With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York in Cortland will acquire a 300 MHz NMR Spectrometer. This equipment will enable researchers to carry out studies on a) sodium ion exchange from DNA in the presence of cation ligands; b) rhenium diimine tricarbonyl anion compounds and supramolecular assemblies; c) stereoselective synthesis of tropanes and other heterocyclic amine alkaloids; and d) the stereoselectivity of the 2+2 photodimerization of orotic acid, with implications on the primary mode of solar radiation induced DNA damage carcinogenesis and mutagenesis at the molecular level. In addition, the NMR instrument will be used for coursework in organic chemistry and in the advanced laboratory component of the Chemistry program.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the most powerful tool 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 spectrometry is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in a number of areas including biochemistry and materials chemistry.
