Acquisition of a 300 MHz NMR Console for Research and Training in Biochemistry and Chemistry

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Abstract A grant has been awarded to Loyola University Chicago under the supervision of Dr. Mota de Freitas, Professor of Chemistry, for the purchase of a new 300 MHz NMR console for hydrogen atoms, a variable temperature control module, a 5 mm pulse-field gradient, an indirect-detection probe, and a 10 mm multinuclear broadband probe. The console will be used in conjunction with the superconducting magnet with a magnetic field strength of 7 Tesla from an existing, but inoperable, narrow-bore 300 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The NMR facility also owns and maintains a second high-field instrument, a wide-bore 400S NMR spectrometer. Prior to May of 2000, the multinuclear 300 MHz NMR instrument was used primarily for research whereas the 400 MHz spectrometer was used for obtaining one- and two-dimensional NMR spectra of organic compounds by graduate students as well as in undergraduate education. Since May of 2000, the 400S NMR spectrometer is accessible to all faculty, technical staff, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Five principal research groups, including that of Dr. Mota de Freitas, have a series of projects in the areas of biochemistry, neurochemistry, and in biophysical, bioinorganic, organometallic and environmental chemistry that will benefit greatly from a dedicated, upgraded 300 MHz NMR instrument. NMR spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to biochemists and chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used in the identification of unknown compounds, the characterization of specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and in the investigation of dynamic aspects of the interactions between molecules in solution. The equipment to be purchased will be used in several projects, including studies on the bioinorganic chemistry of lithium salts, synthesis of complex affinity crosslinking reagents for proteins, dicarboxylic acid linked gramicidin dimers, photochemically active dyes linked to hemoglobin, functionalized gem-bisphosphonic acid ligands for the extraction of metal ions using supercritical carbon dioxide, asymmetric synthesis by palladium (II) catalysis, and 33S and 17O NMR studies of sulfonic acids and sulfonate buffers. With the upgraded 300 MHz spectrometer, the existing 400 MHz instrument will be used more extensively in both undergraduate and graduate classes. As the undergraduate research program within the department continues to expand, the addition of another NMR spectrometer will allow our students to gain "hands-on" experience with a high-field spectrometer. The Department of Chemistry hosts a summer REU program, which in the past few years has made extensive use of our 400S NMR spectrometer. This past summer, all REU students were exposed to a one-week overview of the use of an NMR spectrometer. It is our hope that a new functional NMR spectrometer will allow the Department of Chemistry to continue to integrate undergraduate and graduate students, including women and underrepresented minorities, in a research setting that will benefit greatly from the upgraded instrumentation.