Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 3, 2025

Author Spotlight: Exploring Intrinsically Disordered Protein Dynamics Through NMR Relaxation Experiments
Published on: November 1, 2024
17O NMR Spectroscopy: A Novel Probe for Characterizing Protein Structure and Folding
Srinivasan Muniyappan1, Yuxi Lin2, Young-Ho Lee2,3,4,5
1Department of New Biology, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Korea.
Abstract:
Oxygen is a key atom that maintains biomolecular structures, regulates various physiological processes, and mediates various biomolecular interactions. Oxygen-17 (17O), therefore, has been proposed as a useful probe that can provide detailed information about various physicochemical features of proteins. This is attributed to the facts that (1) 17O is an active isotope for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic approaches; (2) NMR spectroscopy is one of the most suitable tools for characterizing the structural and dynamical features of biomolecules under native-like conditions; and (3) oxygen atoms are frequently involved in essential hydrogen bonds for the structural and functional integrity of proteins or related biomolecules. Although 17O NMR spectroscopic investigations of biomolecules have been considerably hampered due to low natural abundance and the quadruple characteristics of the 17O nucleus, recent theoretical and technical developments have revolutionized this methodology to be optimally poised as a unique and widely applicable tool for determining protein structure and dynamics. In this review, we recapitulate recent developments in 17O NMR spectroscopy to characterize protein structure and folding. In addition, we discuss the highly promising advantages of this methodology over other techniques and explain why further technical and experimental advancements are highly desired.
Related Concept Videos
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Variable-Temperature NMR
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution
NMR Spectroscopy of Aromatic Compounds
NMR Spectroscopy Of Amines
2D NMR: Overview of Homonuclear Correlation Techniques
COSY90 is the standard two-dimensional (2D) COSY experiment that...
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are...

