An award is made to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) to support the acquisition of a 700 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The 700 MHz NMR will be configured for solution and solid state NMR studies with high sensitivity and ease-of-use to enable structural and dynamics studies of biological and other low sensitivity molecules. The new instrument will serve 18 UNH research programs from 6 departments and 3 colleges, bringing together a diverse group of researchers. It will also serve other colleges and universities in the region and will be nationally accessible via remote login. The instrument will enhance advanced training opportunities, especially for students pursuing advanced degrees, preparing the next generation of NMR spectroscopists.
Research enabled by the acquisition encompasses a broad range of structural biology, chemistry, and materials science based projects at UNH and in the northern New England region. Research topics will include studies of antifreeze proteins, scaffold proteins, photoreceptor enzymes, synthetic enzymes, elastin-like polymers, and protein-polymer hybrids. NMR data will be integrated with modelling and simulation data to gain a holistic view of protein dynamics and interactions. Solid state NMR will be used to characterize the structure and dynamics of solid samples, including membrane associated proteins, protein-ice mixtures, polymers, and nanomaterials. Data from these studies will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at scientific meetings, used in course offerings, and leveraged in public outreach activities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
