High-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Facility
Director: N. Rama Krishna, PhD
Department/Center Association: Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics/Comprehensive Cancer
Center
Established: 1972
Mission
The High-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Facility provides state-of-the-art
high-resolution NMR instrumentation and scientific expertise in the form of service, consultation,
advice, and collaboration to UAB faculty members interested in the NMR spectroscopic
investigation of biologically significant molecules.
Facility Description
Conveniently located in the heart of the Medical Center in the UAB Community Health
Services Building-19th (on 19th Street), the NMR facility has the equipment and resources listed
below.
NMR Instrumentation currently includes the following:
1) State-of-the-Art 800 MHz NMR Spectrometer: Dr. Krishna has just been successfully
funded for $ 2 million by the NCRR High End Instrumentation (HEI) Program to
establish a state-of-the-art 800 MHz NMR Facility on the UAB Campus. This 800
MHz NMR system will have a TCI CryoProbe. It is anticipated that this 800 MHz
NMR facility will become operational in about 12 to 18 months.
2) State-of-the-Art Bruker AVANCE 600 System (600 MHz) equipped with an Avance
Console, BOSS-2 orthogonal shim system (28 shim gradients), and four RF
channels; four amplifiers (1H,19F, 50 Watts; two X- nucleus BB, 300 watts; 2HTX
deuterium amplifier 20 watts); a triple resonance TXI 1H {13C, 15N} probe with
X, Y, Z gradients; a triple resonance TBI 1H {13C, C, tunable from 109Ag to 31P}
with X, Y, Z gradients; a 3 X 64 Kword waveform memory and 1 X 256 Kword
waveform memory; a digital Lock with 2H Lock switch unit; a digital Router;
digital quadrature detection; a digital Filter; a digital variable temperature control
accessory with BVT-3000, BCU-05, and 2 X BTO-2000 thermocouple
stabilization units; a 16 bit ADC (2 MHz sampling rate); B0 gradient electronics
for X, Y, Z gradients Acustar, digital pre-emphasis, and 3 X 10 amps (506/cm on
Z and 40 G/cm on X and Y); a SG O2 (R5000 SC) workstation with 4 GB disk, 64
MB memory, CDROM, and 17" monitor; and XWINNMR, XWINPLOT, ICONNMR, NMR-Check, and NMR-SIM. A 600 MHz CryoProbe has just been
installed to provide 300% to 400% sensitivity enhancement. This probe was
funded by the NCRR.
3) State-of-the-Art Bruker AVANCE 500 System (500 MHz) has an Avance 500 Console
with BOSS-2 orthogonal shim system (28 shim gradients) and three RF
channels; three amplifiers (1H, 19F, 50 Watts; two X-nucleus BB, 300 watts);
triple resonance TXI 1H {13C, 15N} probe X, Y, Z gradients; and a triple
resonance TBI probe with Z-gradient, with remaining configuration similar to the
Bruker AVANCE 600 system.
Computing Facilities include a number of resources. A Silicon Graphics O2 (R12000)
workstation is available to facility users for NMR data processing. Users also have access to
three SGI work stations (a SGI Indigo Workstation, an Indigo XS24 Workstation, and an Indigo 2
Workstation) in Dr. Krishna's laboratory for a nominal fee. The software packages available to
users include FELIX, NMRPIPES, and XEASY for nD-NMR data processing and X-
PLOR/QUANTA/CHARMM and INSIGHT-II (Accelrys, San Diego) for molecular modeling
calculations.
Additional NMR Support Resources include a wet laboratory with fume hood equipped
for chemical and physiochemical studies and a biological laboratory equipped for enzymology,
chromatography, tissue culture, etc.
Research Information
The NMR Facility conducts Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy Measurements (including
state-of-the-art 2D/3D/4D-NMR measurements) related to the 3-dimensional structural
determinations of proteins, lipoproteins, peptides, nucleic acids, drug-DNA complexes, complex
carbohydrates, and protein-ligand complexes; routine NMR for synthetic chemistry and
medicinal chemistry projects; screening of compound libraries by STD-NMR to identify lead
compounds specific to target proteins of interest; structure-based drug design; and binding
constant determinations and reaction kinetics. In Vitro NMR Spectroscopy Measurements can
be carried out with tissue samples and cell suspensions to identify metabolites. Consulting and
collaboration are available on experimental design, analysis, and interpretation of data.
Assistance with detailed assignments of NMR spectra and structural calculations is available on
a collaborative basis, if requested by the user. NMR-trained faculty members, as well as
students and staff from any user’s research group, can run their own experiments on the NMR
systems under the supervision of the NMR staff.
The Facility Director periodically teaches a graduate level course (BMG-760, Protein
NMR Spectroscopy) through the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and
arranges for periodic seminars by distinguished scholars in the general area of protein NMR
spectroscopy. A Protein NMR Laboratory Course will be offered in the near future through the
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.
Service Charges and Method
The NMR Shared Facility is available to all faculty members on the UAB campus. The
user fees vary depending upon the nature and complexity of the NMR research project and are
calculated based on hours of instrument usage and the degree of staff assistance requested by
the user. Invoices are distributed on a monthly basis and may be paid by internal requisition.
Prospective users should request a planning meeting with the Facility Director and either the
Manager or the Engineer to discuss experimental design, level of NMR staff support, and
estimated charges.
Contact Information
Director: N. Rama Krishna, PhD
Email: nrk@uab.edu
Phone: 205-934-5695
Manager: Ronald Shin, PhD
Email: shinr@uab.edu
Phone: 205-934-5696
Engineer: Simon Sham, PhD
Email: ssham44@uab.edu
Phone: 205-934-5696
Web Site: http://www3.ccc.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=59561&site=3167&return=59372
Approved by: N. Rama Krishna, PhD, Director
Date: May 29, 2009
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