Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the most powerful tool available to the chemist for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, 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 spectroscopy is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. This award from the Chemistry Shared Instrumentation Program will help the Chemistry Department at the Univeristy of Pittsburgh to acquire a high-field NMR spectrometer. The areas of chemical research that will be enhanced by the acquisition include: 1) Study of the mechanism of action of vitamin B-12 through synthetic models 2) Development of new synthetic methods using sulfur reagents 3) The determination of the stereochemistry of alkylidene-alkyl insertion reactions 4) Natural product synthesis and the development of new synthetic methods 5) Construction of complex natural product systems 6) Free radical clocks as probes of enzyme mechanism 7) Studies in molecular recognition
