Temperature-Controllable Liquid Crystalline Medium for Stereochemical Elucidation of Organic Compounds via Residual Chemical Shift Anisotropies.

The configuration elucidation of organic molecules continues to pose significant challenges in studies involving stereochemistry. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are powerful for obtaining such structural information. Anisotropic NMR techniques, such as measurement of residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) and residual chemical shift anisotropies (RCSAs), complementing isotropic NMR parameters, provide relative configuration information. RCSAs provide valuable structural information, especially for nonprotonated carbons, yet have been severely underutilized due to the lack of an easily operational alignment medium capable of rapid transition from anisotropic to isotropic environments, especially in aqueous conditions. In this study, an oligopeptide-based alignment media (FK) is presented for RCSA measurements. Temperature variation manipulates the assembly of (FK), yielding tunable anisotropic and isotropic phases without the requirement of any special devices or time-consuming correction procedures during data analysis. Decent observed ΔΔRCSA values from sp carbons benefit the utilization of RCSA measurements in the structural elucidation of organic molecules highly composed with sp carbons. Moreover, the (FK) alignment medium is applicable for both RDC and RCSA measurements in one sample, further advancing the configuration analysis of molecules of interest.