Nuclear magnetic resonance chromatography: applications of pulse field gradient diffusion NMR to mixture analysis and ligand-receptor interactions

Pulse held gradient (PFG) diffusion NMR spectroscopy is a non-invasive meth od for the spectroscopic separation and identification of compounds of inte rest from a mixture. Because it relies on differences in translational diff usion rates to resolve NMR signals from individual components, pulse field gradient NMR is a unique method for analyzing complex mixtures and for dete cting intermolecular interactions. A number of multidimensional pulse held gradient NMR experiments have been developed to alleviate the overlap of NM R signals arising from a complex mixture and facilitate component identific ation. The applications of pulse field gradient NMR for mixture analysis an d for the direct identification of high affinity ligands are reviewed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.