The nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) is a powerful tool in molecular structure elucidation, combining the subtle chemical shift of NMR and three-dimensional information independent of chemical connectivity. Its usage for intermolecular studies, however, is fundamentally limited by an unspecific long-ranged interaction behavior. This joint experimental and computational work shows that proper selection of interacting isotopes can overcome these limitations: Isotopes with strongly differing gyromagnetic ratios give rise to short-ranged intermolecular NOEs. In this light, existing NOE experiments need to be re-evaluated and future ones can be designed accordingly. Thus, a new chapter on intermolecular structure elucidation is opened.

This computational study deals with the collective structure and dynamics as well as their interaction seen from a dielectric viewpoint in zwitterionic reverse micelles for which a force field was designed de novo. For this end, a dualistic strategy is followed: the raw data are generated by extensive microscopic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations while the subsequent analysis has a focus on mesoscopic dielectric properties. The unusually low dielectric signals as well as the remarkable acceleration of collective dynamics is elucidated in great detail. This structural and dynamic behaviour is caused essentially by non-specific micellar boundary conditions. We found that in these ion lacking reverse micelles the water core and the water sheath compensate each other dielectrically which can be understood as a LeChatelier phenomenon facilitating the transition from highly polar encapsulated water to the non-polar low dielectric medium octane. In addition, specific chemical effects are brought about by the perturbing influence of the surfactants. This comprehensive analysis aids both in understanding and designing the dipolar properties of liquid polar spherical colloids dispersed in a hydrophobic medium.

How to boost NMR signals of non-labile protons in hyperpolarized solutions.

Polarizable molecular dynamics simulations on the temperature-dependence structural and dynamical properties reveal the importance of collectivity.