# Request for a 500 MHz NMR console and nitrogen-cooled cryoprobe

> **NIH NIH S10** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $599,058

## Abstract

Abstract
This proposal is a request to upgrade the 500 MHz NMR spectrometer that operates in the Eshelman School
of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy). This
facility serves a community of NIH-supported medicinal chemists, chemical biologists, drug delivery scientists,
and a molecular imaging methodologist with biological applications. The requested equipment is for a Bruker
Neo 500 console with liquid nitrogen cooled cryoprobe and automatic sample changer. The requested upgrade
equipment is critical because all of the NMR instruments in the facility are aging Varian spectrometers that
have never been upgraded and are no longer supported by the vendor. None of the instruments currently have
cryoprobes, and hence the sensitivity is limited, especially for the many routine 13C acquisitions that are
needed for small molecule NMR. The work in the School of Pharmacy’s NMR Facility is highlighted by the
existence of two centers, the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery (CICBDD, led by Dr.
Stephen Frye) and the UNC footprint of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC-UNC, led by Dr. Tim
Willson). These centers produce very large numbers of small molecules that are used in libraries or are tested
for activities against a variety of disease-related targets. The syntheses of these molecules require extensive
NMR characterization, and there is a large need for high-sensitivity, automated data collection to support this
work, as well as the research of the other researchers included in this application. The facility is managed by
an experienced manager/director team and further supported by an oversight committee and School
administration. There are two locations for the spectrometers in a single building (Marsico Hall, completed in
2014), with the spaces designed specifically for NMR. This is a first-rate facility with excellent infrastructure;
however, the age of the spectrometers poses a serious threat of lengthy downtime that may be very
challenging to deal with in the event of hardware failure. Furthermore, convenient walk-up access to
spectrometers that serve the needs of the users is becoming problematic because of limited automation and
low sensitivity of existing probes. This requested equipment is the first step towards modernizing the facility
through upgrades that will introduce a highly user-desirable instrument that can be relied upon for the next
decade and beyond.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10440662
- **Project number:** 1S10OD032476-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Andrew L Lee
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $599,058
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10440662

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10440662, Request for a 500 MHz NMR console and nitrogen-cooled cryoprobe (1S10OD032476-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10440662. Licensed CC0.

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