The principal values of the chemical shift tensors of all 13C and 15N sites in two antibiotics, ampicillin and penicillin-V, were determined by 2-dimensional phase adjusted spinning sideband (2D-PASS) and conventional CP/MAS experiments. The 13C and 15N chemical shift anisotropies (CSA), and their confidence limits, were evaluated using a Mathematica program. The CSA values suggest a revised assignment of the 2-methyl 13C sites in the case of ampicillin. We speculate on a relationship between the chemical shift principal values of many of the 13C and 15N sites and the beta-lactam ring conformation.
Copyright 1998 Academic Press.