Effect of Chemical Exchange on Radiation Damping in Aqueous Solutions of the Osmolyte Glycine

Radiation damping is of central relevance in NMR spectroscopy especially with the advent of ultrahigh-field magnets and of supersensitive probes. Furthermore, the recent realization that the combined effect of the distant dipole field and of radiation damping causes the resurrection of undesired crushed water magnetization emphasizes the need for a thorough understanding of all the factors affecting radiation damping. While the effects of pulsed-field gradients and of active feedback have been extensively investigated, the consequences on radiation damping of chemical exchange between water and co-solutes is not as well understood. Here it is demonstrated that the rate of water radiation damping is significantly affected by free glycine (Gly), a representative of an important class of biocompatible osmolytes often used at molar concentrations as protein stabilizers. The pH and temperature dependencies of this effect were investigated and rationalized in terms of radiation damping attenuation caused by incoherent dephasing occurring in the intermediate exchange regime. For instance, at pH 6.0 and at a temperature of 313 K the Gly NH3+/water exchange has the same dramatic effect on radiation damping as a series of repeated weak PFGs, increasing the water inversion-recovery zero-crossing delay from approximately 30 ms to approximately 2.3 s. In addition, under these conditions, the Gly NH3+/water exchange suppresses the resurrection of unwanted crushed water magnetization. When used in combination with PFGs and water flip-back schemes, glycine is therefore expected to tame chaotic dynamics and improve the reproducibility of the NMR experiments affected by it.