Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

This is an application for NSERC funds to replace two aging nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes at the NMR Facility in the Department of Chemistry of Queen's University. NMR spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique that chemists use daily to study molecular structure, dynamics, and chemical bonding. Probes are a critical component of a spectrometer and are primarily responsible for the overall sensitivity during detection of NMR signals. After 12 years of services, the two NMR probes in question are getting close to the end of their lifetimes. As a result, their performance has deteriorated drastically in recent months. This means that researchers must spend much longer data acquisition times to obtain satisfactory results. In some cases, the low sensitivity associated with the two aging probes has prevented researchers from detecting any useful NMR signals, thus hampering their research progress. The requested replacement/upgrade of the two aging NMR probes used for multi-nuclear NMR experiments is not only necessary but also urgent. The requested new NMR probes will benefit 92 researchers from more than 30 NSERC-supported research programs across several departments (Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biochemistry) at Queen's. Because multi-nuclear NMR is an indispensable tool in many research fields in chemical and biological sciences, to have continuing access to the state-of-the-art multi-nuclear NMR facility is crucial for our diverse research programs to maintain competitiveness at the international level. The outcome of these successful research programs will range from advances in fundamental science to developments of commercial products.