Improved NMR Sample Tubes

Advanced Resonance Technologies, Inc, Syracuse NY

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of replacing glass NMR sample tubes with tubes that are made from alternative polymeric materials and novel geometries. Expected advantages include the following: increased spectral resolution through better-matched bulk magnetic susceptibility, larger volume samples in the same geometries, easier sample recovery, greater flexibility and safety, reduced costs, and opportunities for new sampling configurations. Various types of glass tubes have quite different bulk susceptibilities from typical solvents and thus induce troublesome measurement artifacts, akin to refraction in optical measurements. The proposed polymer tubes have bulk susceptibilities very close to typical sample solvents and thus remove discontinuities that distort lines of magnetic flux. This will simplify the process of acquiring high-resolution spectra. The thin walls of the proposed polymer tubes are unbreakable and, for the same outside diameter, provide a larger inside diameter affording a substantial volume increase in the active region of the coil. Water also adheres less to polymeric tubes than to glass. This plus the detachable features of some proposed designs will greatly improve the ability to recover the samples from the tubes. The very thin polymeric tube walls also permit the development of novel geometries for concentric tubes that contain concentration and chemical shift reference standards. [unreadable] [unreadable]