Acquisition of a High-Resolution NMR Spectrometer to Advance Faculty and Undergraduate Research

Bucknell University, Lewisburg PA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Bucknell University will acquire a 500 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Spectrometer. This equipment will enable researchers to carry out studies on a) unusual zinc-binding proteins that will reveal new information on their remarkable structure and activity; b) methodology behind the synthesis of potential ion-channel inhibitors using a class of organorhodium phosphonate species as mechanistic probes; c) the measurement of residual 31P CSA tensors in phospholipid membranes to unambiguously map complex phase behavior; d) characterization of fluid-solid interactions using diffusion experiments to advance on-going studies of multiphase transport; e) use of relaxation and diffusion proton NMR to discover the structural basis for chiral selectivity in capillary electrophoresis separations; and f) the discovery and characterization of natural products with medicinal/biological activities. 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., and this instrument will form the basis for the establishment of a regional, collaborative center for NMR-guided research in central Pennsylvania.