Removal of t1 noise from metabolomic 2D 1H-13C HSQC NMR spectra by Correlated Trace Denoising

The presence of t1 noise artefacts in 2D phase-cycled Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence (HSQC) spectra constrains the use of this experiment despite its superior sensitivity. This paper proposes a new processing algorithm, working in the frequency-domain, for reducing t1 noise. The algorithm has been developed for use in contexts, such as metabolomic studies, where existing denoising techniques cannot always be applied. Two test cases are presented that show the algorithm to be effective in improving the SNR of peaks embedded within t1 noise by a factor of more than 2, while retaining the intensity and shape of genuine peaks.