This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program will help the Department of Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytech Institute acquire a 500 MHz NMR spectrometer which will be used in research investigations in the following areas of chemistry: 1) proteins (endothelin, alamethicin, gramicidin and ion-binding sites of lysozyme), 2) drug interactions with model oligonucleotides, 3) self-assembled inorganic double helicates 4) ion channels in cell membranes 5) polyether antibiotics and 6) enantioselective syntheses of organic molecules with biological activity. The applications of the ten minor users include the study of inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis, glycoside antibiotics, and characterization of the structure and dynamics of natural and synthetic polymers. 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 spectrometry is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies are useful in areas such as polymers and catalysis, and in biology.
