With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Baylor University will acquire a 500 MHz NMR Spectrometer. This equipment will enable researchers to carry out studies on a) the preparation of new ligands for asymmetric transition metal catalysts; b) redox reactions of transition metal organometallic compounds; c) synthetic bioorganic chemistry; d) formation of coordination polymers; e) stereospecific preparation of conjugated dienes; f) the chemistry of half-sandwich monocarbollide complexes of transition metals; and g) investigations of enzymes involved in the metabolism of the N-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine protein crosslink .
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. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in synthetic organic chemistry and biochemistry.
