Acquisition of a 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer

该奖项将资助购买一台600 MHz固体核磁共振（NMR）光谱仪，用于研究各种问题的项目，从材料科学到信号事件的化学，再到大分子结构的确定。 核磁共振使用的原理是，大多数原子的原子核充当微小的磁体。这些磁铁与磁场平行或反平行排列，并在这样做时发射或吸收射频能量。发射的能量的量，以及因此技术的灵敏度，取决于使用最高可能的场。由于大多数原子核都是磁性的，因此NMR是一种可以应用于广泛材料的技术，从矿物到人体组织（如MRI）。该奖项将加强九个确定的研究项目：了解农作物对光的反应，重要工业催化剂的机制，产生甲烷的细菌酶，新的有机磁铁的潜在材料，蛋白质与DNA结合的机制，维生素B6如何工作，新型药物的结构原理，包括氟原子，致病真菌如何相互传递信号，以及氯和锌在蛋白质结构和功能中的作用。 所要求的光谱仪是一种最先进的仪器，能够对溶液中的小分子和蛋白质以及固体进行现代多维梯度辅助NMR实验的全部储备。该仪器将具有14特斯拉的磁场。 这将是对内布拉斯加大学现有仪器的重大改进，它将是该州和该地区最强大的NMR光谱仪。 新仪器将使生物化学领域的一名新教员的雇用。这位教师在内布拉斯加大学的存在将创造协同互动与其他教师的研究人员在生物化学和合成化学领域，将提供一个重要的培训机会，为研究生在生物物理化学，并将补充结构生物学研究工作的大卫L。Smith（质谱法）和Gerard Harbison（固态NMR）。本科生和研究生的整合，特别是来自迄今为止代表性不足群体的本科生和研究生的整合，实现了NSF战略计划的主要目标之一，也是内布拉斯加大学研究和该奖项的核心方面。 化学系有20名教师活跃在研究和研究生人口约100。 我们的大多数毕业生在化工行业工作;越来越多的人在生物技术和制药公司找到了工作。 内布拉斯加大学也有一个积极的本科研究工作。通常情况下，五个化学专业和大约相等数量的生物化学专业继续进入化学或生物化学的研究生研究。 化学系举办夏季REU计划，让来自其他大学的本科生获得研究经验。 在去年的22名参与者中，4名是非洲裔美国人，2名是西班牙裔美国人，1名是美洲土著人。在社区学院一级，UNL与内布拉斯加州印第安社区学院和位于内布拉斯加州温尼贝戈的小牧师部落学院的联系日益密切。这些机构的研究人员有机会在UNL进行夏季和/或休假研究，并将从仪器中受益。

This award will fund the acquisition of a 600 MHz solids-capable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer for research projects that span a diversity of problems, from materials science through the chemistry of signaling events to the determination of macromolecular structure. NMR uses the principle that the nuclei of most atoms act as tiny magnets. These magnets line up parallel or anti-parallel to a magnetic field, and emit or absorb radio-frequency energy when they do so. The amount of energy emitted, and therefore the sensitivity of the technique, depends on using the highest possible field. Because most nuclei are magnetic, NMR is a technique that can be applied to a broad range of materials, ranging from minerals to human tissue (as in MRI). This award will enhance nine identified research projects: to understand the responses of crop-plants to light, the mechanism of important industrial catalysts, the bacterial enzymes that generate methane, potential materials for new, organic magnets, the mechanisms by which proteins bind to DNA, how vitamin B6 works, the structural principles of new classes of drugs incorporating fluorine atoms, how disease-causing fungi signal to each other, and the role of chloride and zinc in protein structure and function. The requested spectrometer is a state-of-the art instrument capable of carrying out the full repertory of modern, multidimensional gradient-assisted NMR experiments, on small molecules and proteins in solution, and on solids. The instrument will have a field of 14 Tesla. It will be a major improvement on existing instrumentation at the University of Nebraska, and it will be the most powerful NMR spectrometer in the state and the region. The new instrument will enable the hiring of a new faculty member in the area of biological chemistry. The presence of this faculty member at the University of Nebraska will create synergistic interactions with other faculty researchers in the areas of biochemistry and synthetic chemistry, will provide a significant training opportunity for graduates students in biophysical chemistry, and will complement the structural biology research efforts of David L. Smith (mass spectrometry) and Gerard Harbison (solid state NMR). The integration of undergraduate and graduate students, particularly those from hitherto underrepresented groups, fulfills one of the major goals of NSF's strategic plan, and is a central aspect of research at the University of Nebraska and of this award. The Department of Chemistry has 20 faculty members active in research and a graduate student population of approximately 100. Most of our graduates work in the chemical industry; an increasing number have found employment in biotech and pharmaceutical companies. The University of Nebraska also has a vigorous undergraduate research effort. Typically, five chemistry majors and about an equal number of biochemistry majors continue into graduate research in chemistry or biochemistry. The Department of Chemistry hosts a summer REU program, in which undergraduates from other universities gain research experience. Of the 22 participants in last year's program, four were African-American, two were Hispanic and one was Native American. At the community college level, UNL has growing ties with Nebraska Indian Community College and Little Priest Tribal College at Winnebago, NE. Investigators at these institutions have the opportunity to conduct summer and/or sabbatical research at UNL, and will benefit from the instrumentation.