Optimization of the Water-PRESS Pulse Sequence and Its Integration into Pulse Sequences for Studying Biological Macromolecules

In this paper, the recently developed "Water-PRESS" method of water suppression [W. S. Price and Y. Arata (1996), J. Magn. Reson. B 112, 190] in which homospoil pulses are used to manipulate the effects of radiation damping on the water resonance and thereby selectively alter the effective relaxation times of the water resonance with respect to the solute (e.g., biological macromolecules) resonances is further developed and applied. In the present work, methods for optimization in terms of degree of water suppression and in temporal terms (important for the application of Water-PRESS to multidimensional experiments) are considered so that recycle delays of less than 2.3 s (including the acquisition time) are possible. Also, a simple modification which allows the observation of solute resonances with relaxation times similar to that of the water resonance is presented. Finally, the inclusion into more complicated pulse sequences is also discussed. Experimental examples using aqueous samples of lysozyme and immunoglobulin are given. Compared to most other NMR water suppression techniques, this method is extremely simple to implement and optimize and does not require accurately calibrated RF pulses or perfect lineshape.