AI-designed NMR spectroscopy RF pulses for fast acquisition at high and ultra-high magnetic fields

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful high-resolution tool for characterizing biomacromolecular structure, dynamics, and interactions. However, the lengthy longitudinal relaxation of the nuclear spins significantly extends the total experimental time, especially at high and ultra-high magnetic field strengths. Although longitudinal relaxation-enhanced techniques have sped up data acquisition, their application has been limited by the chemical shift dispersion. Here we combined an evolutionary algorithm and artificial intelligence to design 1 H and 15 N radio frequency (RF) pulses with variable phase and amplitude that cover significantly broader bandwidths and allow for rapid data acquisition. We re-engineered the basic transverse relaxation optimized spectroscopy experiment and showed that the RF shapes enhance the spectral sensitivity of well-folded proteins up to 180 kDa molecular weight. These RF shapes can be tailored to re-design triple-resonance experiments for accelerating NMR spectroscopy of biomacromolecules at high fields.