Nan Eshuis

Toward nanomolar detection by NMR through SABRE hyperpolarization.

SABRE is a nuclear spin hyperpolarization technique based on the reversible association of a substrate molecule and para-hydrogen (p-H2) to a metal complex. During the lifetime of such a complex, generally fractions of a second, the spin order of p-H2 is transferred to the nuclear spins of the substrate molecule via a transient scalar coupling network, resulting in strongly enhanced NMR signals. This technique is generally applied at relatively high concentrations (mM), in large excess of substrate with respect to metal complex. Dilution of substrate ligands below stoichiometry results in progressive decrease of signal enhancement, which precludes the direct application of SABRE to the NMR analysis of low concentration (μM) solutions. Here, we show that the efficiency of SABRE at low substrate concentrations can be restored by addition of a suitable coordinating ligand to the solution. The proposed method allowed NMR detection below 1 μM in a single scan.

Quantitative Trace Analysis of Complex Mixtures Using SABRE Hyperpolarization

Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) is an emerging nuclear spin hyperpolarization technique that strongly enhances NMR signals of small molecules in solution. However, such signal enhancements have never been exploited for concentration determination, as the efficiency of SABRE can strongly vary between different substrates or even between nuclear spins in the same molecule. The first application of SABRE for the quantitative analysis of a complex mixture is now reported. Despite the inherent complexity of the system under investigation, which involves thousands of competing binding equilibria, analytes at concentrations in the low micromolar range could be quantified from single-scan SABRE spectra using a standard-addition approach.

2D NMR Trace Analysis by Continuous Hyperpolarization at High Magnetic Field

Nuclear magnetic resonance is often the technique of choice in chemical analysis because of its sensitivity to molecular structure, quantitative character, and straightforward sample preparation. However, determination of trace analytes in complex mixtures is generally limited by low sensitivity and extensive signal overlap. Here, we present an approach for continuous hyperpolarization at high magnetic field that is based on signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) and can be straightforwardly incorporated in multidimensional NMR experiments. This method was implemented in a 2D correlation experiment that allows detection and quantification of analytes at nanomolar concentration in complex solutions.

Determination of long-range scalar H-1-H-1 coupling constants responsible for polarization transfer in SABRE

SABRE (Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange) nuclear spin hyperpolarization method can provide strongly enhanced NMR signals as a result of the reversible association of small molecules with para-hydrogen (p-H2) at an iridium metal complex. The conversion of p-H2 singlet order to enhanced substrate proton magnetization within such complex is driven by the scalar coupling interactions between the p-H2 derived hydrides and substrate nuclear spins. In the present study these long-range homonuclear couplings are experimentally determined for several SABRE substrates using an NMR pulse sequence for coherent hyperpolarization transfer at high magnetic field. Pyridine and pyrazine derivatives appear to have a similar ∼1.2 Hz (4)J coupling to p-H2 derived hydrides for their ortho protons, and a much lower (5)J coupling for their meta protons. Interestingly, the (4)J hydride-substrate coupling for five-membered N-heterocyclic substrates is well below 1 Hz.

Computational (DFT) and Experimental (EXAFS) Study of the Interaction of [Ir(IMes)(H)2(L)3] with Substrates and Co-substrates Relevant for SABRE in Dilute Systems†

Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) is an emerging hyperpolarization method in NMR spectroscopy, in which hyperpolarization is transferred through the scalar coupling network of para-hydrogen derived hydrides in a metal complex to a reversibly bound substrate. Substrates can even be hyperpolarized at concentrations below that of the metal complex by addition of a suitable co-substrate. Here we investigate the catalytic system used for trace detection in NMR spectroscopy with [Ir(IMes)(H)2 (L)3 ](+) (IMes=1,3-dimesitylimidazol-2-ylidene) as catalyst, pyridine as a substrate and 1-methyl-1,2,3-triazole as co-substrate in great detail. With density functional theory (DFT), validated by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments, we provide explanations for the relative abundance of the observed metal complexes, as well as their contribution to SABRE. We have established that the interaction between iridium and ligands cis to IMes is weaker than that with the trans ligand, and that in mixed complexes with pyridine and triazole, the latter preferentially takes up the trans position.

EXAFS and DFT studies on iridium catalysts for SABRE

Since it was first developed, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) has become a powerful analytical tool that is now used widely in the fields of chemistry, materials science, and medicine. One way to overcome the intrinsic insensitivity of NMR is to use hyperpolarization techniques to produce non-Boltzmann spin-state distributions. One of these techniques is Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE),[1] in which hyperpolarization is achieved by the temporary association of parahydrogen and a substrate in the coordination sphere of a transition metal. The polarization can be transferred from the parahydrogen-derived hydride ligands to the bound substrate via scalar coupling, followed by dissociation of the hyperpolarized substrate into the bulk solution. We have investigated the efficiency of various iridium NHC complexes with aliphatic and aromatic R groups as SABRE catalysts.[2] The used metal centre is a six-coordinate iridium N-heterocyclic carbene complex, with three substrates and two hydrides, in which the exchange rate of substrate and parahydrogen at the metal centre determines the efficiency of the hyperpolarization. As solvent molecules compete with pyridine for coordination to iridium, the sensitivity of SABRE can be enhanced by displacement of solvent molecules by cosubstrates, i.e. proton-poor ligands such as methyltriazole.[3] In this exchange process, several mixed iridium complexes can be considered to exist, which were not all observed by NMR. Therefore, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed on these complexes to better understand this phenomenon. While NMR itself is the best source of information on protons and dynamic processes involved in SABRE, we have found that Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) studies in organic solutions provide interesting complimentary information on the complexes involved.