1H nuclear magnetic resonance assignments for d-(GCATTAATGC)2 using experimental refinements of established procedures.

Sequence-specific 1H nuclear magnetic resonance assignments are presented for d-(GCATTAATGC)2. Using omega 1-scaled double quantum-filtered correlated spectroscopy, two-quantum spectroscopy, relayed coherence transfer spectroscopy and detailed analysis of the fine structure in these phase-sensitive spectra, the spin system of the bases and deoxyribose rings were identified entirely via scalar proton-proton couplings. The sequential connectivities were established with two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectra recorded with a short mixing time of 60 milliseconds. These spectra contain only a small number of cross-peaks, corresponding to the shortest proton-proton distances prevailing in the DNA. They are thus easy to interpret, and therefore the presently proposed modifications of the established assignment procedures should enable studies of larger DNA duplexes with intrinsically more complex nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and they also provided an improved basis for conformational studies of DNA fragments.