Decorating phenylalanine side-chains with triple labeled C/F/H isotope patterns.

We present an economic and straightforward method to introduce C-F spin systems into the deuterated aromatic side chains of phenylalanine as reporters for various protein NMR applications. The method is based on the synthesis of [4-C, 2,3,5,6-H] 4-fluorophenylalanine from the commercially available isotope sources [2-C] acetone and deuterium oxide. This compound is readily metabolized by standard Escherichia coli overexpression in a glyphosate-containing minimal medium, which results in high incorporation rates in the corresponding target proteins.

Cβ-Valine and Cγ-Leucine Methine Labeling To Probe Protein Ligand Interaction.

Precise information regarding the interaction between proteins and ligands at molecular resolution is crucial for effectively guiding the optimization process from initial hits to lead compounds in early stages of drug development. In this study, we introduce a novel aliphatic side chain isotope-labeling scheme to directly probe interactions between ligands and aliphatic sidechains using NMR techniques. To demonstrate the applicability of this method, we selected a set of Brd4-BD1 binders and analyzed H chemical shift perturbation resulting from CH-π interaction of H -Val and H -Leu as CH donors with corresponding ligand aromatic moieties as π acceptors.