An optimized 13C single-quantum CPMG relaxation dispersion experiment for investigating microsecond-to-millisecond timescale dynamics in large proteins.

Biomolecular dynamics in the microsecond-to-millisecond (µs-ms) timescale are linked to various biological functions, such as enzyme catalysis, allosteric regulation, and ligand recognition. In solution state NMR, Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) relaxation dispersion experiments are commonly used to probe µs-ms timescale motions, providing detailed kinetic, thermodynamic, and mechanistic information at the atomic level. For investigating conformational dynamics in high-molecular-weight biomolecules, methyl groups serve as ideal probes due to their favorable relaxation properties, and ¹³C CPMG relaxation dispersion is widely employed for characterizing dynamics in selectively ¹³CH₃-labeled samples. However, conventional schemes that apply CPMG pulses with constant phase are susceptible to artifacts arising from off-resonance effects, radiofrequency (RF) field inhomogeneity and pulse imperfections. In this work we present an optimized¹³C single-quantum (SQ) CPMG experiment incorporating the [0013]-phase cycling scheme, and demonstrate its enhanced robustness against various adverse effects. Moreover, the optimized pulse scheme enables finer sampling of CPMG pulsing frequencies and is suited for studying systems with variable J_CH scalar coupling constants, thereby facilitating comprehensive characterization of µs-ms timescale dynamics of biomolecules with increased precision.