With the support of the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Aaron Rossini at Iowa State University is developing solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectroscopy approaches to enable the atomic-level structural characterization of formulated pharmaceuticals. A persistent challenge in the pharmaceutical industry is the successful design of formulations for the administration of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The performance of pharmaceutical formulations is ultimately determined by the atomic-level structure of the APIs. However, atomic-level structure determination of formulated APIs is challenging because of the low API loading within formulations that is often 10 weight percent or less and molecular interactions between the APIs and other components of the formulation. This project will enable the atomic-level characterization of formulated pharmaceuticals and solid APIs by first developing methods that improve SSNMR sensitivity and resolution. Second, these methods will be used to perform SSNMR spectroscopy experiments with isotopes such as 14N, 17O, 19F and 119Sn to access novel structural information that cannot be obtained by conventional spectroscopic methods or diffraction techniques. Graduate and undergraduate students participating in the research will learn how to perform NMR spectroscopy experiments, prepare pharmaceuticals and computationally model the atomic structures of APIs. The proposed resea