Insensitive nuclei enhancement by polarization transfer experiment

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. 

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-... 

The INEPT (insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer) experiment is similar to the DEPT experiment, except that it uses an evolution period to produce the appropriate condition for spectral selection that depends critically on the size of the coupling constant. The technique is therefore somewhat more susceptible to artefacts resulting from the variability of coupling constants than is DEPT. 

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