MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of 600 MHz NMR for Growth in Scientific Research, Education, and Economic Impact

This award is funded by the Major Research Instrumentation Program and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program to acquire a 600 MHz NMR instrument equipped with a variable-temperature probe and a tunable broadband probe. Professor Pavel Anzenbacher and the team of researchers from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) and the University of Findlay (UF), on behalf of nine investigators from two universities and three departments: Chemistry (BGSU), Physical Science (UF), Biology (BGSU), and the Center for Photochemical Sciences (BGSU) will use this instrument to address modern societal problems of importance and national interests. In general, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a method to determine the presence and type of nuclei in matter and provides an understanding of bonding in samples. Thus, it is an indispensable method for determining the structure of molecules and materials. The variable-temperature probe will enable the study of the structure of chemicals and how they behave or react at various temperatures, while the broadband probe will allow for the determination of elements that include, for example, H, C, B, N, F, Si, P, and V. The acquisition of this instrument strengthens the research infrastructure at the university and within the region. The instrument broadens the participation of various constituent groups, including local industries, by giving hands-on access to a diverse student population. Faculty and graduate students will use the instrument in outreach activities, including summer K12 internships, undergraduate research, REU exchange programs, research collaborations for student internships from local PUI institutions and HBCU, graduate-level research, and collaboration with local industries. The award, aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, will have a profound impact on studies in several distinct areas. These include organic synthesis, studies of photochemical transformations, analysis of naturally occurring toxins present in harmful algal blooms, materials and polymers derived from silicon and organosilicons, polysaccharides and their interaction with metals, or investigations of nucleic acids aptamers and their complexes with small molecules, peptides and proteins aimed at disrupting interactions between proteins including the ones such as the human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme and the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 responsible for coronavirus infections. The new instrument will also provide crucial support to our current efforts in the analysis of fluorochemicals. With a specific emphasis on the so-called forever chemicals per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their partially degraded forms, the instrument will significantly advance our understanding of these substances and their negative impact on the environment and toxicity to animals and humans. The research activities are closely connected to the investigation of the Great Lakes watershed, where phosphate fertilizers, herbicides, and PFASs play an important role. In organic synthesis and synthesis of various organic small molecules, the new instrument will reveal the energetics of the behavior of organic compounds. Here the variable-temperature capability of the instrument will illuminate the thermodynamics and kinetics of many processes, including the formation of molecular associates and complexes, and will enable the determination of the products and the studies of the reactivity. These activities will benefit from determining product structures, particularly in products displaying complex three-dimensional structures due to multiple chiral centers. Similar structure-determination studies will be performed on algae toxins found in the cyanobacteria growing uncontrollably in the Great Lakes. The research focused on soluble polymers and metallopolymers will also be positively impacted by this award. Specifically, the newly developed syntheses of silanes, polysilanes, polysiloxanes, silicones used in numerous applications as coatings, water repellent layers used in a number of industrial applications as well as preservation of building facades or monuments from the erosion caused by environmental and climatic factors. In response to global helium supply challenges, the acquisition of this instrument includes a superconducting magnet with a low loss cryostat reducing the institution's consumption of helium. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.