Methyl groups as NMR probes for biomolecular interactions
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Methods to Identify the NMR Resonances of the 13C-Dimethyl N-terminal Amine on Reductively Methylated Proteins
Published on: December 12, 2013
Silke Wiesner1, Remco Sprangers2
1Research group 'Mechanisms of Ubiquitin-dependent Cell Signaling', Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Spemannstrasse 35, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
Intermolecular interactions are indispensible for biological function. Here we discuss how novel NMR techniques can provide unique insights into the assembly, dynamics and regulation of biomolecular complexes. We focus on applications that exploit the methyl TROSY effect and show that methodological advances and biological insights go hand in hand. We envision that future methyl TROSY applications will continue to provide unique information regarding intermolecular interactions, even for very large eukaryotic protein complexes that are often highly asymmetric.
Related Concept Videos
Proton (¹H) NMR: Chemical Shift
Absorption signals of all the protium nuclei...
¹H NMR: Complex Splitting
Splitting diagrams or splitting tree diagrams are routinely used to depict such complex couplings. While drawing splitting diagrams, the splitting with the larger coupling constant is usually applied...
Applications Of NMR In Biology
Chemical Shift: Internal References and Solvent Effects
The internal reference compound generally used in NMR spectroscopy is tetramethylsilane (TMS). TMS is preferred because it is chemically inert, soluble in NMR solvents, and easily removable. Also, the highly shielded methyl protons in TMS yield an intense...
¹H NMR of Labile Protons: Temporal Resolution
The –OH proton in alcohols typically appears in the range of δ 2 to 5 ppm but can vary depending on the specific...
¹H NMR Signal Integration: Overview

