February 11, 2008

Purdue's new $1.2 million machine excites nuclei and researchers

Purdue is the first public university in Indiana to obtain the equipment, a Bruker AV-800 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The new spectrometer will allow researchers to examine molecules, such as proteins and metabolites, that are too complex or present in concentrations too low for less powerful equipment.

"The new equipment will further research into biomarkers of disease, development of targeted drug therapies and determination of protein structures," said Timothy Zwier, head of the chemistry department and Purdue's M.G. Mellon Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. "The equipment was necessary to maintain our leadership in these fields and will attract top students and researchers to our university."

Purdue is offering use of the equipment to the greater scientific community. Research groups outside campus may send samples for examination or can complete training to use the machine independently. Arrangements can be made by contacting John Harwood, Purdue's director of NMR facilities.

The number in the name of the equipment refers to its base operating frequency of 800 MHz - a radio frequency just like what radio stations use to broadcast music. The NMR spectrometer uses pulses of radio frequency energy to excite certain nuclei of a sample placed in a high magnetic field and to manipulate molecular-level interactions. The higher the radio frequency used, the greater the sensitivity and resolution the equipment can provide.

Each molecule gives off signals that are represented by a graph of peaks. In complex molecules, multiple signals overlap and sometimes can appear as single broad peaks. The new machine is better able to resolve, or spread apart, those peaks. This allows researchers to identify the exact makeup of the sample and to examine slight structural changes, Harwood said.

The higher resolution also uncovers signals of molecules present in low concentrations that may be hidden by the signals of molecules present in large concentrations.

"The equipment employs a superconducting magnet and uses up to four different radio frequencies to probe and observe a sample," Harwood said. "It can produce two-dimensional or three-dimensional maps to help determine the exact structure of molecules within a sample and to identify interactions between molecules and between nuclei in a given molecule."

Purdue's Office of the Vice President for Research; colleges of Science, Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences, Agriculture, and Engineering; departments of Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology; Purdue Oncological Sciences Center and Purdue Cancer Center; and schools of Biomedical Engineering and Veterinary Medicine pooled resources to purchase the equipment. Many research groups across campus will use the machine and perform experiments with the assistance of several dozen faculty, staff and students trained in its operation. Access to the new spectrometer will be granted to any user who can complete the training and checkout procedures.

The Purdue Interdepartmental NMR Facility provides access to state-of-the-art techniques for Purdue, as well as for area businesses and technology parks.

The facility has spectrometers located in four laboratories in three buildings on the Purdue campus. These spectrometers are able to perform the entire gamut of modern nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and are used by researchers in chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, and other departments in areas as diverse as protein structure determination, organic chemistry support and metabolomics.

Writer: Elizabeth Gardner, (765) 494-2081, ekgardner@purdue.edu

Source: Timothy Zwier, (765) 494-5203, zwier@purdue.edu

John Harwood, (765) 494-5287, jharwood@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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