Optimal design of adaptively sampled NMR experiments for measurement of methyl group dynamics with application to a ribosome-nascent chain complex

[Display omitted] •Coupled HSQC lineshape analysis gives methyl order parameters and correlation times.•Optimal design of non-uniform sampling schedules increases sensitivity.•Adaptive designs implemented using on-the-fly acquisition and analysis.•Applied to analysis of co-translational protein folding dynamics.•Observed nascent chain dynamics place strong limits on ribosome interactions. NMR measurements of cross-correlated nuclear spin relaxation provide powerful probes of polypeptide dynamics and rotational diffusion, free from contributions due to chemical exchange or interactions with external spins. Here, we report on the development of a sensitivity-optimized pulse sequence for the analysis of the differential relaxation of transitions within isolated 13CH3 spin systems, in order to characterise rotational diffusion and side chain order through the product S2τc. We describe the application of optimal design theory to implement a real-time ‘on-the-fly’ adaptive sampling scheme that maximizes the accuracy of the measured parameters. The increase in sensitivity obtained using this approach enables quantitative measurements of rotational diffusion within folded states of translationally-arrested ribosome–nascent chain complexes of the FLN5 filamin domain, and can be used to place strong limits on interactions between the domain and the ribosome surface.