MRI: Acquisition of a 600 MHz NMR Console and Cryoprobe to Support Research and Education at Boise State University

An award is made to Boise State University to modernize an existing 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer with a new cryoprobe, console, and temperature-controlled autosampler. The spectrometer, the most powerful and sensitive in the state of Idaho, will be housed in a shared user facility at Boise State University, Idaho’s largest public university, located in Idaho’s largest metropolitan area. In addition to those at Boise State University, the spectrometer will be used as part of research projects involving users from neighboring liberal arts and community colleges, local industry, and government agencies. The facility will continue to provide training in modern NMR techniques to future scientists from diverse backgrounds as the graduate, undergraduate, and high school students involved in the research projects will be funded by programs such as the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates, NSF Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation, TRiO, McNair Scholars, American Chemical Society Project SEED, NIH Bridges-to-Baccalaureate, Boise VA Medical Center, among others. NMR spectroscopy is a critical tool for chemists, biologists, and engineers studying many of society’s biggest problems where knowledge of a molecule’s structure or dynamics in solution is essential. As such, NMR spectroscopy has been used for confirming the identity of newly prepared compounds and materials, determining the solution structure of proteins, measuring the interactions between two molecules (e.g., a protein and a potential drug), and evaluating the rates of chemical or biological reactions. The research projects enabled by the modernization of Boise State’s cryoprobe-equipped 600 MHz NMR spectrometer will help address problems such as understanding the fundamental mechanisms of antibiotic drug resistance, seeking better ways to recycle and reuse plastic while simultaneously developing sustainable alternatives to traditional plastics, developing new DNA-based materials for quantum computing, studying the underlying biological mechanism involved in important diseases.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.