Nuclear magnetic resonance comparative analysis

Correct mass of purified proteins is determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF). N-terminal sequencing and/ or LC-ES-MS can verify correct amino acid sequence. Folding of the recombinant protein should be compared to the natural counterpart by measuring CD-spectra. Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis can be performed to ensure the presence of tertiary structure, important for IgE binding activity (Neudecker et al. 2003). 

It is particularly important to study process phenomena under dynamic (rather than static) conditions. Most current analytical techniques are designed to determine the initial and final states of a material or process. Instmments must be designed for the analysis of materials processing in real time, so that the cmcial chemical reactions in materials synthesis and processing can be monitored as they occur. Recent advances in nuclear magnetic resonance and laser probes indicate valuable lines of development for new techniques and comparable instmmentation for the study of interfaces, complex hquids, microstmctures, and hierarchical assemblies of materials. Instmmentation needs for the study of microstmctured materials are discussed in Chapter 9. 

Perhaps the most revolutionary development has been the application of on-line mass spectroscopic detection for compositional analysis. Polymer composition can be inferred from column retention time or from viscometric and other indirect detection methods, but mass spectroscopy has reduced much of the ambiguity associated with that process. Quantitation of end groups and of co-polymer composition can now be accomplished directly through mass spectroscopy. Mass spectroscopy is particularly well suited as an on-line GPC technique, since common GPC solvents interfere with other on-line detectors, including UV-VIS absorbance, nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopic detectors. By contrast, common GPC solvents are readily adaptable to mass spectroscopic interfaces. No detection technique offers a combination of universality of analyte detection, specificity of information, and ease of use comparable to that of mass spectroscopy. 

On the other hand, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools for the structure elucidation of organic compounds. However, to solve the molecnlar strnctnre of a novel substance by NMR spectroscopy alone is often time-consnming (when compared to MS). Besides, the identification of components in a complex mixture usually requires the separation and/or isolation of the components of interest prior to NMR analysis. Therefore mnltiple preparatory chromatographic... 

Hertkorn,N., Permin, A., Perminova, I., Kovalevskii, D., Yudov, M., Petrosyan, V., and Kettrup, A. (2002b). Comparative analysis of partial structures of a peat humic and fulvic acid using one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. /. Environ. Qual. 31, 375-387. 

Infrared spectroscopy (IR) is one of the oldest instrumental analytical techniques but its value in structural analysis has decreased with the rise of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). Compared to the traditional dispersive IR techniques, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) offers more sampling techniques. 

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) can be used as a rapid alternative to differential scanning calorimetry in the determination of the solid fat content and studies on the melting behaviour. The determination is based on detection of the different populations of protons in solid and liquid phases, which indicates the hardness of the fat. Hernandez and Rutledge (1994b) used low resolution pulse NMR to compare melting curves of roasted and non-roasted cocoa butters from Africa, Indonesia and South America. Discriminant analysis techniques showed... 

Another contribution to variations of intrinsic activity is the different number of defects and amount of disorder in the metallic Cu phase. This disorder can manifest itself in the form of lattice strain detectable, for example, by line profile analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks [73], 63Cu nuclear magnetic resonance lines [74], or as an increased disorder parameter (Debye-Waller factor) derived from extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy [75], Strained copper has been shown theoretically [76] and experimentally [77] to have different adsorptive properties compared to unstrained surfaces. Strain (i.e. local variation in the lattice parameter) is known to shift the center of the d-band and alter the interactions of metal surface and absorbate [78]. The origin of strain and defects in Cu/ZnO is probably related to the crystallization of kinetically trapped nonideal Cu in close interfacial contact to the oxide during catalyst activation at mild conditions. A correlation of the concentration of planar defects in the Cu particles with the catalytic activity in methanol synthesis was observed in a series of industrial Cu/Zn0/Al203 catalysts by Kasatkin et al. [57]. Planar defects like stacking faults and twin boundaries can also be observed by HRTEM and are marked with arrows in Figure 5.3.8C [58],... 

Thermal analysis is capable of providing accurate information on the phase transition temperatures, degradation temperatures, heat capacity, and enthalpy of transition of polymers using comparatively simple DTA, DSC, and TG instruments. The measurement time is short compared with other techniques, such as viscoelastic measurement and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Moreover, any kind of material, e.g., powders, flakes, films, fibers, and liquids, may be used. The required amount of sample is small, normally in the range of several milligrams. 

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