Microsecond-to-millisecond motions are instrumental for many biomolecular functions, including enzymatic activity and ligand binding. Bloch-McConnell Relaxation Dispersion (BMRD) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a key technique for studying these dynamic processes. While BMRD experiments are routinely used to probe protein motions in solution, the experiment is more demanding in the solid state, where dipolar couplings complicate the spin dynamics. It is believed that high deuteration levels are required and sufficient to obtain accurate and quantitative data. Here we show that even under fast magic-angle spinning and high levels of deuteration artifactual “bumps” in 15N R1ρ BMRD profiles are common. The origin of these artifacts is identified as a second-order three-spin Mixed Rotational and Rotary Resonance (MIRROR) recoupling condition. These artifacts are found to be a significant confounding factor for the accurate quantification of microsecond protein dynamics using BMRD in the solid state. We show that the application of low-power continuous wave (CW) decoupling simultaneously with the 15N spin-lock leads to the suppression of these conditions and enables quantitative measurements of microsecond exchange in the solid state. Remarkably, the application of decoupling allows the measurement of accurate BMRD even in fully protonated proteins at 100 kHz MAS, thus extending the scope of μs dynamics measurements in MAS NMR.

Microsecond-to-millisecond motions are instrumental for many biomolecular functions, including enzymatic activity and ligand binding. Bloch-McConnell Relaxation Dispersion (BMRD) Nuclear Magnetic Reso...

Abstract. Conference travel contributes to the climate footprint of academic research. Here, we provide a quantitative estimate of the carbon emissions associated with conference attendance by analyzi...

Warwick, United Kingdom – May 14, 2025 – Bruker Corporation, a global leader in scientific instrumentation, is pleased to announce the successful acceptance of its state-of-the-art 1.2 GHz NMR spectro...

Academic science in the US is being gutted by Trump

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The 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Computational Aspects of Biomolecular NMR will be held in Les Diablerets, Vaud (fr) Switzerland. Apply today to reserve your spot.

AMPERE NMR School is an annual meeting addressed to young scientists (post graduate students, PhD students and post-doctoral fellows) and is focused on theoretical and experimental aspects of nuclear ...