The UCSF NMR Core and UCSF Pre-clinical Imaging Core (Genentech Hall, Rooms GH-102-106) serves a broad research and clinical community (50+ Investigators in the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, and is utilized by 200+ Students and Postdocs) and supports a broad spectrum of basic and clinical research (oncology, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, infectious diseases and drug discovery). The super-conducting magnets of the medical imagers, NMR spectrometers and dynamic nuclear polarizers of our two cores, that support these research activities, are completely dependent on a regular and reliable supply of refrigerated liquid helium (~750 liters/month) as a cryogenic coolant. Helium (He) is a scarce and ultimately limited natural resource (present in natural gas wells in only a few places on earth, Texas, Oman, Russia). In previous years, but especially in 2018, He gas shortages led to long interruptions, often for months, affecting the supply from all of the commercial He gas vendors. As a consequence, many core facilities have invested in infrastructure to recover and recycle the He gas, with the benefit of not only providing a steady and reliable He supply, but also gaining financial savings while at the same time conserving a scarce natural resource. Accordingly, we request funds to obtain the helium recycling infrastructure for recovery and reuse in the UCSF NMR and Pre-clinical Imaging Cores at Genentech Hall, Mission Bay.
The infrastructure to recover and recycle the He gas for the UCSF NMR Core and UCSF Pre-clinical Imaging Core will provide a steady and reliable He supply for these broadly utilized core facilities avoiding costly shut down in core services, but will also provide financial savings and conserve a scarce natural resource. The instrumentation will benefit a broad research and clinical community (50+ Investigators in the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, and is utilized by 200+ Students and Postdocs) and supports a broad spectrum of basic and clinical research including oncology, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, infectious diseases and drug discovery
