The University of Birmingham has been awarded UKRI funds as part of an EPSRC-led UK-wide NMR Infrastructure call to purchase an ultra-high field 1.2 GHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer for the Henry Wellcome Building for Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy (HWB-NMR) and for the greater benefit of the UK life and physical sciences NMR community. Currently the highest magnetic field available for NMR, this state-of-the-art equipment will allow local PIs, collaborators and external users to remain at the forefront of international research, in terms of scientific applications, methodological development and the recruitment and training of graduate students and young researchers, fulfilling UKRI’s overarching strategy to support excellence in UK science. This additional ultra-high field capability will provide a unique enabling technology, supporting a wide range of science with far-reaching impact.
It is anticipated that the 1.2 GHz NMR spectrometer will transform our scientific understanding in three key areas: (1) the spatial and temporal resolution of biological mechanisms; (2) the structure and function of materials at the atomic level; (3) the impact of environmental and chemical agents on live cells and organisms. In all three fields, the gains brought by the 1.2 GHz spectrometer will translate into new and otherwise unreachable discoveries that will benefit human wellbeing. In health and the biological sciences, a better understanding of biological mechanisms will help define novel therapeutic strategies in contexts such as infection, cancer, neuropathologies and aging. In the physical sciences, improved characterization of solid-state structures and properties will accelerate the development of new materials (e.g. for energy storage, electronic devices and drug formulations), as well as the design of industrial strategies for green chemistry. In environmental science, deeper insights into the effects of chemicals and pollutants on plant and microbial functions will facilitate design of effective routes of prevention and intervention.
The equipment to be procured comprises a superconducting magnet operating at 1.2 GHz magnetic field, a spectrometer console capable of transmitting and receiving radiofrequencies of > 1.2 GHz, one associated cryogenically-cooled probe for measurement of solution-state samples in 3 mm tubes and a solid-state 1.9 mm probe for material science.

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