An introduction to solid state DNP NMR for the non-expert will be presented in this seminar. The material covered should be of interest to those getting into the field of solids DNP or contemplating how it may be applied to their area of research to meet their research needs.
The technique of solids DNP exploits a transfer of polarization from electronic to nuclear spins. By virtue of their high gyromagnetic ratio (γ), electrons are far more polarized; transferring this larger electronic polarization to protons leads to a maximum theoretical enhancement factor of γe/γH ~ 660.
Such polarization transfer leads to increased sensitivity per unit of time. Experiments that would have taken so long as to be considered impossible previously become not only practical but time-efficient. DNP signal enhancements have been used to study biological solids like proteins, membranes, and complex biological assemblies (e.g. amyloid fibrils, viral capsids) along with a broad range of material science samples.