MRI: Acquisition of a 500 MHz NMR to Enhance Research and Training

在主要研究仪器计划(MRI)的这一奖项以及化学研究仪器计划(CRIF)和刺激竞争研究实验计划(EPSCoR)的支持下，犹他州州立大学的Lisa Berreau教授及其同事张成伟、Alvan Hengge、孙玉洁和詹继勋将获得一台500 MHz的核磁共振谱仪。总的来说，核磁共振波谱是化学家用来阐明分子结构的最强大的工具之一。它被用来识别未知物质，表征分子内原子的特定排列，并研究溶液中分子之间相互作用的动力学。对于正在进行前沿研究的化学家来说，获得最先进的核磁共振光谱仪是必不可少的。这些核磁共振研究的结果将对合成有机/无机化学、材料化学和生物化学产生影响。该仪器将是犹他州州立大学、美国农业部有毒植物研究实验室和犹他州盆地USU地区校区博士后、研究生和本科生教学和研究的组成部分。该奖项旨在加强各级研究和教育，特别是在下列领域的研究和教育：(A)推进代谢工程和合成生物学；(B)了解金属在生物系统中的作用和开发生物用试剂；(C)开发具有有用生物活性的新碳水化合物分子；(D)了解生物系统中磷酸酯水解反应的细节；(E)开发与太阳能生产有关的水分解反应的新催化剂；(F)鉴定有毒植物毒素；以及(G)促进天然产物合成。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) and support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program (CRIF), and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Professor Lisa Berreau from Utah State University and colleagues Cheng-Wei Chang, Alvan Hengge, Yujie Sun and Jixun Zhan will acquire a 500 MHz NMR spectrometer. 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. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry and biochemistry. This instrument will be an integral part of teaching as well as research by postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate students at Utah State University, the USDA Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory, and the regional USU campus at the Uintah Basin. It will also impact outreach activities involving minority student populations.The award is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) advancing metabolic engineering and synthetic biology; (b) understanding the roles of metals in biological systems and developing reagents for biological use; (c) developing new carbohydrate-containing molecules with useful biological activities; (d) understanding the details of phosphate ester hydrolysis reactivity in biological systems; (e) developing new catalysts for water splitting reactivity with relevance to solar energy production; (f) identifying poisonous plant toxins; and (g) advancing natural products synthesis.