With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Denison University will acquire a 400 MHz Fourier Transform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FT-NMR) Spectrometer. This equipment will enable researchers to carry out studies on a) probing dynamics in macromolecules using coupled spin relaxation; b) synthesis and characterization of methylene bridge substituted calix[4]arenes; c) studies of the reactivity and stereochemistry of protonated cyclopropanes in terpenoid rearrangements; and d) NMR studies of nearest neighbor effects on chemical shifts in peptides and studies of chemically modified proteins.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the most powerful tool 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. In addition to research involving undergraduate students, this instrument will be used in a number of advanced undergraduate laboratory courses at Denison University.
