MRI: Acquisition of an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectrometer

该奖项由主要研究仪器和化学研究仪器项目支持。纽约大学的貂天宁教授和他的同事纳撒尼尔·特拉塞斯研制了一台连续波电子顺磁共振（EPR）光谱仪。该仪器允许在各种领域进行研究，例如那些提供有关未配对电子的生物相关物种行为的见解。一般来说，EPR光谱仪产生分子和固态材料的几何和电子结构的详细信息。它还用于获取有关自由基的寿命的信息，这些自由基是短命的、高活性的物质，参与有价值的化学转化，以及可能的病理生长的开始。这些研究影响了许多领域，从无机和有机分子的合成到新型固态材料的开发，再到磁性和生物学的化合物。从正在进行的研究中汲取灵感，该仪器是纽约大学本科和研究生阶段研究和教学的一个组成部分。除了获得有机、无机、生物物理和材料研究的核心方法论能力外，EPR光谱仪还用于课程作业，也用于参加本科生研究经验（REU）计划的学生以及访问暑期研究的本科生和高中生。EPR技术研讨会是在REU项目的背景下组织的。大多数高中生和本科生都来自少数民族服务机构和四年制大学。EPR光谱仪向更广泛的用户社区开放，包括三州地区的学生、教师和工业科学家，这是美国最大的学区，也是种族和文化最多样化的地区之一。这将用户基础扩展到来自四年制大学的学生，这些学生通常不熟悉先进的仪器和科学与工程研究生院的机会。这些活动将有助于改善纽约市及周边地区的科学教育。该光谱仪的颁发旨在加强各级的研究和教育。它特别有助于研究镍催化反应的机理，确定膜转运蛋白的分子机制，以及研究电子转移来设计分子探针。该仪器还用于开发铜基可重构催化剂和探索生长诱导的晶体曲率。该仪器还为研究人员制备多核氢化物自由基阳离子，在半导体纳米晶体中掺杂杂质，以及研究钴和锰催化还原反应机理的人员提供服务。该光谱仪有利于测定无序蛋白的构象变化和测定乳糖一水结晶对磷酸三酯酶活性位点的影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is supported by the Major Research Instrumentation and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation programs. Professor Tianning Diao from New York University and colleague Nathaniel Traaseth have acquired a continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer. This instrument allows research in a variety of fields such as those that provide insight on how biologically relevant species with unpaired electrons behave. In general, an EPR spectrometer yields detailed information on the geometric and electronic structure of molecular and solid-state materials. It is also used to obtain information about the lifetimes of free radicals, short-lived, highly reactive species involved in valuable chemical transformations as well as the initiation of possible pathological growth. These studies impact many areas, from the synthesis of inorganic and organic molecules to the development of new solid-state materials to compounds of magnetic and biological interest. Employing examples inspired from ongoing research, this instrument is an integral part of research and teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels at New York University. In addition to gaining competency in a methodology that is central to organic, inorganic, biophysical, and materials research, the EPR spectrometer is used in coursework and is also used by students participating in a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program and by visiting summer research undergraduate and high-school students. Workshops in EPR techniques are organized in the context of the REU programs. Most of the high school and undergraduate student participants are from minority-serving institutions and four-year colleges. The EPR spectrometer is open to the broader user community, including students, faculty, and industrial scientists in the tri-state area, the nation's largest school district and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse. This expands the user base to students from four-year colleges that are often unfamiliar with advanced instrumentation and graduate school opportunities in science and engineering. These activities will contribute to the improvement of science education in New York City and surrounding areas.The award of this spectrometer is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels. It especially aids studies of mechanisms of nickel-catalyzed reactions, the determination of the molecular mechanism of membrane transport proteins, (as well as studies of electron transfer to design molecular probes. The instrumentation is also used for developing copper-based reconfigurable catalysts and for exploring growth induced crystal curvature. The instrument also serves researchers preparing polynuclear hydride-radical cations, doping impurities in semiconductor nanocrystals, and those studying the mechanism of cobalt and manganese-catalyzed reductive reactions at CUNY John-Jay. The spectrometer benefits the determination of conformational changes in disordered proteins and the determination of the effect of lactose monohydrate crystallization on the active site of phosphotriesterase.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.