Fluorine as an NMR probe for structural studies of chemical and biological systems

Applications of fluorine NMR to probe long-range interactions in rigid organic molecules, namely cubanes, and to study structures and dynamics of proteins and other biological systems, are presented. F-19 NMR parameters, especially long-range coupling constants are shown to reveal intrinsic features of the molecules. Correlations between long-range (more than three-bond) couplings involving fluorine and other chemical and physicochemical properties of the compounds are demonstrated, and examples of unusual couplings which cannot be explained by existing theories of 'through-bond' and 'through-space' mechanisms are discussed. Recent applications of fluorine labeling of aromatic and aliphatic amino acids in investigating protein structures and dynamics are highlighted. The potential of using F-19 NMR parameters, such as large spin-spin coupling constants observed for organic compounds, for structural analysis of biological macromolecules is outlined. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons.