I want to do a metabolite carbon-tracing experiment, using glucose labeled with 2-13C and will measure it with 13C NMR. Do I need to use a deuterated solvent if I don't care at all about what the proton spectrum will look like?
Hi Harry,
for 13C NMR, only the 13C atoms give a signal. If you do not care on the 1H spectrum (usually people do care - they measure both 13C and 1H with the same solution which is time- and sample-saving), you of course do not need to use deuterated solvent.
Marcus
Edit (Thanks to Dr. Hartmut Komber): Jean-Francois is right, Deuterium is needed for locking the spectrum. You usually need highr concentrations for 13C, while this would give broader signals in 1H.
Allthough I am not a NMR specialist, I am surprised by the two previous answers. I was told that an internal deuterium lock was necessary (this is indicated in many recent references, maybe )for special cases?). The NMR machine needs a reference frequancy to stabilize the field/frequency ratio.
The primary reasons for using deuterated solvents in NMR experiments is to measure the deuterium absorption of the solvent to stabilize the magnetic field strength. Dependent on the nucleus that you are measuring locking is the most common practice for 1H NMR spectroscopy. You don't need to use deuterated solvents if you just need 13C signals, but i think it would be wise to use the solvent and perform the lock because as Marcus says at somepoint might need 1H signal information.
As the previous collegues said, for 13C NMR the deuterated solvents are not strictly necessary. However, the spectrometer uses the resonance frequence of deuterium to stabilize the magnetic field, and it is important for lock and shim and consequently for the spectra resolution. If you do not want to solubilize your analyte in deuterated solvent (for any reason) you could add in the NMR tube a capillary filled with deuterated solvent and lock and shim on it, still solubilizing your analyte in the solvent you prefer.
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