Chapter 21: Structure and Dynamics of Native Biological Materials by Solid-state NMR Spectroscopy

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy has grown to be one of the most precise and increasingly used spectroscopic tools to provide high-resolution structural insight into biological materials. This chapter focuses on recent developments in multidimensional ssNMR methods for biological materials such as bone, cartilage, tooth enamel, dentin, keratins, and other species such as tropical and deep-water corals and silk fibers at the atomic scale. The chapter discusses the current development in ssNMR methodologies used for the structure determination and dynamics study of such biological materials. The chapter also emphasizes the molecular-level structural information as well as studies related to the mechanisms of action of these biological materials.