About the NMR Core Facility

The NMR facility at OHSU provides the structural verification of organic molecules. This facility is part of the emerging Program in Chemical Biology at OHSU, designed to exploit the power of designed small molecules as probes of protein and cellular function, and thereby, to provide the foundation for the development of prototypic therapeutic agents.  The facility contains a Bruker Avance 400 MHz High Performance NMR Spectrometer and is staffed by qualified personnel who have been trained in the use and maintenance of the instrument.  In general, this is a state-of-the-art NMR spectrometer for determining or verifying the structure of organic molecules.

The instrument is not appropriate for structural determination of macromolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids, but most biologically-active small molecules can be studied including (but not limited to): nucleotides, sugars and small polysaccharides, amino acids and small peptides, fatty acids, lipids, neurotransmitters, hormones, and most drugs.  The instrument can also be used to follow the progress of organic reactions; in particular, the disappearance of diagnostic resonances (chemical shifts) in reactants and the appearance of new resonances in products.