Acquisition of NMR Spectrometer for Chemistry

Franklin And Marshall College, Lancaster PA

Investigators

Abstract

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College will acquire a 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Spectrometer. This equipment will enable researchers to carry out studies on atranyl-nucleosides as transition state analogs in the study of the hammerhead ribozyme, in vivo incorporation of photocrosslinked amino acids to increase protein stability, molecular recognition using fluorescent chemsensors, the mechanism of the [1,3]carbon shift, hypercoordination in organogermanium compounds, and the structure-lattice energy relationship in lead double salts. 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 organometallic chemistry and biochemistry.