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Capabilities

NMR Spectrometer: 900 MHz (21.1 Tesla)

Quick Specs

  • 900-MHz frequency
  • 63-MM bore
  • Capable of low gamma nuclei experiments

EMSL's 900-MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer is a medium-bore system (63 mm) equipped with Varian Inova console. Researchers use the spectrometer to determine the structure of proteins and protein complexes and perform solid state NMR experiments on low gamma nuclei that are difficult to study at lower magnetic fields.

The spectrometer has 4 radio frequency channels and is equipped with 5-mm triple-axis-gradient HCN probes for liquids, a 5-mm HX low gamma probe, a 5-mm HZnN triple resonance probe, a 3.2-mm HX magic angle spinning (MAS) low gamma probe, and a 3.2-mm HXY MAS probe. We are also developing a solid-state MAS probe to study catalysts up to 400°C. The solid-state probes enable users to study biological solids that require the use of the highest field, including the typical nuclei—proton, carbon, and nitrogen—found in bio-solids, as well as materials that contaminate nuclear waste sites and the structures and properties of fuel cells. They are also useful for probing the structure and active sites of catalysts and other solid materials. One probe allows the user to obtain data from protein structures relative to solid surfaces to determine the configuration they take in cell membranes.

Researchers may operate this system independently and are typically provided several days of training if necessary; collaborative work with staff scientists may be possible and is encouraged. Some users opt to operate the system remotely; in such cases, the user ships samples to EMSL, where a facility researcher places the sample in the magnet and tunes the probe. The user can then operate the spectrometer through a secure connection over the Internet.

The spectrometer is used to study complex materials such as eukaryotic model organisms; metallo-proteins; multi-protein complexes of the breast cancer gene BRCA1; Human High Mobility Group A proteins; membrane proteins from mycobacterium tuberculosis; and solid-state materials development important to environmental fate and transport control, for reducing airborne emissions, and as candidates for fuel cell technology.

  1. Metabolomics in Lung Inflammation: A High Resolution ¹H NMR Study of Mice Exposed to Silica Dust .
  2. The solution structure of ribosomal protein S17E from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum: a structural homolog of the FF domain.
  3. Investigation of Mechanical Activation on Li-N-H Systems Using 6Li Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at Ultra-High Field .
  4. 67Zn Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy of {[TpBut,Me]Zn(OH2)}[HOB(C6F5)3]. The Importance of the Anion [HOB(C6F5)3]-.
  5. A QM/MM Approach to Interpreting Zn-67 Solid-State NMR data in Zinc Proteins.
  1. Probing Reaction Pathways Using in situ 1H NMR Spectroscopy (Hydrogen Does the Two Step)
  2. The Synergy Between Molecular Theory and Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy (Model System for NMR)