NSF Award
0959322
This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).<br/><br/>With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program Professor J. Thomas Ippoliti and colleagues Bartholomew Dahl, Thomas C. Marsh and William H. Ojala from the University of St. Thomas will acquire a 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer with an autosampler unit. The instrument will be used to support research activities such as: 1) design and synthesis of oxazolidinone antimicrobial agents, photochromic naphthopyrans and biodegradable polylactides capable of adhering to metal stents, 2) exploration of use of a tethering lactone unit in the design and synthesis of biaryl molecular switches, 3) examination of nucleic acid nanoscaffolds containing a single guanine-rich oligonucleotide sequence motif, and 4) co-crystallization of isostructural pairs of "bridge-flipped" benzylideneanilines and phenylhydrazones.<br/><br/>Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, to characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solution. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry and biochemistry. This instrument will be an integral part of teaching as well as research.
