Vanderbilt University orders Bruker's AVANCE III 900 US2 NMR spectrometer

Bruker, the leader in analytical magnetic resonance instrumentation, announces a major multi-systems NMR order from Vanderbilt University, including an ultra-high field AVANCE™ III 900 US² NMR spectrometer. This purchase was made possible in large part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Vanderbilt will use these NMR instruments for a broad range of biophysical and structural analyses in biomedical research, as well as for cancer drug discovery using fragment-based approaches and structure-based drug design.

“We are ecstatic about this leap forward in our ability to perform NMR experiments on biological macromolecules”

Based on Bruker's successful 900 MHz (21.2 Tesla) actively-shielded US² magnet, the AVANCE III 900 offers one of the highest magnetic fields for NMR applications. The 900 US² magnet combines Bruker's proprietary UltraShield™ active shielding and UltraStabilized™ sub-cooling technologies. The result is a 900 MHz magnet with a small footprint which can be sited within Vanderbilt's existing NMR facility. The system includes unique CryoProbe™ technology enabling Vanderbilt researchers to benefit from the increased sensitivity and RF efficiency of this cryogenically cooled NMR probe.

Vanderbilt's major NMR order includes additional AVANCE III consoles for existing 800, 600 and 500 MHz NMR magnets, thus creating one of the largest state-of-the-art NMR centers. The AVANCE III is the fastest and highest performing NMR spectrometer on the market. Its architecture delivers an unprecedented level of digital control, speed, flexibility and exceptionally pure NMR frequency generation. The AVANCE III's second-generation (2G) digital receiver (DR) technology delivers significant improvements in NMR detection for Vanderbilt's structural biology and drug discovery research.

"We are ecstatic about this leap forward in our ability to perform NMR experiments on biological macromolecules," said Walter Chazin, Chancellor's Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and Director of the Center for Structural Biology at Vanderbilt. "The acquisition of this new technology is critical to the cutting edge research being performed with our NMR facilities. The addition of the new 900 MHz instrument is especially important as it will provide enhanced capability for our most challenging NMR projects, which study complex integral membrane proteins, damaged genes and multi-protein machines. We look forward to new breakthroughs in understanding the biology and medical impact of these systems, as well as the discovery of molecular probes and drug candidates from investigations using this new instrumentation."