Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis [NI-SERV-2020-46]

The development of new products depends on the ability to characterize materials. NMR is an analytical technique for the structural analysis of materials at the molecular level and the evaluation of potential applications

Service/Expertise Overview

The NMR Facility at UCIBIO NOVA, integrates the PTNMR infrastructure included in the Portuguese Roadmap of Research Infrastructures and offers a wide variety of services:

1. Routine NMR spectra for structural elucidation/analysis of small organic molecules – Liquid state 1D (1H, 13C, 19F, 31P, etc) and 2D NMR spectra, using standard or specific spectral editing pulse sequences.

2. NMR spectra of biological samples including small proteins or peptides and small molecules in the liquid state – Recording of liquid state 1D NMR spectra with single- or multiple- solvent suppression, using either standard or specific spectral editing (relaxation-, diffusion-edited) pulse sequences.

3. Multidimensional NMR for protein structural determination and study of protein dynamics in the liquid state – Recording of liquid-state 2D and 3D NMR spectra of peptide domains and labeled proteins up to 50 kDa, for structure determination and protein dynamics studies.

4. Structure-activity relationship by NMR – Variety of NMR spectra aiming at discovering affinity ligands for proteins using ligand-observe or protein-observe techniques.

5.NMR Diffusometry of High Viscous Liquid – High power PFG with gradients up to 1800G/cm allow the NMR spectrometer to measure the diffusion coefficient of highly viscous fluids structured systems, as high viscosity simple liquids, liquid crystal solutions, ionic liquids, and swollen gels, among others.

6. Tailored NMR analytical services for industry and consulting – Specialist R&D services for a fee, that represents a common type of interaction between RIs and industry; these interactions represent more than just a unidirectional transfer and may generate lasting partnerships and important scientific challenges and advances. Service requests by companies can also be a starting point to identify possible collaborative projects that can become the bedrock of innovative science.

Competitive advantages

The unique expertise in NMR analysis at UCIBIO allows us to support R&I across different disciplines with an impact in the national industry and in the development of local and regional ecosystems, acting not only as a technology and service provider but opening opportunities for technology transfer.

Applications

• Structural elucidation/confirmation of APIs for the pharma industry.
• QNMR (quantitative NMR) for purity determination and identification of contaminants.

Research unit

Department of Chemistry.