NMR characterization of uniformly C- and/or N-labeled, unsulfated chondroitins with high molecular weights.

Solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of polysaccharides can provide valuable information not only on their primary structures but also on their conformation, dynamics, and interactions under physiological conditions. One of the main problems is that non-anomeric H signals typically overlap, and this often hinders detailed NMR analysis. Isotope enrichment, such as with C and N, will add a new dimension to the NMR spectra of polysaccharides, and spectral analysis can be performed with enhanced sensitivity using isolated peaks. For this purpose, here we have prepared uniformly C- and/or N-labeled chondroitin polysaccharides -4)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl-(1-3)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1- with molecular weights in the range from 310 to 460 k by bacterial fermentation. The enrichment ratios for C and N were 98.9 and 99.8%, respectively, based on the mass spectrometric analysis of the constituent chondroitin disaccharides. H and C NMR signals were assigned mainly based on HSQC and C-detection experiments including INADEQUATE, HETCOR, and HETCOR-TOCSY. The carbonyl carbon signal of the N-acetyl-β-D-galactosamine residue was unambiguously distinguished from the C6 carbon of the β-D-glucuronic acid residue by the observation of C peak splitting due to J coupling in C- and N-labeled chondroitin. The T* and T were measured and indicate that both rigid and mobile sites are present in the long sequence of chondroitin. The conformation, dynamics, and interactions of chondroitin and its derivatives will be further analyzed based on the results obtained in this study.