Acquisition of a 600 MHz NMR Spectrometer and Upgrade of Existing NMR Facilities at Rutgers University and at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

罗格斯大学（Rutgers University）和医学与牙科大学（UMDNJ）购买了一台600 MHz核磁共振光谱仪，将现有的瓦里安VXR-500升级到UNITY Plus 500，将XL-400升级到UNITY Plus 400，并为UNITY 500 MHz核磁共振光谱仪添加附件，这对于这些大学结构生物学社区研究项目的成功执行至关重要。核磁共振设备的主要用户是：罗格斯大学化学系Jean Baum教授；Gaetano Montelione教授，MBB， Rutgers和CABM；罗格斯大学化学教授Roger Jones；Stephen Anderson教授，MBB， Rutgers和CABM。此外，还有许多罗格斯大学和UMDNJ大学的教师正在使用或计划在他们的研究中使用高场核磁共振，无论是独立使用还是与主要用户合作。招募博士。Montelione和Baum到罗格斯大学（Rutgers University）建立了多维核磁共振作为校园的主要优先事项。两所大学的许多研究人员目前正在与这两个小组合作。此外，博士。安德森和琼斯一直在利用高场核磁共振扩大他们自己的研究工作。因此，所有现有的核磁共振仪器都在持续使用（24小时/天，7天/周），并且由于仪器时间不足，其他研究人员无法开发独立的核磁共振程序。校园缺乏600兆赫光谱仪和现有设备的缺陷严重限制了更大（10 - 30 kD）蛋白质和复合物的研究工作。此外，用于招募Baum和Montelione的核磁共振仪器现在已经过时了。化学系的500和400 MHz光谱仪缺乏三共振和PFG功能，这是大分子异核核磁共振所必需的。这些仪器都不具备利用随机氘化技术来克服较大蛋白质中遇到的短13C弛豫速率所需的氘解耦能力。四个主要用户的核磁共振研究和研究培训需要约40名研究人员直接访问核磁共振仪器。此外，上面提到的独立用户，大约有40名研究生和博士后在做“动手”核磁共振实验。核磁共振设施还将通过合作者的研究项目，对罗格斯大学和UMDNJ的另外40名教师、学生和博士后的研究和教学产生重大影响。总共约120名科学家将受到拟议的核磁共振硬件升级和购买新的600 MHz核磁共振光谱仪的影响。核磁共振设备的主要用户的研究活动是在结构生物学，重点在以下领域。1)开发新的核磁共振实验，使蛋白质结构测定过程更加方便和自动化；2)确定具有重要生物医学意义的小蛋白质（大小范围从7到30 kD）的结构；3)变性或部分变性蛋白质的构象研究，了解蛋白质折叠的机制；4)分子识别的原子细节和动力学；5)核酸结构与相互作用的研究。此外，一些独立用户对有机和无机化合物的分析感兴趣。600兆赫核磁共振的收购和现有设备的升级将极大地改善罗格斯大学和UMDNJ大学的科学和工程基础设施。为了保持结构生物学这一不断发展的动态科学共同体的势头，必须将核磁共振设施提升到该领域的前沿。

The acquisition of a 600 MHz NMR spectrometer, and the upgrade of the existing Varian VXR-500 to UNITY Plus 500, XL-400 to UNITY Plus 400 and the addition of accessories to the UNITY 500 MHz NMR spectrometers at Rutgers University, and at the University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ), are crucial for the successful execution of the research projects of the Structural Biology community at these universities. The major users of the NMR facility are: Prof. Jean Baum, Chemistry, Rutgers; Prof. Gaetano Montelione, MBB, Rutgers, and CABM; Prof. Roger Jones, Chemistry, Rutgers; and Prof. Stephen Anderson, MBB, Rutgers, and CABM. In addition, there are many Rutgers and UMDNJ faculty who are using, or planning on using, high field NMR in their research, either independently or via collaborations with the major users. The recruitment of Drs. Montelione and Baum to Rutgers University established multidimensional NMR as a major priority on campus. Numerous investigators at both universities are currently collaborating with these two groups. In addition, Drs. Anderson and Jones have been expanding their own research efforts using high field NMR. As a result, all of the existing NMR instruments are in constant use (24 hrs/day, 7 days/week), and the development of independent NMR programs by other investigators has been prevented because of insufficient instrument time. The lack of a 600 MHz spectrometer on the campus and deficiencies in the existing equipment severely limit research efforts with larger (10 - 30 kD) proteins and complexes. In addition, the NMR instruments used to recruit Baum and Montelione are now out of date. The 500 and 400 MHz spectrometers in the Chemistry Department lack triple-resonance and PFG capabilities which are essential for heteronuclear NMR of macromolecules. None of the instruments are equipped with deuterium decoupling capabilities required to exploit random deuteration techniques for overcoming short 13C relaxation rates encountered in larger proteins. The NMR research and research training of the four major users require direct access to NMR instrumentation for about 40 researchers. In addition, the independent users, mentioned above, have on the order of 40 graduate students and postdoctorals doing 'hands on' NMR experiments. The NMR facilities will also have a significant impact on research and teaching for some additional 40 faculty, students, and postdoctorals at Rutgers and UMDNJ through the research programs of collaborators. In total, approximately 120 scientists will be affected by the proposed NMR hardware upgrades and acquisition of a new 600 MHz NMR spectrometer. The research activities of the major users of the NMR facility are in structural biology with emphasis in the following areas. 1) development of new NMR experiments which facilitate and automate the protein structure determination process; 2) structure determination of small biomedically important proteins (sizes range from 7 to 30 kD); 3) conformational studies of denatured or partially denatured proteins to understand the mechanism of protein folding; 4) atomic details and dynamics of molecular recognition; 5) studies of nucleic acid structure and interactions. In addition, a number of independent users are interested in the analysis of organic and inorganic compounds. The acquisition of a 600 MHz NMR and the upgrades of the existing facility will greatly improve the scientific and engineering infrastructure of Rutgers and UMDNJ. In order to maintain the momentum of this developing dynamic scientific community in structural biology, the NMR facilities must be brought up to the cutting edge of the field.