Heteronuclear Multiple-Bond Correlation, Selective HMBCS

Figure 7.14 Pulse sequence for the HMBCS (heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation, selective) experiment, which uses advantageously a 270° Gaussian pulse for exciting the carbonyl resonances. It is also called the semisoft inverse COLOC. (Reprinted from Mag. Reson. Chem. 29, H. Kessler et al., 527, copyright (1991), with permission from John Wiley and Sons Limited, Baffins Lane, Chichester, Sussex P019 lUD, England.)...

In the case of the 7-hydroxy-substituted compounds 44 (Scheme 2), 54 different derivatives were investigated by 13C NMR spectroscopy and, in some cases, also by 1SN NMR spectroscopy <1995JST(335)273>. With the help of proton-coupled 13C NMR spectra, semi-selective INEPT (insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer) experiments, and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC) two-dimensional 2D-NMR spectra, all shifts could be unequivocally assigned. While the C-7 shifts did not allow the existing tautomeric situation to be determined, a clear decision could be made by H NMR spectroscopy in this respect. The 1SN NMR spectra revealed an equilibrium between the N(4)H and N(3)H tautomeric forms, which is fast on the NMR timescale. 

NMR has become a standard tool for structure determination and, in particular, for these of Strychnos alkaloids. The last general article in this field was authored by J. Sapi and G. Massiot in 1994 [65] and described the advances in spectroscopic methods applied to these molecules. More recently, strychnine (1) has even been used to illustrate newly introduced experiments [66]. We comment, here, on their advantages and sum up the principles of usual 2D experiments in Fig. (1) and Fig. (2) (COSY Correlation SpectroscopY, TOCSY TOtal Correlation SpectroscopY, NOESY Nuclear Overhauser Enhancement SpectroscopY, ROESY Rotating frame Overhauser Enhancement SpectroscopY, HMQC Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherrence, HMBC Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation). This section updates two areas of research in the field new H and 13C NMR experiments with gradient selection or/and selective pulses, 15N NMR, and microspectroscopy. To take these data into account, another section comments on the structure elucidation of new compounds isolated from Strychnos. It covers the literature from 1994 to early 2000. 

In the heteronuclear experiment category, the experiments of interest are the heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation (HMQC) experiment, the heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) experiment, and the heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC, including the gradient-selected version gHMBC) experiment. Both the HMQC and HSQC produce similar results, but each has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. 

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