# 500 MHz NMR Spectrometer Upgrade and Cryoprobe

> **NIH NIH S10** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $600,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
We request the funding to purchase a Bruker NEO 500 MHz NMR spectrometer, equipped with a Prodigy
(nitrogen boiloff) cryoprobe and a SampleCase 24-position sample changer. The existing NMR
capabilities at the University of Washington, Seattle (UW) are increasingly both obsolete and unreliable,
and indeed we recently had to decommission one instrument where neither the electronics nor magnet
could be economically repaired. The technical limitations of much of our remaining instrumentation are
slowing or blocking many lines of investigation on NIH-funded research in multiple departments. The
proposed system will simultaneously improve reliability and efficiency by replacing our fastest-failing
instrument and expand our research capabilities with advances in NMR technology that our decades-old
equipment cannot provide. These include: (1) drastically increased sensitivity, 2-3 fold, across a range
of nuclei ranging from 15N to 19F – an enhancement particularly valuable for 31P and 19F, nuclei of wide-
ranging research utility that are badly underserved with existing equipment, and for which this will become
the most sensitive instrument available on campus by a wide margin; (2) a combination of an automatic
sample changer, automatic probe tuning and shimming, and automation software, which collectively
provide users with highly efficient, hands-off sample handling to supply continued, productive instrument
use during unattended hours; and (3) dynamic, wide-ranged temperature control, with experimental
variability over a broad range to study reaction dynamics, and 0.1°C-precision stability to hold delicate
biochemical samples at a safe, consistent temperature during storage and data acquisition. From small
molecules to large proteins, NMR is a vital tool for determining structure, kinetics, and molecular
interactions, relied upon by dozens of research groups on campus. This instrument will supply crucial
support to full range of projects related to human health, including the development of new biomedical
screening technologies, new synthetic pathways for pharmaceutical developments, mechanistic
investigations of enzymatic tumor suppressors, metabolomic nutritional studies bolstering the recovery
of critically ill patients, and many more.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10412824
- **Project number:** 1S10OD030224-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicholas Fraser Breen
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $600,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10412824

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10412824, 500 MHz NMR Spectrometer Upgrade and Cryoprobe (1S10OD030224-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10412824. Licensed CC0.

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