This proposal seeks funding for the acquisition of an 800 MHz NMR spectrometer with helium cryoprobe to serve a recently expanded group of biomedical researchers at UC Santa Cruz. Six UC Santa Cruz faculty, and a collaborator at Boston University, make extensive use of NMR in their NIH-funded projects. Work within these labs addresses relevant issues in cancer biology, neurodegeneration, extraction of novel molecules derived from biosynthetic gene clusters, protein targets in third-world diseases and complex proteins that control circadian rhythms. At the current time, the only on-site, modern instrument is a 600 MHz NMR, which now runs at near full capacity, thereby creating long wait times between experiments. Because most projects require access to instruments with higher field strengths, UC Santa Cruz researchers spend an inordinate amount of time traveling to other university NMR facilities. This not only slows progress, it also severely limits the range of possible NMR experiments. The proposed 800 MHz NMR with helium cryoprobe will offer excellent sensitivity and signal dispersion, and access to important high field experiments, such as TROSY for high molecular weight complexes. Moreover, the instrument will complement the existing 600 NMR. Purchase and maintenance of the proposed instrument will be supplemented by a significant institutional contribution. In addition, the instrument will be sited in a designe, and fully maintained NMR facility staffed by an outstanding, university supported manager. The new 800 MHz NMR, along with the existing 600 MHz NMR, will facilitate throughput and efficiency, minimize spectroscopic blind spots and enable the full range of modern techniques needed for demanding UC Santa Cruz research projects.
The proposed 800 MHz NMR with helium cryoprobe will enable new experiments and accelerate fundamental discoveries related to cancer, discovery of modern drugs, neurodegenerative disease and the molecular machinery of circadian rhythms.
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