UC DAVIS NMR FACILITY

The NMR Facility provides qualified researchers in the biological, medical, and physical sciences access to state-of-the-art NMR instrumentation for spectroscopy and imaging. At present the Facility operates 10 spectrometers of varying purposes and capabilities, four of which are housed in Building MS1-D and four, operated jointly with the Chemistry Department, in the Chemistry building. Four instruments are largely devoted to structural characterization of organic and inorganic molecules. Two vertical bore spectrometers are used primarily for solution studies of biomolecules, with an additional vertical bore instrument for in vitro biological studies. Two horizontal magnet bore spectrometers are utilized for in vivo spectroscopy and imaging of small animals, imaging of materials, and in vitro spectroscopy of perfused organs. One spectrometer is devoted to solid state NMR spectroscopy. All of the spectrometers are multinuclear and a large variety of liquids, solids, surface, and imaging coils are available for use. The Facility also has Linux computers for off-line data processing. Listed below are the NMR spectrometers with their field strengths and primary use.

 Spectrometer

Proton Frequency 

 Tesla

Primary Use

Location

 Avance 600

 600 MHz

 14.1

 Liquids spectroscopy

MS1-D

 VNMRS 600

 600 MHz

 14.1

 Liquids spectroscopy

Chem 93

 Avance 500

 500 MHz

 11.75

Solids spectroscopy

Kemper 51

 Avance 500

 500 MHz

 11.75

Liquids spectroscopy

MS1-D

 Avance 400

 400 MHz

 9.4

 In vitro spectroscopy

MS1-D

Inova-400

400 MHz

9.4

 Liquids spectroscopy

Chem 93

Mercury-300

300 MHz

7.05

 Liquids spectroscopy

Chem 93

MercuryPlus-300

300 MHz

7.05

 Liquids spectroscopy

Chem 3470

 Biospec 7T

300 MHz 

7.05

 In vivo spectroscopy, imaging

MS1-D

 Tecmag

 26 MHz

 0.6

 Imaging

 FS&T

The Facility provides an annual training class (offered every Fall quarter as BCM 230) to the campus to enable users with long term research projects to independently operate the spectrometers. For those needing occasional NMR data, the Facility has trained personnel to obtain spectra. Further information on the Facility including spectrometer scheduling procedures are available from the Facility office, 752-7677 or jsderopp@ucdavis.edu

Research at the Facility covers a wide range of fields. Some of the current projects follow. Organic and inorganic chemists characterize natural and synthesized molecules via NMR studies. In the biomedical field, in vivo spectroscopy and imaging are being used to study heart and brain metabolism, probe effects of drugs in shock therapy, and investigate oxygen binding to myoglobin in tissue. Biochemists and chemists are studying protein, nucleic acid, and carbohydrate structure/function relationships using liquids NMR. Chemical engineers utilize imaging methods to study multiphase transport phenomena, and food scientists are investigating hardening and ripening in foodstuffs such as vegetables and fruits by magnetic resonance imaging. Over sixty Campus faculty from more than two dozen departments utilize the Facility annually.

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