MRI: Acquisition of a 500 MHz NMR for Expanding Research and Training in the Wichita Region

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This award is jointly supported by the Major Research Instrumentation and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Programs in the Division of Chemistry. Wichita State University is acquiring a 500 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer equipped with a liquid nitrogen cooled probe to support the research of Professor James Bann and colleagues Moriah R. Beck, William C. Groutas, Katie Mitchell-Koch, and Haifan Wu. This instrument facilitates research in the areas of drug design, cancer therapeutics, nanomaterials, and polymer chemistry. In general, 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 or in the solid state. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The nitrogen-cooled probe provides a significant increase in sensitivity relative to standard NMR probes. This instrument enhances the educational, research, and teaching efforts of students at all levels in many departments at Wichita State University and in the broader region including 29 rural colleges and universities as well as local chemical, biotech, and aviation industries.The award of the 500 MHz NMR spectrometer is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as structure, dynamics and interactions of proteins, peptides, and macromolecular architectures, and advancing a theoretical understanding of fluorine and phosphorous chemical shifts. This instrument enables research focused on the structure-function of bacterial pore forming proteins, conformational dynamics involved in actin binding and regulation of cellular motility by Ig domains of palladin, and designing novel constrained peptides to target protein-protein interfaces. It also assists in the structure-guided design of a novel class of spiro macrocyclic inhibitors of viral serine and cysteine proteases and the design and synthesis of advanced polymeric materials. Other investigations include the computationally guided interpretation of phosphorus NMR spectra and fluorine NMR studies of biomolecules, and the structure and electronic properties of metal complexes of novel cyanoscorpionate ligands.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.