Low Temperature Polarization Device for Enhanced NMR Sensitivity

University of Georgia Research Foundation
posted on 06/01/2010

The present invention can increase NMR sensitivity by an order of magnitude for a subset of applications, including some important biological applications of NMR. The invention involves a simple device that can be fitted to most NMR spectrometers, exploiting well known enhancements of polarizations at low temperatures, and an ability to rapidly transition from a frozen to a solution sample for observation. Application is best suited to time sensitive experiments in which spectra need to be collected within seconds of the melting transition.

Suggested Uses

I. Best suited to time sensitive experiments in which spectra need to be collected within seconds of the melting transition

II. Analysis of deuterium content of peptides in which deuterons rapidly back-exchange for solvent protons (needed for a new resonance assignment procedure for large and glycosylated proteins), and real-time analysis of protein or RNA folding

Advantages

I. Simple; based on polarization enhancement inherent at low temperatures

II. Minimal instrument construction by making optimum use of hardware normally used in NMR data acquisition

III. Increases NMR sensitivity at the single acquisition level by an order of magnitude

IV. The upper stack is generically applicable and can be fitted to most NMR spectrometers, exploiting well-known enhancements of polarizations at low temperatures and an ability to rapidly transition from a frozen to a solution sample for observation

Innovation Details

Detailed Description

NMR has many advantages, including its universal applicability as a non-destructive tool for analysis of compounds containing suitable magnetic nuclei, the near quantitative relationship between resonance intensity and molecular abundance, and the sensitivity of NMR observables to molecular structure. NMR suffers severely, however, from limited sensitivity.
A number of methods have been introduced over the years for enhancement of NMR sensitivity in selected applications. However, these methods have brought with them their own set of disadvantages, leaving a need for innovations that address sensitivity enhancement s. For a subset of important biological applications of NMR, it would be of significant benefit to increase the sensitivity of NMR techniques, even by as little as an order of magnitude, if this could be done with simpler apparatus and procedures.

File Number: 1354

IP Protection

Patent Number(s):	2009089007

License Online

This innovation currently is not available for online licensing. Please contact Rachael Widener at University of Georgia Research Foundation for more information.

request more info