NMR measurements of proton exchange between solvent and peptides and proteins

Scope and limitations of the NMR based methods, equilibration and magnetization transfer, for measuring proton exchange rates of amide protons in peptides and proteins with water protons are discussed. Equilibration is applied to very slow processes detected by hydrogen-deuterium exchange after a solute is dissolved in D2O. Magnetization transfer allows to study moderately rapid processes in H2O. A number of precautions should be undertaken in order to avoid systemic errors inherent in the magnetization transfer method.