Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Practical Aspects of Sample Preparation and Setup of 1H R1ρ Relaxation Dispersion Experiments of RNA
08:17

Practical Aspects of Sample Preparation and Setup of 1H R1ρ Relaxation Dispersion Experiments of RNA

Published on: July 9, 2021

1H R1ρ relaxation identifies a hidden intermediate in DNA base-pairing

Rubin Dasgupta1,2, Christian Steinmetzger1,2, Julian Ilgen1,3

  • 1Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Nature Communications
|May 6, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Proton R1ρ relaxation dispersion NMR reveals a new DNA excited state, ES2, beyond the standard Watson-Crick-Franklin and Hoogsteen forms. This discovery advances biomolecular dynamics studies and shows how drugs can alter DNA structures.

More Related Videos

NMR 15N Relaxation Experiments for the Investigation of Picosecond to Nanoseconds Structural Dynamics of Proteins09:25

NMR 15N Relaxation Experiments for the Investigation of Picosecond to Nanoseconds Structural Dynamics of Proteins

Published on: November 1, 2024

Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement for Detecting and Characterizing Self-Associations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins07:24

Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement for Detecting and Characterizing Self-Associations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Published on: September 23, 2021

Related Concept Videos

Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation01:28

Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation

Nuclear relaxation restores the equilibrium population imbalance and can occur via spin–lattice or spin–spin mechanisms, which are first-order exponential decay processes.
In spin–lattice or longitudinal relaxation, the excited spins exchange energy with the surrounding lattice as they return to the lower energy level. Among several mechanisms that contribute to spin–lattice relaxation, magnetic dipolar interactions are significant. Here, the excited nucleus transfers energy to a nearby...
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution00:52

¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution

At room temperature, the chair conformer of cyclohexane undergoes rapid ring flipping between two equivalent chair conformers at a rate of approximately 105 times per second. These two chair conformers are in equilibrium. The rapid ring flipping results in the interconversion of the axial proton to an equatorial proton and an equatorial to the axial proton. Such interconversions are too rapid and cannot be detected on the NMR timescale. Hence, the NMR spectrometer cannot distinguish between the...
Double Resonance Techniques: Overview01:12

Double Resonance Techniques: Overview

Double resonance techniques in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy involve the simultaneous application of two different frequencies or radiofrequency pulses to manipulate and observe two distinct nuclear spins. One important application of double resonance is spin decoupling, which selectively suppresses coupling with one type of nucleus while observing the NMR signal from another nucleus, simplifying the spectrum and enhancing resolution.
Spin decoupling is usually achieved by...
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals01:02

¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals

Spin systems where the difference in chemical shifts of the coupled nuclei is greater than ten times J are called first-order spin systems. These nuclei are weakly coupled, and their chemical shifts and coupling constant can generally be estimated from the well-separated signals in the spectrum.
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 slanted or...
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes01:23

Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes

In the absence of an external magnetic field, nuclear spin states are degenerate and randomly oriented. When a magnetic field is applied, the spins begin to precess and orient themselves along (lower energy) or against (higher energy) the direction of the field. At equilibrium, a slight excess population of spins exists in the lower energy state. Because the direction of the magnetic field is fixed as the z-axis,  the precessing magnetic moments are randomly oriented around the z-axis. This...
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Variable-Temperature NMR01:15

¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Variable-Temperature NMR

The axial and equatorial protons in cyclohexane can be distinguished by performing a variable-temperature NMR experiment. In this process, except for one proton, the remaining eleven protons are replaced by deuterium. The deuterium substitution avoids the possible peak splitting caused by the spin-spin coupling between the adjacent protons. The remaining proton flips between the axial and equatorial positions.