MRI: Acquisition of a 400 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer for the Advancement of Research and Teaching at Texas A&M International University

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With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation Program that is co-funded by the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program, Professor Alfred Addo-Mensah from Texas A&M International University (TAMUI) and colleagues Anju Gupta, Eugenio Jaramillo, Qingwen Ni and James Cohen will acquire a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer to be housed at TAMUI but also accesible to Laredo Community College (LCC). This award is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) design, synthesis, characterization and binding studies of multivalent bipyridine based macrocyclic carbohydrate receptors in aqueous solutions; (b) evolutionary patterns, identification, and characterization of naphthoquinones in the plant family boraginaceae; (c) study of molecular sieves containing transition metal ions; and (d) design and synthesis of light-emitting polymers.Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, to characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solution. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry and biochemistry. This instrument will be an integral part of teaching as well as research at both of these minority serving institutions, which will increase access to modern instrumentation to a large number of underrepresented students.