Project Grant S10OD036222

ACQUISITION OF A 400 MHZ NMR SPECTROMETER - PROJECT SUMMARY NMR SPECTROSCOPY HAS REVOLUTIONIZED THE IDENTIFICATION AND STUDY OF MOLECULES RELEVANT TO HUMAN HEALTH. WITHIN THIS TECHNIQUE, THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH GROUPS CAN VARY WIDELY, NECESSITATING SUPPORT BY VERSATILE NMR SPECTROMETERS CAPABLE OF SERVING DIVERSE RESEARCH PROGRAMS. WE PROPOSE THE ACQUISITION OF A NEW 400 MHZ SPECTROMETER AND ASSOCIATED AUTOSAMPLER TO REPLACE AN ANTIQUATED (CA. 20 YEARS OLD) BUT HEAVILY RELIED-UPON INSTRUMENT IN THE SMALL MOLECULE NMR FACILITY AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY. THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT INCLUDES A MODERN CONSOLE AND 5 MM BBFO PROBE FOR THE OBSERVATION OF NUCLEI RANGING FROM 1H (400 MHZ) TO 109AG (19 MHZ) AS WELL AS VARIABLE TEMPERATURE CAPABILITY IN THE RANGE OF -150 TO +150 C. THIS INSTRUMENT WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH GROUPS ENGAGED IN CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY INCLUDING EFFORTS IN SMALL MOLECULE TOTAL SYNTHESIS, GLYCOSCIENCE, CATALYSIS, C-H ACTIVATION, AND NATURAL PRODUCTS DISCOVERY, REPRESENTING THE DIVERSITY OF NEEDS FOR NMR CAPABILITIES IN THE MODERN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES. THE SMALL MOLECULE NMR FACILITY AT VANDERBILT HAS A LONG HISTORY OF EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF ITS SPECTROMETERS, BUT THEY ARE NOW APPROACHING THE END OF THEIR SERVICE LIFE. AT THE SAME TIME, A NEW COHORT OF YOUNG INVESTIGATORS ARE ADVANCING RESEARCH PROGRAMS THAT DEMAND NEW CAPABILITIES. THE PRIMARY MOTIVATION FOR THIS INSTRUMENT REQUEST IS A NEED FOR ENHANCED HETERONUCLEAR NMR SPECTROSCOPY AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY. CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH EFFORTS NOW REQUITE ROUTINE AND WALK-UP ACCESS TO 1H, 11B, 15N, 19F, AND 31P NMR AND ASSOCIATED TWO-DIMENSIONAL EXPERIMENTS WHICH OUR ANTIQUATED INSTRUMENTATION IS INSUFFICIENTLY EQUIPPED TO PROVIDE. HIGH-SENSITIVITY ELECTRONICS AND A NEW 60-POSITION AUTOSAMPLER CAPABLE OF SAFELY HANDLING SMALL VOLUME, GAS-TIGHT, AND SCREW-CAPPED NMR TUBES WILL SUPPORT THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR EXPERIMENTS OUTSIDE OF THE TRADITIONAL PARADIGM OF ROUTINE 1H AND 13C NMR ON ABUNDANT, AIR-STABLE SMALL MOLECULES, FOR INSTANCE, HIGH-THROUGHPUT 19F AND 15N NMR ON DILUTE SAMPLES. IN TOTAL, THIS PROPOSAL WILL MODERNIZE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE SMALL MOLECULE NMR FACILITY AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY AND EMPOWER NEXT-GENERATION RESEARCH PROGRAMS WITH NEW AND NEEDED TOOLS IN PROTON AND HETERONUCLEAR NMR SPECTROSCOPY.