Capabilities

NMR time requests

The CCIC NMR is a state-of-the-art campus-wide core facility that currently houses eight high resolution Bruker NMR spectrometers (600 to 850 MHz) with a wide range of capabilities. Application for NMR time on the these shared instruments can be requested on the facility website.

Important: NMR time on the 1.2 GHz NMR instrument cannot be requested until the instrument has been delivered and commissioned. 

Current NMR capabilities

The shared CCIC NMR facility current includes the following instruments and probes:

CCIC NMR SOLUTION-STATE INSTRUMENTS

  • Bruker Avance III HD Ascend 600 MHz NMR equipped with a 5 mm broadband (BBFO) “Smart” probe (ca. 700:1 proton signal/noise ratio and 400:1 carbon signal/noise ratio), a SampleCase capable of storing up to 24 samples at room temperature and automated loading of samples, and an Automated Tuning & Matching (ATM) module. Combined with its excellent line shape this probe facilitates superior single or multiple solvent suppression using presaturation or pulsed field gradients as required for samples from reaction control, biological samples and body fluids.  This system is ideal for a wide range of applications from routine 1H NMR measurements on small molecules to advanced research applications including inverse experiments requiring excellent solvent suppression. The direct detection capability of the BBFO probe allows easy performance of many heteronuclei, including 19F and 31P experiments.
  • Bruker Avance III HD Ultrashield 600 MHz NMR equipped with a triple resonance inverse (TXI) cryoprobe (ca. 6000:1 proton signal/noise ratio), a temperature controlled sample robot (SampleJet) capable of handling up to 510 samples at a desired temperature (≥ 4°C), and an Automated Tuning & Matching (ATM) module. The instrument is ideal for high-throughput studies of complex mixtures (metabolomics) as well as biological studies of proteins and nucleic acids.
  • Bruker Avance III HD Ascend 700 MHz NMR equipped with a triple resonance observe (TXO) cryoprobe (ca. 4400:1 proton signal/noise ratio and 3100:1 carbon signal/noise ratio), a temperature controlled SampleJet capable of handling up to 510 samples at a desired temperature (≥ 4°C), an Automated Tuning & Matching (ATM) module, and a BSNL nitrogen liquefier. The combination of the long liquid helium hold times of this Ascend generation magnet and the nitrogen liquefier, capable of zero nitrogen boil-off, minimizes maintenance and enables nearly uninterrupted use of the system for over 5 months. The instrument is ideal for high-throughput studies of complex mixtures (metabolomics) as well as biological studies of proteins and nucleic acids. The high-sensitivity carbon and nitrogen detection offers unique capabilities to study systems with poor proton signal dispersion, such as natural products (which are often sample limited), intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), polysaccharides, and nucleic acids. This instrument has the highest 13C-detection sensitivity of all our solution NMR instruments and it is therefore attractive for chemical reaction analysis in organic chemistry. 
  • Bruker Avance III HD 800 MHz NMR equipped with a quadruple resonance inverse (QCI-P) cryoprobe (ca. 7400:1 proton signal/noise ratio and 1500:1 carbon signal/noise ratio), a SampleCase capable of handling up to 24 samples at room temperature in automation, an Automated Tuning & Matching (ATM) module, and a BSNL nitrogen liquefier. The nitrogen liquefier, capable of zero nitrogen boil-off, significantly reduces maintenance and enables up to two months of uninterrupted use of the system. The QCI-P cryoprobe offers a fourth, phosphorus channel to facilitate backbone assignment studies of nucleic acids. The high sensitivity and resolution of the instrument makes it ideal for high-throughput studies of complex mixtures (metabolomics), as well as biological studies of proteins and nucleic acids and their complexes. 
  • Bruker Avance III HD Ascend 850 MHz NMR equipped with a triple resonance inverse (TCI) cryoprobe (ca. 10,000:1 proton signal/noise ratio and 2000:1 carbon signal/noise ratio), a temperature controlled SampleCase capable of handling up to 24 samples at 6°C in automation, an Automated Tuning & Matching (ATM) module, dual proton and carbon receivers, and a BSNL nitrogen liquefier. The nitrogen liquefier, capable of zero nitrogen boil-off, significantly reduces maintenance and enables up to seven weeks of uninterrupted use of the system. The instrument is also equipped with a dual-receiver that allows the possibility of the accelerated parallel acquisition of datasets. With its very high sensitivity and resolution, this instrument is ideally suited for high-throughput studies of complex mixtures (metabolomics), as well as biological studies of large proteins and nucleic acids.

