Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

Bruker AVANCE III Nanobay 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer with Automation

In 1945 Felix Bloch (Stanford) and Edward Purcell (Harvard) discovered nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in ordinary matter (they were awarded Nobel Prize in physics later in 1952). NMR is a sensitive probe for determining the local magnetic field at the location of the nuclei in matter. It gives us information about nuclear spins and their surroundings. The NMR phenomenon has found many applications in science and technology including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the medical field.

Three basic operations are carried out in a typical NMR experiment: 1. Place the sample in a static magnetic field; 2. Excite nuclei in the sample with a radio frequency (RF) pulse; 3. Measure the frequency of the signals emitted by the sample. From the emitted frequency, we can deduce information about the bonding and arrangement of the atoms in the sample. Thus, a magnet, a RF generator, and a probe are the essential components of an NMR instrument.

The Bruker AVIII400 LMU MANE Center has is a two-channel NMR instrument running IconNMR automation under TOPSPIN NMR software. It incorporates a 9.40 T Ultrashield Plus Ultra Long Hold Time Magnet and is equipped with a 5 mm z-gradient PABBO BB-1H/D Z-GRD probe and a 60-position B-ACS 60 sample changer. Its two channel RF generation provides <0.01° phase settability and <0.005 Hz frequency resolution.

Technical Info (from Bruker)

UltraShield™ Plus Magnets: In combination with Bruker BioSpin's UltraShield™ Plus 400 MHz magnets, the NanoBay allows easy sitting in non-NMR laboratories even when space is limited. These magnets are the ultimate advancement in high performance, actively-shielded NMR Solutions.

Avance™ III Spectrometer: The NanoBay incorporates Avance III spectrometer technology, which permits an unprecedented level of digital control, exceptionally pure NMR frequency generation and unprecedented speed and flexibility.

TopSpin® User Interface: Ease of use is provided through the use of TopSpin™ NMR software and IconNMR™ automation interface, with automation options that can be tailored to the throughput needs of each laboratory.

CryoProbes™: The CryoProbes™ delivered the single largest increase in NMR sensitivity in the last few decades. This jump in sensitivity enables laboratories to observe sample amounts that were considered too small just a few years ago, and to increase sample throughput up to 16-fold.

High-Throughput NMR: NMR automation utilizing sample changer system has become an invaluable tool for both industry and academia. According to the laboratory's needs or goals, automation may involve high-throughput screening, overnight automation or multi-user open access.

Applications (from Bruker):

Structure Verification: Avance™ III NanoBay offers a verification suite to utilize characteristics of the chemical synthesis if available and shift prediction otherwise. Efficient visual inspection via color coded result panels. Any technique can be combined with a fully automated LC-MS analysis.

Mixture Analysis: NanoBay offers a profiling module for identification and quantification of complex mixtures. Spectral and molecular information are provided in a spectra base and knowledge base.

Metabolomics: NanoBay fully integrates spectroscopic and statistical analysis of NMR, HPLC and LC-MS data to better find valid metabolomic results.

Protein-Ligand Screening: NanoBay fully supports the analysis of protein-ligand binding combining interactive and automated tools. Effects of binding can be studied in spectra of labeled proteins or unlabeled ligands.