A Multi-user 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer for Structural Biology

核磁共振（NMR）光谱学已经发展成为确定溶液中蛋白质和核酸的结构和运动的有力手段。 这些分子构成了生命的机制和蓝图。 NMR是研究这些生物分子如何识别并与细胞中的分子伴侣相互作用的有力方法。 核磁共振也是一种重要的技术，用于研究蛋白质链如何折叠成三维功能形状的原子分辨率细节。 使用这种600 MHz NMR系统的研究将强调确定原子分辨率的3D蛋白质结构。 其他工作将包括研究这些蛋白质的运动和分子相互作用以及研究肽和核酸结构。 新的600 MHz系统将用于研究癌症和关节炎的进展，内耳的听力，细胞内的通信，植物的发育和分化，蛋白质合成中的某些RNA催化反应，蛋白质与细胞膜的相互作用，和蛋白质的稳定性。现有技术的600 MHz NMR系统具有14.1特斯拉的磁场，该磁场被主动屏蔽以最小化其空间需求。 它具有四个通道，可同时射频激发四种原子核，特别是在生物分子中广泛重要的质子，碳，氮，磷和氘。 为了确保清晰的光谱，几乎没有伪影，并能够测量生物分子扩散，该系统包括脉冲场梯度。 两个探针三重调谐到质子，碳，氮频率将使蛋白质和核酸的表征。 一个探头的小体积容纳浓缩的样品，而第二个探头的大体积容纳只能在更稀的溶液中研究的样品。600 MHz NMR光谱仪将由五名博士使用。来自四个参与实验室和三个部门的生物分子核磁共振的学生和五名博士后研究员。 目前，对在溶液中进行蛋白质结构测定培训的学生的需求很大，预计这种需求将持续多年。 600 MHz系统具有更高的分辨率和比校园内的500 MHz光谱仪高1.5倍的灵敏度，有助于更困难的项目。 这种新的光谱仪位于密苏里-哥伦比亚大学的校园范围内的NMR设施中，将有助于结构生物学为生命科学研究的扩展做出贡献，其相关性从医学到农业。

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has developed into a powerful means of determining the structure and motions of proteins and nucleic acids in solution. Such molecules form the machinery and blueprints of life. NMR is a powerful method for studying how these biomolecules recognize and interact with their molecular partners from the cell. NMR is also a crucial technique for investigating atomic-resolution details of how protein chains fold up into their 3-dimensional, functional shape. Research using this 600 MHz NMR system will emphasize determination of atomic-resolution 3D protein structures. Other work will include study of the motions and molecular interactions of these proteins and study of peptide and nucleic acid structures. The new 600 MHz system will be used to study cancer and arthritis progression, hearing in the inner ear, communication within cells, development and differentiation of plants, certain RNA-catalyzed reactions in protein synthesis, protein interactions with cell membranes, and protein stability.The state-of-the art 600 MHz NMR system features a 14.1 Tesla magnetic field that is actively shielded to minimize its space requirement. It features four channels for simultaneous radiofrequency excitation of four kinds of atomic nuclei, particularly the proton, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and deuterium widely important in biomolecules. To ensure clean spectra with few artifacts and to enable measurement of biomolecular diffusion, the system includes pulsed field gradients. Two probes triply tuned to proton, carbon, and nitrogen frequencies will enable characterization of proteins and nucleic acids. The small volume of one probe accommodates concentrated samples, while the large volume of the second probe accommodates samples that can only be studied in more dilute solution. The 600 MHz NMR spectrometer will be used by five Ph.D. students and five postdoctoral fellows in biomolecular NMR from four participating laboratories and three departments. Students with training in protein structure determination in solution are currently in demand, and this demand is expected to continue for many years. The 600 MHz system features improved resolution and 1.5-fold greater sensitivity than the 500 MHz spectrometer on campus, facilitating more difficult projects. This new spectrometer, in the campus-wide NMR facility at the University of Missouri-Columbia, will help structural biology contribute to the expansion of research in life sciences, with relevance ranging from medicine to agriculture.