Optimizing fluorine labelling for 19F solid-state NMR in oriented biological systems

When planning a fluorine labeling strategy for 19F solid state NMR (ssNMR) studies of the structure and/or mobility of fluorine labeled compounds in situ in an oriented biological system, it is important to characterize the NMR properties of the label. This manuscript focuses on the characterization of a selection of aromatic fluorine compounds in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers using 19F ssNMR from the standpoint of determining the optimum arrangement of fluorine nuclei on a pendant aromatic ring before incorporation into more complex biological systems.