A grant has been awarded to the University of Mississippi under the direction of Dr. Daniell Mattern for partial support of the modernization of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer facility in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The grant will enable the Department to refurbish its 13-year-old 300 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer, replacing its console with a Linux-based workstation. Additional improvements include upgrades to the magnet control system, RF transmitter, and digital acquisition system, and the additions of console-controlled probe tuning, an automatic sample changer, and a variable temperature unit. Also, the console for the Department's other NMR instrument will be upgraded to a Linux-based workstation. The upgrades will greatly enhance the Department's ability to continue to operate these crucial Departmental workhorses.
The majority of the Department's research groups depend on these two NMR instruments for routine analyses and/or for specialized molecular studies. Studies that will be facilitated by this grant include the synthesis and evaluation of polymeric electrolytes for fuel cell use and molecular-scale electrical rectifiers, the investigation of catalytic radical asymmetric cyclizations that can help make new organic molecules, the function of the crucial carboxylesterase enzymes, and how protein folding occurs and how it can affect gene expression. Concerning the Department's teaching mandate, NMR spectroscopy is a component of a wide variety of courses. These range from sophomore to graduate level laboratory courses and encompass a variety of sub-disciplines, including organic, inorganic, and biochemistry. The modernization will make the Bruker instruments much more accessible to undergraduate majors and graduate students.
The NMR upgrade is also expected to provide broader impacts. It will assist the Department's recruitment and retention of minority students, at both the graduate level and through the University's Summer Research Institute for Undergraduates, which gives minority students from historically black colleges and universities laboratory research experience. Research projects assisted by the upgrade could benefit society by helping lead to the development of more efficient fuel cells, nanometer sized electrical devices, new routes to valuable pharmaceuticals, better antitumor agents, and new treatments for narcotics abuse.
