CRIF:MU Establishment of a Cyber-Enabled Electron Spin Resonance Spectrometer Facility

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With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Multi User program (CRIF:MU), the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin will acquire an Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectrometer. The ESR spectrometer will be utilized in research projects including 1) detection of radical ions generated electrochemically or in a flow mixing cell, 2) detection of radicals in catalytic dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles in in-situ electrochemical experiments, 3) study of spin-active intermediates in metalloprotein systems, 4) study of the pathways for metal catalyst-induced oxidation of polymers, 5) measurement of the redox states and inference of structures of paramagnetic sulfur centers in enzymes from anaerobic microorganisms, 6) detection of acyl radicals associated with the oxidative transformation of isoniazide for the treatment of tuberculosis, 7) characterization of lanthanide and transactinide coordination compounds, and 8) spectroelectrochemical measurement of redox systems (i.e. proteins).An electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer yields information on the molecular and electronic structure of molecules via the detection of unpaired electrons. It may also be used to obtain information about the lifetimes of free radicals, short-lived species that are often essential for the initiation of tumor growth and/or a variety of chemical reactions. Such structural and dynamic information may be obtained from ongoing chemical or physical processes without influencing the process itself. These studies will have an impact in a number of areas, from manufacturing to materials and biological chemistry.