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We demonstrate room-temperature 13C hyperpolarization by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) using optically polarized triplet electron spins in two polycrystalline systems: pentacene-doped [carboxyl-13C] benzoic acid and microdiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) centers. For both samples, the integrated solid effect (ISE) is used to polarize the 13C spin system in magnetic fields of 350-400mT. In the benzoic acid sample, the 13C spin polarization is enhanced by up to 0.12% through direct electron-to-13C polarization transfer without performing dynamic ¹H polarization followed by ¹H-13C cross-polarization. In addition, the ISE has been successfully applied to polarize naturally abundant 13C spins in a microdiamond sample to 0.01 %. To characterize the buildup of the 13C polarization, we discuss the efficiencies of direct polarization transfer between the electron and 13C spins as well as that of 13C-13C spin diffusion, examining various parameters which are beneficial or detrimental for successful bulk dynamic 13C polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modular structure of many protein families, such as β-propeller proteins, strongly implies that duplication played an important role in their evolution, leading to highly symmetrical intermediate forms. Previous attempts to create perfectly symmetrical propeller proteins have failed, however. We have therefore developed a new and rapid computational approach to design such proteins. As a test case, we have created a sixfold symmetrical β-propeller protein and experimentally validated the structure using X-ray crystallography. Each blade consists of 42 residues. Proteins carrying 2-10 identical blades were also expressed and purified. Two or three tandem blades assemble to recreate the highly stable sixfold symmetrical architecture, consistent with the duplication and fusion theory. The other proteins produce different monodisperse complexes, up to 42 blades (180 kDa) in size, which self-assemble according to simple symmetry rules. Our procedure is suitable for creating nano-building blocks from different protein templates of desired symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]