# Gas Chromatography-Molecular Rotational Resonance Spectrometer

> **NIH NIH R44** · BRIGHTSPEC, INC. · 2020 · $1,011,550

## Abstract

Gas Chromatography-Molecular Rotational Resonance Spectrometer
NIH SBIR Direct to Phase II
BrightSpec, Inc.
Project Summary
This project proposes the development of the first commercial gas chromatography-molecular
rotational resonance (GC-MRR) spectrometer for analytical characterization of complex mixtures
such as biological fluids and tissues, natural products, or environmental water sources. MRR is a
spectroscopic technique for unambiguous structure determination and quantitation of small
molecules, which has been used for decades in academic research laboratories but only recently
commercialized by BrightSpec, driven by recent groundbreaking innovations. The key advantages
of MRR motivating its incorporation into a gas chromatography hyphenated system are its
selectivity to isomeric compounds, absolute quantitation capabilities, and identification of
unknowns without reference standards. GC-MRR not only complements existing techniques (such
as mass spectrometry and NMR), but also adds new insights to enhance discovery in numerous
fields of research.
A proof-of-concept prototype GC-MRR instrument has been used to demonstrate its capabilities
to resolve complex mixtures, including co-eluting isotopologues and isotopomers. This
preliminary work has de-risked this proposed Phase II project, where this prototype will be refined
to develop a product with the sensitivity, speed, and ease-of-use necessary to facilitate its
commercial adoption. This includes both the instrument hardware to quickly and precisely measure
MRR spectra of analytes as they elute from the chromatographic column, and the software
interface to allow users to easily set up measurements, visualize data, and interpret the results. The
product will then be tested thoroughly on relevant samples in the market areas where GC-MRR is
expected to have the greatest impact. Finally, following this extensive evaluation, the product
design will be refined for commercial launch at or before the end of the grant period.
The completed GC-MRR product holds the promise to enable breakthrough research in a number
of high-impact health-related fields, including metabolomics, natural products drug discovery, and
monitoring of environmental pollutants, among others.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10079932
- **Project number:** 1R44GM139446-01
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHTSPEC, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Justin Lindsay Neill
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,011,550
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10079932

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10079932, Gas Chromatography-Molecular Rotational Resonance Spectrometer (1R44GM139446-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10079932. Licensed CC0.

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