Bruker has received the first order for a 527 GHz solid-state DNP-NMR system from the Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research at the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands). Half the funding for the new system has been awarded to the university by the Dutch Science Foundation.
Bruker says the new system will be based on its existing 263 GHz platform and could potentially double the field strength at which commercial DNP-NMR can be carried out, presenting new opportunities for structural biology and membrane protein research.
Bruker will work in collaboration with the Bijvoet Center’s researchers, led by Marc Baldus, Ph.D., professor of structural biology at the University of Utrecht. The aim is to develop high-field DNP techniques and applications for studying the structure, dynamics, and function of membrane proteins and protein complexes.
“The new instrument will provide exciting possibilities to bridge the gap between traditional structural biology and cell biology,” Dr. Baldus claims. “Using DNP-NMR, we will be able to obtain atomic information about biological processes and their failure under in situ conditions.”
Bruker says its existing 263 GHz Avance DNP-NMR spectrometer is the world’s first commercially available solid-state DNP-NMR system. The 527 GHz system will utilize a 527 GHz gyroton as the high-power microwave source, an 18.8T (800 MHz NMR frequency) superconducting 89 mm widebore magnet, and Bruker’s Avance™ III electronics.