NMR Training:
Everyone must have a “driver’s license” for a specific instrument to have hands-on access to that instrument. The license is obtained when you successfully complete training for that instrument. There are several levels of NMR training. Training for the Varian Gemini-200 is done in undergraduate course groups (Chem 412, 446 and 447). Our entry-level instrument for research NMR use is the Varian Unity-300. The new Bruker AVIII-400 is operated in automation mode, with the quickest and easiest training. More advanced training is available for the Bruker DRX-500, and the most advanced training (selective 1D and basic 2D NMR techniques) focuses on the Bruker DRX-600. Training on the Varian Inova-600 is tailored to two groups of users: Chemistry (small molecule covalent structure determination) and Biological (13C and 15N labeled proteins and nucleic acids). NMR training is “practically” free: you only have to pay for the NMR time you use on the instrument during your “driver’s test”. Typically this would be 1½ hours, which currently costs $15.00. This will be charged to your research group.
There are two simple ways to get NMR training: individual training and training workshops. Workshops involve one or more lectures, a group demonstration (1.5 hours), a driver's test (1.5 hours) and a take-home quiz. They are scheduled each Summer as follows:
Basic NMR Training Workshop: Beginning of June
This covers the Varian Unity-300 instrument, with an introduction to how the NMR works (hardware) and how NMR data is processed (software). It is assumed that you understand the principle of Fourier-transform (FT) NMR and basic NMR data interpretation, and there is no instruction in NMR theory. The goal is to have a simple understanding of what you are doing when you insert the sample, lock, shim and acquire an NMR spectrum, and how you process the data. Some time is also spent on 13C NMR and how 1H decoupling is implemented on the Unity-300.
Automation Training, Bruker AVIII-400: mid June
This workshop covers the new Bruker 400 MHz instrument and the SampleJet automatic sample changer and ICON-NMR automation software. Sample preparation, submitting samples to the queue, retrieving data from the website, and using the MestReNova software are covered. This is the only workshop with no driver's test.
Advanced NMR Training, Bruker DRX-500: late June
The covers the operation of the Bruker DRX-500 instrument, with detailed information on the new technologies available with this instrument: Pulsed Field Gradients, Shaped Pulses, and Oversampling and Digital Filtering.
Advanced NMR Training, Bruker DRX-600: Beginning of July through mid-July
The DRX-600 workshop is divided into two parts. The first week covers advanced 1D (selective) experiments (1D NOE and 1D TOCSY) and the second week is an introduction to 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC, COSY, NOESY, ROESY). The modern techniques of shaped pulses and pulsed field gradients are explained as they operate in these experiments.
Out of Sequence NMR Training
Outside of the workshop schedule, individual training is available at all times with the requirement that the next available workshop will be attended. The license you obtain is temporary and expires when the next workshop is given. For example, if you get a license to use the Varian Unity-300 by attending a demo outside of the scheduled workshop and completing the “driver’s test”, you will still need to attend the Basic NMR Training Workshop (lecture and take-home quiz only) the next time it is given. We need to have at least three participants to give a demo on an instrument, so sometimes you may have to wait until we can organize a demo group.
The Graduate NMR Course (Spring Semester)
A third way to get NMR training is to attend Chemistry 534A (Practical NMR Spectroscopy Laboratory), a 3-credit graduate laboratory course. This course is given in the Spring semester of each odd-numbered year (e.g., 2011) and covers all of the common 1D and 2D experiments used for elucidation of structure in solution. Upon successful completion of this course you will have a license for hands-on operation of the Varian Unity-300, Bruker DRX-500 and DRX-600 and Varian Inova-600 instruments. Chemistry 534B, which is taught in the Spring semester of even-numbered years, is a 3-credit lecture course covering NMR theory. Chem 534B does not include hands-on NMR training.
