INEPT experiments insensitive nuclei

Coherent transfer experiments can roughly be divided into two classes pulse-interrupted free-precession experiments and Hartmann-Hahn-type experiments (Ernst et al., 1987). Examples of homo- and heteronuclear pulse-interrupted free-precession coherence transfer are COSY (correlation spectroscopy Aue et al., 1976), RELAY (relayed correlation spectroscopy Wagner, 1983), and INEPT (insensitive nucleus enhancement by polarization transfer) transfer steps (Morris and Freeman, 1979 Burum... 

The INEPT experiment [26] (Insensitive Nuclei Enhanced by Polarisation Transfer) was one of the forerunners of many of the pulse NMR experiments developed over subsequent years and still constitutes a feature of some of the most widely used multidimensional experiments in modem pulse NMR. Its purpose is to enable non-selective polarisation transfer between spins, and its operation may be readily understood with reference to the vector model. Most often it is the proton that is used as the source nucleus and these discussion will relate to XH spin systems throughout, although it should be remembered that any high-y spin- /2 nucleus constitutes a suitable source. 

A fundamentally different approach to signal excitation is present in polarization transfer methods. These rely on the existence of a resolvable J coupling between two nuclei, one of which (normally the proton) serves as a polarization source for the other. The earliest of these type of experiments were the SPI (Selective Population Inversion) type (19>) in which low-power selective pulses are applied to a specific X-satellite in the proton spectrum for an X-H system. The resultant population inversion produces an enhanced multiplet in the X spectrum if detection follows the inversion. A basic improvement which removes the need for selective positioning of the proton frequency was the introduction of the INEPT (Insensitive Nucleus Excitation by Polarization Transfer) technique by Morris and Freeman (20). This technique uses strong non-selective pulses and gives general sensitivity enhancement. 

The Insensitive Nuclei Enhanced by Polarization Transfer (INEPT) experiment is useful to discuss for two reasons. First is its utility in enhancing the S/N level in X-nucleus-detected spectra such as NMR. Second is because it is the basis for building many 2D- and 3D-NMR experiments described below. 

The INEPT (Insensitive Nuclei Enhanced by Polarization Transfer) experiment [6, 7] was the first broadband pulsed experiment for polarization transfer between heteronuclei, and has been extensively used for sensitivity enhancement and for spectral editing. For spectral editing purposes in carbon-13 NMR, more recent experiments such as DEPT, SEMUT [8] and their various enhancements [9] are usually preferable, but because of its brevity and simplicity INEPT remains the method of choice for many applications in sensitivity enhancement, and as a building block in complex pulse sequences with multiple polarization transfer steps. The potential utility of INEPT in inverse mode experiments, in which polarization is transferred from a low magnetogyric ratio nucleus to protons, was recognized quite early [10]. The principal advantage of polarization transfer over methods such as heteronuclear spin echo difference spectroscopy is the scope it offers for presaturation of the unwanted proton signals, which allows clean spec-... 

Three pulse schemes which were proposed for indirect Ti measurements and produce the same results as the inversion-recovery sequence are shown in Fig. 12. The first method is an inversion-recovery experiment on the insensitive "Y spin, with a subsequent DEPT transfer to the observed nucleus "X. Although successfully applied in model studies, the experiment suffers from the necessity of long relaxation delays and was considered to be too insensitive for application to and insensitive metal nuclei. Higher sensitivity can be achieved with double polarization transfer methods which start with "X magnetization. TWo sequences were employed on the basis of double DEPT (Fig. 12(b)) or INEPT transfer (Fig. 12(c)). In order to remove effects of... 

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