With this award, co-funded by the Division of Chemistry and the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Professor Nicola Pohl and colleagues John Verkade, Surya Mallapragada, Malika Jeffries-EL and Aaron Sadow from Iowa State University will acquire a 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer with variable temperature capabilities, a pulsed field gradient module and two tunable probes. The proposal is aimed at enhancing research training and education at all levels, especially in areas of study such as replication of how carbohydrate code cells communicate, to develop chemical tools to solve problems in biology and medicine and to discover atmospheric intermediates of organic photochemistry, support of synthetic efforts, polymers and fabrication of nano building blocks.
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 results from these NMR studies will have an impact in synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, biochemistry and the environment. This instrument will be an integral part of teaching as well as research.
In 2011, the Iowa State University Chemical Instrumentation Facility purchased and installed a AVIII600 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer from Bruker-Biospin, using funds from the NSF-MRI Program and the Iowa State University Department of Chemistry. The instrument expanded the capabilities of NMR instrumentation in the CIF by adding a dedicated high field solution NMR to be used by synthetic chemists, materials scientists, food scientists, molecular biologists and others. NMR is one of the most useful techniques available to researchers for determining molecular structure. The AVIII600 features two probes for sample analysis, allowing for the observation of nuclei such as proton, carbon, deuterium, selenium, fluorine, phosphorous, boron, silicon and oxygen. Researchers rely on the AVIII600 for its advanced capabilities. Compared to other spectrometers in the facility, the AVIII600 has the largest range of tunable nuclei and the largest available temperature range. The AVIII600 features an autosampler that can be used to analyze up to 60 samples automatically. This frees up time for the researcher and utilizes late night and weekend hours more efficiently. Other automation features include an autotuning probe, automated sample lock and automated gradient and 3D shimming. The automated shimming is particularly useful in maintaining homogenous lineshape for all users. Although we have an older Bruker system in the CIF, the automation features and user-friendly interface make the AVIII600 more accessible to undergraduates, new graduate students and researchers lacking a background in spectroscopy or chemistry. The AVIII600 also has very high sensitivity, allowing for fast acquisition of allowing for a reduction in experiment times and a higher volume of acquired spectra. Since the AVIII600 was installed in November 2011, over 100 students and scientists have been trained to use the spectrometer. These users represent 20 research groups spanning 5 university departments, 2 undergraduate course sections, and 4 chemical and biological research companies in the Ames and Des Moines area. The users are from departments including Chemistry, Materials Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biorenewable Chemicals and Ames Laboratory. These researchers have logged almost 10,000 instrument uses, acquiring over 26,000 spectra in the last two years. Using data collected on the AVIII600, researchers have given over 22 conference presentations, published 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and applied for 2 patents. Since 2010, the CIF has seen an increase in high-level instrumentation and users from outside of the chemistry department. At the same time, Iowa State University has made network-attached storage available to research groups and departmental units. The CIF was one of the first major units to make use of this project by developing automatic backup software for the data acquired on the AVIII600 and other instruments in the facility. Users can now access their data from anywhere on or off campus, and analyze their data through the use of site-licensed NMR software. The CIF has also held training seminars for undergraduate and graduate students so that they may become more familiar with the high-level capabilities of the AVIII600. The AVIII600 has been used to study polymers for use in transistors, LED’s and biosensors, biorenewable sources for commodity chemicals and plastics, organometallic catalysts, drug delivery, and in the characterization of nanoparticles. The availability of advanced instrumentation in the Chemical Instrumentation Facility continues to attract excellent students, faculty and outside industrial users to the facility.
