Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy sensitivity

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and NMR spectroscopy are quite similar in their basic principles and in experimental techniques. They detect different phenomena and thus yield different information. The major use of EPR spectroscopy is in the detection of free radicals which are uniquely characterised by their magnetic moment that arises from the presence of an unpaired electron. Measurement of a magnetic property of a material containing free radicals, like its magnetic susceptibility, provides the concentration of free radicals, but it lacks sensitivity and cannot reveal the structure of the radicals. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy is essentially free from these defects. 

Huttermann J, Ward JF, Myers LS Jr (1971) Electron spin resonance studies of free radicals in irradiated single crystals of 5-methylcytosine. Int J Radiat PhysChem 3 117-129 Huttermann J, Ohlmann J, Schaefer A, Gatzweiler W (1991) The polymorphism of a cytosine anion studied by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Int J Radiat Biol 59 1297-1311 Hwang CT, Stumpf CL, Yu Y-Q, Kentamaa HI (1999) Intrinsic acidity and redox properties of the adenine radical cation. Int J Mass Spectrom 182/183 253-259 Ide H, Otsuki N, Nishimoto S, Kagiya T (1985) Photoreduction of thymine glycol sensitized by aromatic amines in aqueous solution. J Chem Soc Perkin Trans 2 1387-1392 Idris Ali KM, Scholes G (1980) Analysis of radiolysis products of aqueous uracil + N20 solutions. J Chem Soc Faraday Trans 176 449-456... 

A purely organic chiral nitroxide which shows liquid crystalline behaviour as well as intriguing magnetic properties and a dependence on the enantiomeric nature has been reported [180]. The reason for studying the compounds was to increase the sensitivity of mesophases to magnetic and electric fields. The racemic modification of the radical, which displays a nematic phase, proved to be more sensitive to alignment than the cholesteric phase with the enantiomers present. It was proposed that the compounds may also be used to study the dynamic nature of mesophases by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. 

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy is one of the primary tools in studying the electronic structure of polynuclear complexes (341). Whereas magnetic susceptibility studies are capable of detecting electronic interactions as small as a wavenumber (discussed earlier), the EPR spectrum of a polynuclear complex may be sensitive to intramolecular exchange couplings as small as 0.001 cm even at room temperature. Additionally, the °Mn nucleus has a nuclear spin... 

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is yet another diagnostic tool for the detection of isomorphous substitution of Ti. Its sensitivity is very high, and investigations can be performed with samples even with very low contents of paramagnetic species. The spectra and g parameters are sensitive to the local structure and associated molecular distortions. Hence, it is an ideal tool to characterize Ti in titanosilicates. Ti in the + 4 oxidation state in titanosilicates is diamagnetic and hence EPR-silent. Upon contacting with CO or H2 at elevated... 

Deep state experiments measure carrier capture or emission rates, processes that are not sensitive to the microscopic structure (such as chemical composition, symmetry, or spin) of the defect. Therefore, the various techniques for analysis of deep states can at best only show a correlation with a particular impurity when used in conjunction with doping experiments. A definitive, unambiguous assignment is impossible without the aid of other experiments, such as high-resolution absorption or luminescence spectroscopy, or electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Unfortunately, these techniques are usually inapplicable to most deep levels. However, when absorption or luminescence lines are detectable and sharp, the symmetry of a defect can be deduced from Zeeman or stress experiments (see, for example, Ozeki et al. 1979b). In certain cases the energy of a transition is sensitive to the isotopic mass of an impurity, and use of isotopically enriched dopants can yield a positive chemical identification of a level. 

The problem of bringing a large magnet into the field for ambient measurements has been overcome in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR, also called electron spin resonance, ESR) by Mihelcic, Helten, and coworkers (93-99). They combined EPR with a matrix isolation technique to allow the sampling and radical quantification to occur in separate steps. The matrix isolation is also required in this case because EPR is not sensitive enough to measure peroxy radicals directly in the atmosphere. EPR spectroscopy has also been used in laboratory studies of peroxy radical reactions (100, 101). 

Electron spin resonance (ESR) or electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy has developed at an outstanding pace since its discovery in 1945 (Zavoiskii 1945), so that at present the technique is very well understood in its many aspects. In wood chemistry, ESR has become an essential tool for the study of the structure and dynamics of molecular systems containing one or more unpaired electrons, i.e., free radicals. ESR has found applications as a highly sensitive tool for the detection and identification of free radical species in lignin and lignin model compounds (Steelink 1966, Kringstad and Lin 1970). A recent literature review of free radicals in wood chemistry is available (Simkovic 1986). 

ESR spectroscopy is a sensitive detection method designed to provide information on radicals. This method, also known as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, is naturally a good choice for coupling to electrochemistry as radicals can easily be electrogenerated. ESR involves the detection of unpaired electrons which are affected by nearby nuclei. Radical spin states are modified by interaction with a magnetic field, equation (17). ... 

Electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR), also known as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), is based on the property that an unpaired electron placed in a magnetic field shows a typical resonance energy absorption spectrum sensitive to its environment. Recently, this technique, which was primarily developed for biological studies of membrane properties, has been adapted for the study of adsorbed polymer/surfactant layers. The mobility of the ESR probe (stable free radical incorporated into the polymer or surfactant molecule) depends of orientation of the surfactant or polymer and the viscosity of the local environment around the probe. 

Electron spin resonance (ESR, also known as electron paramagnetic resonance, EPR) is used for the detection and identification of electrogenerated products or intermediates that contain an odd number of electrons that is, radicals, radical ions, and certain transition metal species. Because ESR spectroscopy is a very sensitive technique, allowing detection of radical ions at about the 10 M level under favorable circumstances, and because it produces information-rich, distinctive, and easily interpretable spectra, it has found extensive application to electrochemistry, especially in studies of aromatic compounds in nonaqueous solutions. Also, electrochemical methods are particularly convenient for the generation of radical ions thus they have been used frequently by ESR spectroscopists for the preparation of samples for study. Several reviews dealing with the principles of ESR and the application to electrochemical investigations have appeared (134-138). 

As discussed further in the following sections, there are other variations of rapid mixing/quench methods in which the enzymatic reaction is terminated by freezing the reaction mixture with liquid isopropane. The frozen sample is then analyzed hy electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), solid-state NMR, or other spectroscopic techniques such as resonance Raman spectroscopy that can accommodate a solid sample. Perhaps the major limitation for implementation of this methodology is the sensitivity of the spectroscopic method and the requirement for large amounts of enzyme. ... 

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