Transverse relaxation of scalar-coupled protons

In a preliminary communication (B. Baishya, T. F. Segawa, G. Bodenhausen, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 17538-17539), we recently demonstrated that it is possible to obtain clean echo decays of protons in biomolecules despite the presence of homonuclear scalar couplings. These unmodulated decays allow one to determine apparent transverse relaxation rates R(2) (app) of individual protons. Herein, we report the observation of R(2) (app) for three methyl protons, four amide H(N) protons, and all 11 backbone H(α) protons in cyclosporin A. If the proton resonances overlap, their R(2) (app) rates can be measured by transferring their magnetization to neighboring (13)C nuclei, which are less prone to overlap. The R(2) (app) rates of protons attached to (13)C are faster than those attached to (12)C because of (13)C-(1)H dipolar interactions. The differences of these rates allow the determination of local correlation functions. Backbone H(N) and H(α) protons that have fast decay rates R(2) (app) also feature fast longitudinal relaxation rates R(1) and intense NOESY cross peaks that are typical of crowded environments. Variations of R(2) (app) rates of backbone H(α) protons in similar amino acids reflect differences in local environments.