Core Capability for Chemistry Research at Oxford

现代化学科学的发展几乎完全依赖于高度精密的仪器为研究化学家提供关于分子结构、性质及其与其他化学或物理物种相互作用的信息。这些信息对于设计和开发用于改善健康的新药物、用于更安全和更绿色的社会的新材料以及为现代生活奠定基础的无数精细化学品至关重要。它对于发明制造这些物质所需的新的化学工艺也是必不可少的。研究化学家使用的主要仪器方法是核磁共振(核磁共振)谱和质谱学(MS)。核磁共振可以被认为是更广泛认识的磁共振成像(MRI)技术的表亲，在临床上用于研究我们身体的组织结构。核磁共振不是详细描述整个组织的结构，而是通过定义化合物中原子的环境以及这些原子连接(结合)的方式，为化学家提供关于单个分子结构的精细细节。质谱学是一种称重单个分子，从而确定组成目标分子的类型和数量的元素的技术。因此，通过结合应用核磁共振和质谱学技术，研究人员可以可靠地鉴定化学结构。这些知识反过来又为理解化学和化学反应提供了基础，从而在现代化学研究的许多方面取得了进展。牛津大学化学系支持非常强大的核磁共振和质谱学研究设施，为约600名化学家提供核心研究基础设施，并提供各种最先进的分析方法来表征结构。虽然这些设施包括在过去5年内安装或升级的现代规格仪器，但它也容纳了大量超过10年的仪器，缺乏现代同类仪器的能力、效率和可靠性，因此需要更换(就像超过10年的汽车不能满足现代车辆的规格，很可能需要更换以实现最佳和最可靠的性能一样)。因此，在这项申请中，我们正在寻求资金，用最先进的仪器替换或升级3台核磁共振光谱仪和3台质谱仪，以便更好地支持化学系内部以及与其合作的许多部门或研究所的当前研究活动。这也将确保在未来几年获得可靠的仪器，消除我们对分析仪器的依赖，这些仪器不再适合现代研究实验室的用途。这种新设备将通过提供所需的关键研究基础设施，帮助确保该系保持在化学科学研究和教学的前沿。

The development of modern chemical science is almost entirely dependent on highly sophisticated instrumentation to provide research chemists with information on molecular structures, their properties and their interactions with other chemical or physical species. Such information is critical for the design and development of new pharmaceuticals for improved health, new materials for safer and greener societies, and for myriad fine chemicals that underlie modern living. It is also essential for the invention of novel chemical processes that are required to make these. Primary amongst the instrumental methods employed by research chemists are Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry (MS). NMR may be considered a cousin of the more widely recognised technique of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) used clinically to investigate the structure of tissues in our bodies. Rather than detailing the structures of whole tissues, NMR provides chemists with exquisite detail on the structures of individual molecules by defining the environments of atoms within the compound and the way in which these are joined (bonded) together. Mass Spectrometry is a technique for weighing individual molecules and thereby defining the type and number elements that comprise the target molecule. Thus, through the combined application of NMR and MS techniques, researchers can reliably identify chemical structures. This knowledge, in turn, provides the foundation for understanding chemistry, chemical reactions and hence advances in numerous lines of modern chemical research. The Chemistry Department at Oxford University supports very substantial NMR and MS research facilities that provide core research infrastructure for ~ 600 chemists, and makes available a diverse range of state-of-the-art analytical methods for structure characterisation. Whilst these facilities include instruments of modern specification, installed or upgraded within the last 5 years, it also houses a significant number of instruments that are over 10 years old and lack the capabilities, efficiency and reliability of their modern counterparts so are in need of replacement (in much that same way that a car over 10 years old would not match the specifications of a modern vehicle and is likely to need replacing to achieve the best and most reliable performance). Thus, in this application we are seeking funds to replace or upgrade 3 NMR spectrometers and 3 mass spectrometers with state-of-the-art instruments so as to better support current research activities within the Chemistry Department and with the many departments or institutes with which it collaborates. This will also ensure access to reliable instruments in future years, removing our dependence on analytical instruments that are no longer fit for purpose in modern research laboratories. This new equipment will help ensure the department remains at the forefront of research and teaching in the chemical sciences by providing the critical research infrastructure this demands.