With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI), the Chemistry Department at Oregon State University will acquire a 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The NMR spectrometer will be utilized in several research projects including 1) synthesis of complex, biologically-active natural products, 2) biosynthetic studies of biologically active natural products from microorganisms, and 3) new methods in enantioselective organic synthesis. The 600 MHz NMR spectrometer will be housed in the Chemistry Department NMR Facility, readily accessible by many potential users.
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 high field NMR will provide increased dispersion and sensitivity to better detect intermediates and products in the synthesis of complex molecules proposed in this study.
