With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, Professor Stephanie Sen from The College of New Jersey and colleagues Lynn Bradley, David Hunt, Danielle Guarracino and Abby O'Connor will acquire a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer. The award will enhance research training and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) alkene hydrogenation by (allyl)Ni(II) complexes containing stabilizing pendant coordinating arms, (b) probing hormone-protein interactions implicated in disease, (c) development of small molecule proteasome inhibitors, (d) studies of insect juvenile hormone metabolism, (e) synthetic methods for ring construction, and (f) use of cocrystals as active pharmaceutical ingredients.
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 and biochemistry. This instrument will be an integral part of teaching as well as research not only at The College of New Jersey but also will support nearby institutions such as Rider University and also industrial collaborations.
The primary goal of the project was to acquire a high field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer to enhance the research and teaching activities in Chemistry at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). TCNJ is a residential, primarily undergraduate institution that has a total enrollment of approximately 6,200 students from diverse backgrounds. The Department provides American Chemical Society (ACS) certified degrees to approximately 35 majors yearly, and serves several hundred TCNJ students from other departments. As ubiquitous as MRI is to medicine, NMR, which is the basic science counterpart to MRI, is an essential instrument to chemists, allowing them to characterize materials. TCNJ has undergone significant changes since the original purchase of its NSF-funded NMR spectrometer in 1997, which was essentially obsolete and lacked many capabilities available with new instruments. Almost half of the current TCNJ chemistry faculty were hired since 2008, with the expectation that they develop and sustain robust, authentic undergraduate research programs and that they train future scientists in state-of-the-art methods. For these reasons, the Chemistry department requested the purchase of a new NMR spectrometer, with features that allowed our students and faculty to conduct high-end research activities and training. The specific objectives of the grant were: 1) replace our current antiquated spectrometer with one that provides features necessary for the activities of the TCNJ chemistry program, 2) utilize the instrument for research activities of TCNJ faculty and students, resulting in new knowledge in the discipline, 3) train future scientists in essential instrumentation use, and 4) provide students with curricular experiences that demonstrate the utility of NMR spectroscopy beyond MRI imaging. The objectives of the grant were achieved. 52 students utilized this instrument for independent research activities, many of who went on to graduate programs in chemistry or related fields, or were employed in science-related industry. Many important sceintific results were obtained, which were diseminated through 27 presentationst at national meetings and 13 peer-reviewed publications. Various teaching modules were developed for the following courses: CHE332 (Organic Chemistry II), CHE452 (Organometallics and Reaction Mechanisms), CHE478 (Chemical Biology), CHE478 (Spins: Nuclear Magnetic and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance), and CHE476 (The Wonders of Asymmetric Synthesis). These experimences provides a wide range of students with hand-on experience in NMR spectroscopy. Several of the developed curricula were disseminated 1 presentation at national meetings and 1 peer-reviewed publication.
