The Department of Chemistry Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility was awarded a $529,000 Shared Instrumentation Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The new instrument is a much needed replacement of a 20-year-old system currently in place. An additional $72,455 was added to the grant by the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) and will purchase a five-year service contract for the new instrument. The commitment by CNS, led by Professor Dean Appling, was an important piece in receiving the grant.
The new system will be equipped with a CryoProbe that will deliver a factor of two to three in sensitivity enhancement over any systems currently in place. Additionally, the system will be equipped with an automatic sample changer that will help increase sample throughput.
"For our users, this technology will allow compounds to be analyzed in much smaller quantities and in vastly reduced time periods,” says Angela Spangenberg, Research Engineering/ Scientist Associate in the NMR facility. “Researchers in the department will enjoy the advantages of increased sensitivity and lower detection limits provided by the new instrument."
A departmental effort to receive the grant was led by Professor Jonathan Sessler and supported by 12 faculty members. UT staff members Jennifer Lyon and Angel Syrett put the grant proposal together with technical assistance from Steve Sorey.
“This was much more work than any of us imagined. However, the happy ending makes the effort all worthwhile,” says Sessler. “It is pleasing to be able to contribute through shared instrument proposal writing something that will help our department in such an immediate and tangible way.”
Congratulations and thank you to the staff and faculty members associated with this achievement.
