Both ammonium chloride and guanidinium chloride were used to secure water suppression in 1H NMR spectra using the 'Water Attenuation by T2 Relaxation' (WATR) technique. The effect of phosphate buffer in the suppression was investigated over a range of pH values at 80 MHz. The spin-spin relaxation time of water protons at 80 MHz was found to reach a minimum at pH 7.3 in the presence of 0.1 M phosphate buffer and 1 M guanidinium chloride; these conditions were therefore chosen for subsequent use of the WATR technique in a study of the kinetics of hydrolysis of neostigmine bromide. The method was found to be very convenient for studies of the hydrolysis of this representative amide.