With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, Luigi G. Marzilli, Robert P. Hammer and George G. Stanley, of the Department of Chemistry at Louisiana State University and A&M College will acquire a 700 MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with advanced cryoprobe probe technology. The equipment includes a superconducting 700 MHz magnet system with 5.4 cm bore (field at 16.43 Tesla), and a triple resonance inverse cryoprobe with filters, cooled preamplifiers for proton and deuterium-lock, and actively shielded Z-gradient. This instrument will enable the following research projects: a) studies of Metal-DNA interactions; b) bioanalytical separations using chiral polymers; c) beta-Sheet propensity of alpha, alpha-disubstituted amino acids; d) aggregation & association of porphyrin sensitizers; e) NMR studies of tetrapyrrole systems; f) molecular level investigations of pollutant & membrane interactions with natural organic matter; and g) in situ NMR studies of a bimetallic catalyst. Faculty at a number of area institutions (Southern University, Grambling, Dillard and Xavier) will also have access to the 700MHz instrument.
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 environmental chemistry and biochemistry.
