FAST-HMQC USING ERNST ANGLE PULSES - AN EFFICIENT TOOL FOR SCREENING OF LIGAND-BINDING TO TARGET PROTEINS

The application of Ernst angle pulses in multidimensional NMR spectros copy is theoretically and experimentally investigated. Theory shows th at only for a few pulse sequences employed at high repetition rate, a remarkable gain in sensitivity is possible using Ernst angle pulses. A s an example, a new variant of the heteronuclear multiple quantum cohe rence (HMQC) experiment, the fast-(H-1,N-15)-HMQC, is described. This sequence allows, with a 1 mM protein sample in H2O, the acquisition of a highly resolved two-dimensional (H-1,N-15) correlated spectrum with in 37 s. The high efficiency of the fast-HMQC to detect ligand binding to a target protein is demonstrated.