With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Fort Lewis College will acquire a 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Spectrometer. This equipment will enable researchers to carry out studies on a) the isolation, purification and identification of delphinine alkaloids from Delphinium and related plant genera; b) copper(II)-mediated approach to isoxazoles; c) synthesis and metal coordination studies of new cyclic and acyclic phosphine ligands; d) development of photochemical reaction detection (PCRD) schemes; and e) metabolism and enzymology of acidobacterium capsulatum.
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 chemistry and biochemistry.
