Studies of individual amino acid residues of the decapeptide tyrocidine A by proton double-resonance difference spectroscopy in the correlation mode.

The cyclic decapeptide antibiotic tyrocidine A was studied by two relatively new methods, viz., correlation proton magnetic resonance (pmr) spectroscopy and double-resonance difference pmr spectroscopy. The correlation method of spectral accumulation provided pmr spectra of good resolution, and in addition the signal-to-noise ratio achieved per unit time of accumulation was much higher than that achieved by use of the conventional continuous wave (cw) method. Furthermore, when protonated solvents are used, the correlation mode of accumulation has a distinct advantage over pulse and fast Fourier transform (fft) methods currently in use. Double-resonance difference (drd) spectra of individual amino acid residues in tyrocidine A were obtained by the correlation method when the decoupling frequency was maintained at the center frequency of the appropriate C-alpha proton multiplet and at a level of power that totally decoupled vicinal C-alpha and C-beta protons; the resolution of these spectra was good, and the signal-to-noise ratio was high. The distinct patterns and spectral positions of the drd spectra were characteristic of the particular type of amino acid residue and, therefore, could be used as the basis for making assignments. Furthermore, the drd spectra revealed the spectral positions of individual C-alpha and C-beta proton transitions and therefore, upon spectral analysis, could provide the chemical shifts and coupling constants of these protons. Positions of transitions were revealed even though they were hidden by overlap in the corresponding conventional single- or double-resonance spectra.