Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a versatile tool that provides information on structures and dynamics of various biological and synthetic molecules at an atomic level. The SCSB NMR Laboratory is located in its own two-story building ( NMR Dockside Building ) on the UTMB campus at Galveston. Currently, the following three high-field NMR spectrometers are available at the facility:

• Bruker Avance III 800 MHz spectrometer with a ¹H⁄ ²H ⁄ ¹³C ⁄ ¹⁵N TCI cryoprobe
• Bruker Avance III 750 MHz spectrometer with a ¹H ⁄ ²H ⁄ ¹³C ⁄ ¹⁵N TCI cryoprobe
• Bruker Avance III 600 MHz spectrometer with a ¹H ⁄ ²H ⁄ ¹³C ⁄ ¹⁵N ⁄ ³¹P QCI cryoprobe

These instruments are capable of various multi-dimensional heteronuclear ¹H ⁄ ²H ⁄ ¹³C ⁄ ¹⁵N ⁄ ³¹P NMR experiments. For the 750 MHz spectrometer, a diffusion broadband (DiffBB) probe capable of generating up to 270 gauss/cm field gradients is also available for diffusion experiments on various ions (e.g., ²³Na⁺, ⁷Li⁺,¹⁹F^-, ¹³³Cs⁺). For stability of power supply, high-capacity UPS units protect the NMR spectrometers. A Cryomech LHeP22 helium recovery system recovers helium gas from the three NMR magnets and liquefies it for reuse, which reduces operating costs for the NMR equipment.

Major applications of NMR to biomedical research include (but not limited to):

• Determination of 3D structures of biological macromolecules
• Structural dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids
• Macromolecular kinetics & thermodynamics
• In-cell ⁄ in-situ analysis of proteins
• Metabolomics
• Fragment-based drug discovery

The SCSB NMR Laboratory offers instrumentation, training, collaboration and assistance in designing NMR experiments. The 800 MHz NMR spectrometer is a shared resource of the Gulf Coast Consortia.