This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Katherine D. McReynolds and colleagues Cynthia J. Kellen-Yuen, Claudia G. Lucero, James A. Miranda and John D. Spence from California State University - Sacramento will acquire a 500 MHz NMR spectrometer and an autosampler for an existing 300 MHz spectrometer. This equipment will support research in 1) the synthesis of glycodendrimers; 2) the synthesis and study of the photoreactivity of highly conjugated arenediynes; 3) the microwave synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles; 4) the study of vinylcyclopropane monoradical cyclization-fragmentation; 5) the synthesis of chiral silyl ethers from ketones and the total synthesis of kavain and 6) the elucidation of the biochemical pathway to the marine neurotoxin domoic acid. The instrumentation will also be used in teaching and training of a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students at this university.
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. This instrument will be an integral part of teaching as well as research.
