STTR Phase I: Probe for High Field Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) at Room Temperature

这个小企业技术转让（SSTR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种核磁共振（NMR）探针，这将使研究领域的蛋白质结构测定的挖掘开发和分析化学。 目标是使用一种称为动态核极化（DNP）的技术将室温下测量的信噪比提高200倍。 信噪比的提高将使实验时间减少40，000倍，并将使目前NMR方法无法研究的敏感现象成为可能。 目前的DNP仪器和方法需要在-180 ° C范围内的低温下操作，这需要昂贵的低温系统，并且限制了在室温（0-20 ° C）附近具有重要动力学的生物学重要蛋白质的NMR表征。将开发一种新型的NMR探针，使研究人员能够通过改善向NMR样品提供太赫兹功率来实现室温下NMR信号强度的相同增加。在室温下实现DNP益处的NMR探针和方法将降低当前DNP设置所需的低温基础设施的成本。该STTR第一阶段项目提出开发一种NMR探头，该探头使用与电子顺磁共振（EPR）腔集成的新型转子谐振器，以使用DNP在室温下将灵敏度提高200倍。 与目前可用的DNP仪器相比，转子谐振器将使EPR/微波场强度增加10倍。 所提出的DNP-NMR探针将使得能够在室温下进行DNP，与目前采用的低温DNP方法相比具有以下优点：a）分子动力学（运动）可以通过实验确定; B）分子结构不会被低温条件改变;以及c）光谱分辨率将得到改善（更尖锐的NMR线）。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (SSTR) project is the development of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe that will enable research in the field of protein structure determination for dug development and analytical chemistry. The goal is to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in measurements taken at room temperature by a factor of 200 using a technique called Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP). This increase in signal-to-noise ratio will reduce the experiment time by a factor of 40,000, and will enable the study of sensitive phenomena not possible with current NMR methods. Current DNP instrumentation and methods require operation at cryogenic temperatures in the range of -180 degrees C, which requires expensive cryogenic systems, and limits the NMR characterization of biologically important proteins that have important dynamics around room temperature (0-20 degrees C). A novel NMR probe will be developed that will enable researchers to achieve the same increase in NMR signal strength at room temperature by improving the delivery of terahertz power to the NMR sample. The NMR probe and methods to achieve the benefits of DNP at room temperature will reduce the cost of cryogenic infrastructure necessary for current DNP setups. This STTR Phase I project proposes to develop an NMR probe head that uses a novel rotor-resonator integrated with an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) cavity to increase sensitivity by a factor of 200 at room temperature using DNP. The rotor resonator will increase the EPR/microwave field intensity by a factor of 10 compared to currently available DNP instrumentation. The proposed DNP-NMR probe will enable DNP at room temperature with the following advantages to currently employed cryogenic DNP methods: a) Molecular dynamics (motion) can be determined experimentally; b) molecular structure will not be altered by cryogenic conditions; and c) the spectral resolution will be improved (sharper NMR lines).