This is a joint proposal from eight major users of the Boston College Chemistry Department engaged in various facets of chemical and biochemical research involving organic, organometallic, and biological compounds. The request is for funds to upgrade an aging Varian Unity 500 spectrometer (vintage 1991) to a state-of-the-art research tool by the addition of digital RF generation, a third RF channel, pulse field gradients, waveform generators, and a H nanoprobe. This upgrade will address the vast majority of our non-routine NMR needs by increasing sensitivity and resolution and allowing a higher sample processing. The upgrade of the spectrometer to a UNITY INOVA 500 system will open an entire library of new experiments utilizing gradients and shaped-pulses, including more current (and effective) solvent suppression techniques, coherence pathway selection methods, and tailored excitation profile experiments. The availability of a nonoprobe will help speed analyses of combinatorial library products by allow direct analyses of bead slurries. Since combinatorial chemistry has become an important part of several of the P.I.'s research, this is a critical addition. The upgraded NMR spectrometer will increase productivity and give students and postdoctoral fellows hands-on exposure to a vital and constantly evolving technique in chemistry and biology.
