Accurate measurements of 13C-13C distances in uniformly 13C-labeled proteins using multi-dimensional four-oscillating field solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Application of sets of 13C-13C internuclear distance restraints constitutes a typical key element in determining the structure of peptides and proteins by magic-angle-spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Accurate measurements of the structurally highly important 13C-13C distances in uniformly 13C-labeled peptides and proteins, however, pose a big challenge due to the problem of dipolar truncation. Here, we present novel two-dimensional (2D) solid-state NMR experiments capable of extracting distances between carbonyl (13C′) and aliphatic (13Caliphatic) spins with high accuracy. The method is based on an improved version of the four-oscillating field (FOLD) technique [L. A. Straasø, M. Bjerring, N. Khaneja, and N. C. Nielsen, J. Chem. Phys.130, 225103 (2009)] which circumvents the problem of dipolar truncation, thereby offering a base for accurate extraction of internuclear distances in many-spin systems. The ability to extract reliable accurate distances is demonstrated using one- and two-dimensional variants of the FOLD experiment on uniformly 13C,15N-labeled-L-isoleucine. In a more challenging biological application, FOLD 2D experiments are used to determine a large number of 13C′-13Caliphatic distances in amyloid fibrils formed by the SNNFGAILSS fibrillating core of the human islet amyloid polypeptide with uniform 13C,15N-labeling on the FGAIL fragment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]