NMR superconducting magnet repair

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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful analytical tools used in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology and medical sciences. However, a drawback of the NMR method is that its applicability is limited by its weak sensitivity. For this reason, NMR has not been a very useful tool for characterizing the solid surfaces of materials. In recent years it has been demonstrated that high-spin polarization of xenon gas can be achieved by optical pumping methods using lasers. The xenon polarization can be transferred to selected nuclei at the surface of a material, resulting in a large surface NMR signal. In practice, there are a number of hurdles to overcome before hyperpolarized xenon surface NMR can be widely applied. We have been developing such a system with financial assistance from NSERC. This proposal is a request for fundng to repair a superconducting magnet, which is an essential component of our NMR system. Without the magnet, we are unable to continue research in this area.