and after spinning, respectively. Two peaks with equal intensity were observed for the amide protons of (AG)15 in silk I, whereas only one broad peak was observed for silk II, reflecting a difference of 1.1 ppm in Ala HN shift between silk I and silk II, but a difference of only 0.2 ppm in Gly HN shift. Chemical shift calculations predicted chemical shifts that are in good agreement with the experimental observations and showed that the origin of these chemical shift differences was predominantly the magnetic anisotropy effect from the C=O bond that hydrogen bonds with HN, which has a more favorable geometry for Ala HN in silk II than for the other HN. This result shows that we could distinguish between proton chemical shift effects arising from intermolecular interactions and those from intramolecular interactions by combining observation of the solid state 1H NMR chemical shift and empirical chemical shift calculation.

Microscopic structural analysis of fractured silk fibers from Bombyx mori and Samia cynthia ricini using 13C CP/MAS NMR with a 1mm microcoil MAS NMR probehead.

Conformational changes have been studied in silk fibers from the domestic silkworm Bombyx mori and a wild silkworm Samia cynthia ricini as a result of fractured by stretching. About 300 samples consisting of only the fractured regions of [1-13C]Ala or [1-13C]Gly labeled silk fibers were collected and observed by 13C CP/MAS NMR spectra. The total amount of these fractured fibers is only about 1mg and therefore we used a home-built 1mm microcoil MAS NMR probehead. A very small increase in the fraction of random coil was noted for the alanine regions of both silk fibroins and for the glycine region of B. mori silk fibroin. However, there is no difference in the spectra before and after fractured for the glycine region of S. c. ricini silk fibroin. Thus, the influence of fracture occurs exclusively at the Ala region for S. c. ricini. The relationship between sequence, fracture and structure is discussed.

Nano-Mole Scale Side-Chain Signal Assignment by 1H-Detected Protein Solid-State NMR by Ultra-Fast Magic-Angle Spinning and Stereo-Array Isotope Labeling

We present a general approach in 1H-detected 13C solid-state NMR (SSNMR) for side-chain signal assignments of 10-50 nmol quantities of proteins using a combination of a high magnetic field, ultra-fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) at ~80 kHz, and stereo-array-isotope-labeled (SAIL) proteins [Kainosho M. et al., Nature 440, 52–57, 2006]. First, we demonstrate that 1H indirect detection improves the sensitivity and resolution of 13C SSNMR of SAIL proteins for side-chain assignments in the ultra-fast MAS condition. 1H-detected SSNMR was performed for micro-crystalline ubiquitin (~55 nmol or ~0.5mg) that was SAIL-labeled at seven isoleucine (Ile) residues. Sensitivity was dramatically improved by 1H-detected 2D 1H/13C SSNMR by factors of 5.4-9.7 and 2.1-5.0, respectively, over 13C-detected 2D 1H/13C SSNMR and 1D 13C CPMAS, demonstrating that 2D 1H-detected SSNMR offers not only additional resolution but also sensitivity advantage over 1D 13C detection for the first time. High 1H resolution for the SAIL-labeled side-chain residues offered reasonable resolution even in the 2D data. A 1H-detected 3D 13C/13C/1H experiment on SAIL-ubiquitin provided nearly complete 1H and 13C assignments for seven Ile residues only within ~2.5 h. The results demonstrate the feasibility of side-chain signal assignment in this approach for as little as 10 nmol of a protein sample within ~3 days. The approach is likely applicable to a variety of proteins of biological interest without any requirements of highly efficient protein expression systems.

Structural analysis of the Gly-rich region in spider dragline silk using stable-isotope labeled sequential model peptides and solid-state NMR

The local structure of the Gly rich region in synthetic model peptides of spider dragline silk was analyzed with solid-state NMR and no dominant secondary structure was revealed.