Paprika (DPX 400 MHz) Retired

Our DPX 400 MHz Oxford magnet had a severe vacuum issue.  The department decided to retire this instrument!  More information will be forthcoming about the purchase of a new instrument.  In the meantime – watch the video of the magnet quench!

Dan and Tanya

Avance Neo 400 MHz – Installation Begins 3.26.2019


Our new 400 MHz NMR system installation will begin on 3.26.2019.  This system will be equipped with a liquid nitrogen cooled Prodigy probe with enhanced sensitivity for broadband nuclei (13C, 31P, 11B, etc.) and 1H.  The S:N for 13C experiments is promised to be greater than the 600 MHz.  This system will also include a SampleJet and be operated in full automation 24/7.  There will be new experiments available – so stay tuned for updates.

**Look for training announcements in mid-late April**

During installation – please give the Bruker service engineers and scientists space for their work which will be very close to the existing 400 MHz.

SampleJet Errors

It is imperative that samples are submitted to the SampleJet properly – this will help us avoid numerous system failures!

  • Caps MUST be completely engaged on the NMR tube.  After quick inspection of the rack daily – we’re finding lots of caps that are barely holding on.  Please see the picture below.  If you tube is almost touching the bottom of the rack – your cap is not on far enough!!  If too long – the system will fail.
  • Caps cannot be split!  Again, looking through the rack – there are usually several split caps.
  • NMR tubes cannot be broken/cracked.  The caps must be on exactly straight.

With variations of tube lengths, caps on/off/split – the system can never fulling be calibrated.  Our errors will continue if these steps are not followed.   If this continues – we may have to start requiring only one brand of NMR tubes – which may increase your cost/sample.  You will still need to follow the direction above!

-TLW, NMR manager

Today is Prof. Richard Ernst’s birthday!

Prof. Ernst developed the Fourier Transform – all we need to do is type ‘efp’ or ‘wft’ and in less than a second – voila, there’s a beautiful NMR spectrum.  He also developed the 2D NMR – COSY and beyond.  I miss catching his presentation of the Laukien Prize at the annual Experimental NMR Conference.

https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.6.20180814a/full/

“Born on 14 August 1933 in Winterthur, Switzerland, Richard Ernst is a Nobel Prize–winning physical chemist… His doctoral thesis centered on the newly developing field of high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The following year he left Switzerland for the US to become a research scientist at Varian Associates in Palo Alto, California. There, he and a colleague worked to improve the sensitivity of NMR spectroscopy and developed Fourier transform NMR….In the 1970s he developed two-dimensional NMR techniques to study large molecules. He also expanded the application of NMR spectroscopy as a valuable tool in a number of fields besides chemistry, including physics, biology, and medicine. His work would lead to the development of magnetic resonance imaging, a noninvasive diagnostic imaging technology essential to medical professionals.”