The acquisition of a benchtop NMR to enhance undergraduate research and education at winston-salem state university - modified project summary/abstract section: the acquisition of a nanalysis-100…

The National Institutes of Health Office of the Director awarded Winston-Salem State University $249,882 on August 1, 2026, under the Research Infrastructure Programs (CFDA 93.351) to acquire a benchtop NMR spectrometer. The award funds the purchase and deployment of a nanoanalysis-100 carbon benchtop NMR spectrometer to support undergraduate research and chemistry education at the university's Winston-Salem, North Carolina campus through July 31, 2027.

The spectrometer enables researchers and students to check purity, monitor reactions, optimize synthesis conditions, and confirm purity of chemical compounds on campus. While the principal investigator and other researchers have access to high-field NMR instruments at nearby Wake Forest University, those resources are not available to students. The benchtop NMR will provide hands-on training in NMR techniques and fundamental organic chemistry concepts, enhance students' analytical skills, and deepen understanding of organic chemistry and biomedical-related subjects. The instrument will be incorporated into the chemistry curriculum as a core teaching and research tool and will support the university's long-range research and education goals in biomedical fields. The nanoanalysis-100 offers ease of use, low maintenance requirements, and a favorable performance-to-value ratio for educational and research applications.

The acquisition of a benchtop NMR to enhance undergraduate research and education at winston-salem state university - modified project summary/abstract section: the acquisition of a nanalysis-100 carbon benchtop NMR spectrometer will allow the researchers to check purity, monitor reactions, optimize conditions and confirm synthesis and purity in a timely manner on wssu campus. Although the PI and other researchers have access to the high-field NMR instruments at nearby wake forest university with user fees, the students DON't have access XTO NMR at WFU. The benchtop nmrs are valuable in teaching NMR techniques and concepts to students. The incorporation of the benchtop NMR into chemistry curriculum would provide "hands-on" training that covers fundamental concepts of organic chemistry. Further, IT trains students in the most prevalent characterization method available to a chemist, the NMR. The acquisition of a benchtop NMR would greatly enhance students' analytical skills and deepen their understanding of processes in organic chemistry as well as the biomedical related subjects. In addition to stimulating research in biomedical fields, the requested benchtop NMR is also beneficial in educational setting as IT will increase wssu's education capacity towards hands-on, guided-inquiry approaches that help students learn meaningfully using the benchtop NMR. Thus, the instrument will contribute to wssu's long-range research and education goals in biomedical fields. The nanalysis-100 carbon benchtop NMR spectrometer provides a far superior ease-of-use and performance/value package with low-maintenance.