CCIC NMR SOLID-STATE INSTRUMENTS

  • Bruker Avance III HD Ascend 800 MHz NMR. This multi-purpose instrument has wide range of solution and solid-state capabilities including: 
    • 4.0 mm gradient hr-MAS probe with proton, carbon, and nitrogen channels as well as a deuterium lock. This probe is ideal for studies of biological solids such as membrane proteins and tissue samples.
    • 2.5 mm tri-gamma MAS probe, with a proton channel and interchangeable X & Y channels capable of studying a multitude of nuclei from nitrogen up to phosphorus. This probe is ideal for studies of solid inorganic materials and polymers. 
    • 5/10 mm Micro5 / Diff30 imaging and diffusion probe, coupled with 40 Amp triple-axis XYZ gradients, is capable of MRI studies of samples up to 10 mm in diameter.
    • 5 mm QXI-F solution state room-temperature probe (ca. 1200:1 proton signal/noise). The unique fluorine channel makes this probe ideal for studying fluorine-fluorine and fluorine-proton interactions in soluble fluorinated materials.
    • 5 mm TXI solution state room-temperature probe (ca. 2000:1 proton signal/noise). The high resolution of this system is ideal for a wide range of applications from routine 1H NMR characterization of small molecules to advanced research applications of complex mixtures (metabolomics) and biological studies of proteins and nucleic acids and their complexes. 

The long hold times of liquid helium (over 5 months) and liquid nitrogen (3 weeks) of this Ascend generation magnet reduces maintenance and down-time of the system. 

  • Bruker Avance III HD Aeon 800 MHz Wide-bore NMR. This wide-bore solid state instrument has a plethora of advanced solid-state probes capable of analyzing a wide range of biological solids, powders, and micro-crystalline samples, including: 
    • 2 x 3.2 mm Efree HCN MAS probe with spinning speeds up to 25 kHz offers minimal radio frequency (RF) heating and excellent RF performance and tuning stability. This probe is ideal for studies of biological solids such as membrane proteins.
    • 3.2 mm HXY MAS wide-bore probe, with a proton channel and interchangeable X & Y channels capable of studying a multitude of nuclei from nitrogen up to phosphorus. This probe is ideal for studies of solid inorganic materials and polymers. 
    • 1.9 mm HCN MAS probe, with spinning speeds up to 42 kHz, is capable of averaging out the detrimental dipolar and chemical shielding interactions, thereby dramatically improving sensitivity and resolution of the experiments. 
    • 1.3 mm HCN MAS probe, with spinning speeds up to 67 kHz, is capable of averaging out the detrimental dipolar and chemical shielding interactions, thereby dramatically improving sensitivity and resolution of the experiments. This probe is ideal for experiments employing proton detection for enhanced sensitivity. 
    • 0.7 mm HCND MAS probe, with spinning speeds up to 111 kHz, is capable of averaging out the detrimental dipolar and chemical shielding interactions, thereby dramatically improving sensitivity and resolution of the experiments. This probe is ideal for experiments employing proton detection for enhanced sensitivity. 

The instrument includes a standard-bore shim insert making it possible to interchange many of the probes with the above Ascend 800 MHz instrument, maximizing the available capabilities of the facility at any given time. The state-of-the-art Aeon magnet requires no liquid helium fills on a regular basis and is equipped with a helium liquefier, capable of near zero helium boil-off, thereby eliminating routine maintenance and down-time of the system.

  • Bruker Avance III HD Ascend 600 MHz Wide-bore NMR with 395 GHz Gyrotron for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP). This wide-bore solid state instrument is capable of utilizing DNP of solid samples doped with compounds containing electron radicals, typically enhancing the NMR spectral sensitivity by 10 to 100 fold. The system is equipped with several DNP and room-temperature probes for studying biological solids, powders, and micro-crystalline samples including: 
    • 3.2 mm HCN low-temperature MAS probe for DNP. Experiments are carried out at 100 K for efficient transfer of electron polarization to the nuclear spins of interest, with MAS speeds of up to 17 kHz. The probe is set up for triple resonance proton, carbon, and nitrogen and is ideal for studies of biological solids.
    • 3.2 mm HX low-temperature MAS probe for DNP. Experiments are carried out at 100 K for efficient transfer of electron polarization to the nuclear spins of interest, with MAS speeds of up to 17 kHz. The variable X channel makes it of particular interest for studies of inorganic solids and polymers.
    • 1.9 mm HCN MAS probe, with spinning speeds up to 42 kHz, is capable of averaging out the detrimental dipolar and chemical shielding interactions, thereby dramatically improving sensitivity and resolution of the experiments. 

The 7 T gyrotron magnet is cryogen-free, requiring little or no maintenance for microwave generation.  The long hold times of liquid helium (over 4 months) and liquid nitrogen (3 weeks) of the 600 MHz Ascend NMR magnet reduces maintenance and down-time of the system.