Research Capabilities

As the only high-field NMR facility with capabilities of solid state NMR, solution state NMR and MRI at NTU, our main research focus is the characterization of systems in the fields of biology, material sciences, medicine and chemistry.

Low-gamma MAS NMR

The facility can examine almost any NMR active isotope due to the wide range of transmission frequencies offered by its MAS probes. The lowest achievable transmission frequency of the 7mm H/X DVT MAS probe is 25.6 MHz, which is roughly equivalent to the Larmor frequency of  109Ag, allowing measurements of low-gamma nuclei such as 39K, 99Ru, 25Mg, 14N, and 133Cs. This flexibility in observed nucleus allows us to examine a wide range of materials from many different angles, as each NMR isotope can have different features and sensitivities. 

29Si[1H] CPMAS of various cements and a 133Cs-1H CPHETCOR of perovskite nanocrystals.

High Resolution MAS NMR

The high magnetic fields (up to 800 MHz) and fast MAS frequencies (up to 110 kHz) available in the facility allow high resolution NMR of complex molecules such as proteins, nucleic acids and bio-polymers. 1H, 13C , 15N, 31P and 19F solid state NMR are commonly observed in multidimensional  correlation spectra to allow extracting structure, dynamics and intermolecular interactions at the molecular level for the large systems.

2d 13C-13C DARR NMR spectrum and 1H-13C/15N dipolar lineshapes from a 3D DIPSHIFT spectrum of nucleosomes.

Variable Temperature MAS NMR

The facility has the capability to acquire MAS NMR data of most NMR active nuclei over a wide temperature range of -30 to 140 oC. Specific rotor caps will need to be purchased to achieve the higher temperatures, please contact our research staff for further details.

Bruker chilling unit.

CryoProbe Solution NMR

The facility boasts a 5mm QCI H/P/C/N CryoProbe which contains cryogenically cooled electronics while maintaining ambient sample temperatures. This has the effect of boosting 1H and 13C sensitivity by roughly 4 times, allowing acquisition times to be greatly reduced. This probe, coupled with the high field 800 MHz spectrometer, provides solution NMR with high resolution and high sensitivity.

CryoProbe in operation.

Micro MRI

The facility has MRI capability through a MICWB40 micro-imaging probe which allows imaging of inanimate and live samples with a maximum diameter of 30 mm. 

MRI image of a coronal slice of a mouse's brain.