Water Protons (water + proton)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Highly Ordered Interstitial Water Observed in Bone by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,

JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2005
Erin E Wilson
Abstract NMR was used to study the nanostructure of bone tissue. Distance measurements show that the first water layer at the surface of the mineral in cortical bone is structured. This water may serve to couple the mineral to the organic matrix and may play a role in deformation. Introduction: The unique mechanical characteristics of bone tissue have not yet been satisfactorily connected to the exact molecular architecture of this complex composite material. Recently developed solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are applied here to the mineral component to provide new structural distance constraints at the subnanometer scale. Materials and Methods: NMR dipolar couplings between structural protons (OH, and H2O) and phosphorus (PO4) or carbon (CO3) were measured using the 2D Lee-Goldburg Cross-Polarization under Magic-Angle Spinning (2D LG-CPMAS) pulse sequence, which simultaneously suppresses the much stronger proton-proton dipolar interactions. The NMR dipolar couplings measured provide accurate distances between atoms, e.g., OH and PO4 in apatites. Excised and powdered femoral cortical bone was used for these experiments. Synthetic carbonate (,2-4 wt%)-substituted hydroxyapatite was also studied for structural comparison. Results: In synthetic apatite, the hydroxide ions are strongly hydrogen bonded to adjacent carbonate or phosphate ions, with hydrogen bond (O-H) distances of ,1.96 Å observed. The bone tissue sample, in contrast, shows little evidence of ordered hydroxide. Instead, a very ordered (structural) layer of water molecules is identified, which hydrates the small bioapatite crystallites through very close arrangements. Water protons are ,2.3-2.55 Å from surface phosphorus atoms. Conclusions: In synthetic carbonated apatite, strong hydrogen bonds were observed between the hydroxide ions and structural phosphate and carbonate units in the apatite crystal lattice. These hydrogen bonding interactions may contribute to the long-range stability of this mineral structure. The biological apatite in cortical bone tissue shows evidence of hydrogen bonding with an ordered surface water layer at the faces of the mineral particles. This structural water layer has been inferred, but direct spectroscopic evidence of this interstitial water is given here. An ordered structural water layer sandwiched between the mineral and the organic collagen fibers may affect the biomechanical properties of this complex composite material. [source]


Identification of bound waters in the solution structure of ribonuclease T1 using the double pulsed field gradient spin-echo NMR technique for selective water excitation

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 9 2002
Mitsuru Tashiro
Abstract Novel pulse sequences incorporating the double pulsed field gradient spin-echo technique are presented that have particular use in identifying macromolecular bound water. The use of these sequences is illustrated using ribonuclease T1. Five amide protons cross-relaxing with bound water protons were observed. Examination of the crystal structure revealed that all of these amide protons donate hydrogen bonds or are in close proximity to water molecules with very low temperature factors, indicating that these amide protons are highly correlated with the bound water molecules. This method rapidly provides reliable information for characterizing macromolecular bound water molecules. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Anisotropy of spin relaxation of water protons in cartilage and tendon

NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 3 2010
Konstantin I. Momot
Abstract Transverse spin relaxation rates of water protons in articular cartilage and tendon depend on the orientation of the tissue relative to the applied static magnetic field. This complicates the interpretation of magnetic resonance images of these tissues. At the same time, relaxation data can provide information about their organisation and microstructure. We present a theoretical analysis of the anisotropy of spin relaxation of water protons observed in fully hydrated cartilage. We demonstrate that the anisotropy of transverse relaxation is due almost entirely to intramolecular dipolar coupling modulated by a specific mode of slow molecular motion: the diffusion of water molecules in the hydration shell of a collagen fibre around the fibre, such that the molecular director remains perpendicular to the fibre. The theoretical anisotropy arising from this mechanism follows the ,magic-angle' dependence observed in magnetic-resonance measurements of cartilage and tendon and is in good agreement with the available experimental results. We discuss the implications of the theoretical findings for MRI of ordered collagenous tissues. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Saturation transfer in human red blood cells with normal and unstable hemoglobin,

NMR IN BIOMEDICINE, Issue 1 2003
Masaru Sogami
Abstract Saturation transfer phenomena from irradiated protein protons to observed water protons in packed human red blood cells (RBCs) with normal or unstable hemoglobin (Hb), i.e. Hb Yokohama and Hb Koeln, were studied using intermolecular cross-relaxation rates [CR; 1/TIS(H2O)], action spectra {[1 ,(I,/I0)] vs f2 (ppm), where I0 and I, are the longitudinal magnetization of observed water protons before and after long-time f2 -irradiation, respectively}, CR spectra [CR vs f2 (ppm)] and CR ratio vs f2 (ppm) with f2 -irradiation from ,100 to 100,ppm at ,H2/2, of 69 or 250,Hz. RBCs (Hb Yokohama) exhibited many large Heinz bodies and strongly impaired filterability, while RBCs (Hb Koeln) showed few microscopically typical Heinz bodies and virtually normal filterability. However, increases in CR values for RBCs (Hb Koeln) and RBCs (Hb Yokohama), monitored by f2 -irradiation below ,,6 and above ,14,ppm, clearly indicated marked increases in association or aggregation of unstable Hb in RBCs compared with those in normal RBCs. CR values, monitored between ,0 and ,10,ppm, were related to not only association or aggregation of unstable Hb but also amounts of water in RBCs. Aggregation or association of unstable Hb exhibited greater effects on CR values compared with those of methemoglobin formation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]