An investigation of some potential uses of the gadolinium(III) ion as a structural probe

Abstract

The gadolinium(III) ion has a slow electron relaxation time and it is therefore possible in principle to study the nature of its ligands, including water, by a measurement of its e.s.r. spectrum and its effect on the nuclear-spin relaxation rate of protons in the co-ordination sphere. A large number of systems have been examined in a semiquantitative way in order to test such a use of Gd³⁺ as a probe of its own environment with a view to the possibility of structural studies in biological systems.