Characterization of dynamics of perdeuterated proteins by MAS solid-state NMR

We show in this communication that dynamic information for uniformly 2H,13C,15N isotopically enriched, crystalline proteins can be obtained by MAS solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The experiments make use of the deuterium quadrupolar tensor, which is the dominant interaction mechanism. Dynamic properties are accessed by measurement of the size of the quadrupolar coupling constant, C_q, and the value of the asymmetry parameter, η, via evolution of the deuterium chemical shift, as well as by measurement of deuterium T1 relaxation times. Three-dimensional experiments are performed in order to obtain site-specific resolution. Due to proton dilution, no proton decoupling is required in the carbon evolution periods at MAS rotation frequencies of 10 kHz.