Integrated Molecular Structure Education and Research Center (IMSERC) at Northwestern

Timeline on the new Bruker installations:

IMSERC NMR finally finished the multi-million dollar upgrading from discontinued Varian/Agilent platform to Bruker in August 2019! All the new instruments have been installed as following timeline:

March 12, 2018 : Au400 replaced with Bruker Avance III HD.
March 26, 2018 : Hg400 replaced with Bruker Avance III HD.
April 10, 2018 : A600 upgraded with BBFO smart probe.
June 28, 2018 : A BBFO smart probe tested on Ag500 as backup probe.
August 3, 2018 : X500 replaced with Bruker Avance III HD w/ BBFO probe, the Prodigy probe delayed.
August 30, 2018 : HFCN600 (aka HCN600) replaced with Bruker NEO console w/ QCI-F cryoprobe.
May 15, 2019 : The PhoenixNMR 1.6 mm HFX solid probe installed on Hg400.
August 1, 2019 : The new liquid nitrogen cooled TXO Prodigy probe added to X500.

All the liquid NMR instruments, including A600 and Ag500, are equipped with new SampleXpress auto-samplers!

Au400

Au400 is a 400 MHz Bruker Avance III HD Nanobay system equipped with SampleXpress autosampler. It is used for VT, reaction monitoring and hetero-nuclear NMR experiments.

Features

BBFO Smart probe w/ Z-Gradient

Sensitivity: ¹ H=500, ¹³ C=225, ³¹ P=150, ¹⁹ F=500

VT range: -150 to +150°

Heteronuclear: Yes

Reservation: 1 hour to 48 hours per week

Other Features: Autotune, Automation with Bruker SampleXpress 60-positions autosampler

Funding: National Science Foundation (CHE-1048773)

A600

The Bruker Avance III 600 MHz system has two RF channels. It is used for extended variable temperature and hetero-nuclear NMR experiments in additon to regular proton and carbon ones.

Features

BBFO Smart Probe w/ Z-Gradient

Sensitivity: ¹ H=900, ¹³ C=360, ³¹ P=250, ¹⁹ F=960

VT range: -150° to +150°

Heteronuclear: Yes

Reservation: 1 hour to 48 hours per week

Other Features: autotune, PFG at 55G/cm, SampleXpress

Ag500

The Bruker Avance III 500 MHz system is equipped with DCH CryoProbe. It is fully automated with a SampleXpress autosampler. It is located at B530 of Silverman Hall.

Features

CryoProbe 5mm DCH w/ Z-Gradient

Sensitivity: ¹ H=1800, ¹³ C=1400

VT range: 25°

Heteronuclear: No

Day Time Limit: 10 min per sample, up to 30 min during day time, no limit at night

Other Features: Autotune, Automation with SampleXpress autosampler

HFCN600

This newly upgraded Bruker Neo 600 MHz system w/ QCI-F cryoprobe is primarily used for macro-molecular NMR studies, including protein, DNA, RNA, and carbohydrates. Structure elucidation, natural product, and drug discovery can also benefit significantly from the extremely high sensitivity offered by the cryoprobe. In addtion, it has ultrahigh 19F sensitivity, the best around Chicago area.

Features

QCI (HFCN) Cryo Probe w/ Z-Gradient

Sensitivity: ¹ H=5000, ¹⁹ F=7000, ¹³ C=800

VT range: -30° to +70°

Heteronuclear: No

Reservation: 1 hour to 168 hours per week

Other Features: Autotune, PFG at 55G/cm and SampleXpress

X500

The X500 is a Bruker Avance III HD system equipped with a TXO Prodigy probe, which improves the sensitivity by 2-3 times for the heteronuclei while still maintaining excellent sensitivity for proton. It is dedicated for high-throughput application. All the hetero-nuclear NMR experiments can benefit from the high sensitivity and convinience of the SampleXpress auto sampler.

Features

TXO 5mm Prodigy probe w/ Z-Gradient

Sensitivity: ¹ H=1200, ¹³ C=700

VT range: -40° to +80°

Heteronuclear: Yes

Day Time Limit: 20 min per sample, up to 60 min during day time, no limit at night

Other Features: Autotune, SampleXpress autosampler, PFG at 55G/cm

Funding: Northwestern University

Hg400

The Hg400 is a three channell 400 MHz Bruker Avance III HD system equipped with both liquid and solid-state probes. The liquid one is a BBFO Smart probe w/ gradient capable of doing most hetero-nuclear NMR experiments besides regular proton and carbon ones. It also has wide variable temperature capability. We have two solid-state probes on this system. The Bruker 4 mm HX probe is for most of route work. The Phoenix 1.6 mm HFX probe can be used for 19F and 1H with spinning rate up to 40K Hz.

Features

BBFO Smart probe w/ Z-Gradient

Sensitivity: ¹ H=500, ¹³ C=225, ³¹ P=150, ¹⁹ F=500

VT range: -150° to +150°

Heteronuclear: Yes

Reservation: 1 hour to 48 hours per week

Other Features: Autotune

Funding: National Science Foundation (CHE-9871268) and International Institute of Nanotechnology