Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility

Department of Chemistry

Bruker Avance III 300 MHz wide-bore NMR

 
The Bruker Avance III 300 MHz wide bore (8.9 cm) NMR instrument with its numerous probes is a most versatile instrument, capable of solution state NMR, solid-state NMR, rheo-NMR, diffusion NMR, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). It permits the high sensitivity observation of proton, carbon, phosphorous, and fluorine as well as a large number of more exotic nuclei. This instrument is set up for rapid throughput of routine samples. It is capable of performing most modern liquid phase NMR experiments including state of the art two and three dimensional experiments with pulsed field gradients. It is available to departmental users to solve structural problems requiring high resolution capabilities. The imaging capabilities open up a whole new world of other experiments.

 

This complex machine has lots of components.

 

 

Some images collected with the MRI imaging probe Bruker MICB40 RES 300 1H 040/025 QTR are shown below. They should serve as an encouragement for other users to use the facility.

In the first experiment some raisins were bought at a local supermarket, put in a tube and water was added. In the experiment 256 slices were acquired 0.15 mm apart. The whole experiment took  5 minutes 7.2 seconds. Four of the 256 slices are shown below. Clearly visible are the individual raisins and their contents.

 

 

In the second experiment, a cone was put into a tube, and no water was added. In the experiment 256 slices were acquired 0.10 mm apart. The whole experiment took 52 minutes 9.527 seconds. Four of the 256 slices are shown below. This experiment took longer than the experiment with the raisins above as the water content of the cone is much less than of the raisins. Thus, more signal averaging was necessary.

 

 

In the next sample, water penetration in a rock-like sample was investigated. The bright spots indicate water in the sample. This shows the feasibility and usefulness of MRI in geology, ecology, and petroleum recovery.

 

 

Page created by Alexander Goroncy.