Pure shift HMQC: Resolution and sensitivity enhancement by bilinear rotation decoupling in the indirect and direct dimensions

Abstract The heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence in the indirect dimension of the two-dimensional HMQC experiment evolves under the passive 1H-1H J-couplings leading to multiplet structures in the F1 dimension. Besides, 1H-1H J-multiplets appear in the direct dimension as well. Thus, multiplets along both dimensions lower the resolution and sensitivity of this technique, when high resolution is required along both dimensions. An efficient broadband homodecoupling scheme along the F1 dimension of the HMQC experiment has not been realized to date. We have implemented broadband homonuclear decoupling using bilinear rotation decoupling (BIRD) by adding a 1H SQ evolution period followed by BIRD before the 1H-13C multiple-quantum evolution period in the HMQC. In the direct time domain, BIRD is implemented using a real-time or single-scan scheme, which further improves resolution and sensitivity of this technique. The resulting pure shift HMQC provides singlet peak per chemical site along F1 as well as F2 axes and, hence, better resolution and sensitivity than conventional HMQC spectrum for all peaks except diastereotopic methylene protons. Due to the incorporation of the BIRD, the indirect time domain becomes double in length compared to the conventional HMQC. However, slow relaxation of small molecules favors better sensitivity for ps-HMQC relative to conventional HMQC under all conditions. We also found that the sensitivity of ps-HMQC is only slightly less than ps-HSQC for small molecules.