Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the most powerful tool available to the chemist for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, 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 spectroscopy is essential to chemists and biologists who are carrying out frontier research. The Department of Chemistry at the University of Akron will use this award from the Chemistry Shared Instrumentation Program and the Instrumentation and Instrument Development Program to help acquire a high-field NMR spectrometer. The areas of research that will be enhanced by the acquisition include: 1) Mechanisms of enzymatic reactions 2) Transition metal catalysis of polymerization reactions 3) Development and study of the chemistry of iodinane reagents 4) New 2D-NMR techniques for studying weak intermolecular interactions 5) Enzymatic catalysts for carrying out synthetic transformations 6) Solution structures and conformations of enzyme active sites.
