Determination of Na+ binding parameters by relaxation analysis of selected 23Na NMR coherences: RNA, BSA and SDS.

Nuclear magnetic resonance provides several unique means of investigating the interactions between different inorganic ions and various macromolecules. 23Na is a quadrupolar nucleus, meaning that relaxation analysis of the various coherences allows the measurement of its binding to biological macromolecules. In this study, we analyzed the quadrupolar relaxation of 23Na+ longitudinal magnetization and single- and triple-quantum coherences in aqueous systems containing RNA, bovine serum albumin and sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles. The effectiveness of the James-Noggle method for determining binding constants was evaluated in these systems, and also the applicability of various 23Na coherences in providing information on the extent and affinity of binding to the three different classes of biomolecules. © 2004, John Wiley & Sons Ltd