NMRFAM aims to develop technologies specifically to simplify, to lower adoption barriers, and to accelerate utilization of state-of-the-art NMR techniques by a broader user community. NMRFAM works to determine how best to study particular samples by NMR and supports the development of new technologies to overcome the various hurdles and bottlenecks in each workflow. Thus, we facilitate studies by NMR of structure and dynamics in physiologically relevant preparations of samples.
Recent Publication:
The major aims of TR&D1 are to develop and disseminate tools for the following stages of sample preparation:
Aim 1. Sample preparation and transfer into SSNMR rotors
Our goal is to simplify transfer of challenging samples, including wet or viscous samples, into solid-state NMR rotors. Our tools improve the reduce sample loss, minimize hands-on time, and make rotor packing more reliable to improve the efficiency of sample transfers.
Aim 2. Transmembrane gradients under magic-angle spinning (MAS)
Membranes in biology are asymmetric, however most structural biology has been performed in symmetric membranes. Here we create asymmetric membrane conditions that are stable for longer-term NMR experiments. This enables controlled manipulation of specific conditions for detailed study of how membrane asymmetry affects molecular structure and dynamics.
Aim 3. Manipulation of sample conditions within the NMR rotor
Adding ligand, changing pH, or otherwise manipulating the sample has traditionally required significant hands-on effort and often causes sample loss. Here we develop strategies to manipulate sample conditions for titrations or interaction studies with minimal handling and sample loss.