Nature of the Project:

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy uses a combination of magnetic fields and radio waves to obtain vital information regarding the chemical structure and dynamics of molecules.  NMR is an extremely powerful analytical tool in modern chemical research and is crucial to the vitality of graduate and undergraduate programs in chemistry.

 The Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department at The University of New Mexico has developed concentrated research foci in biological chemistry and materials chemistry, in addition to maintaining teaching and research efforts in the traditional areas of chemistry.  Synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry play significant roles in our Department.  Therefore the characterization of chemical compounds by NMR is extremely important, and numerous researchers in our Department have greatly benefited from the purchase of this new NMR spectrometer.

Outcomes and Findings:

Intellectual Merit

The final outcomes and findings of the project have already been or will be broadly disseminated in the scientific literature and at a variety of scientific meetings and conferences.  Examples of key outcomes and findings resulting from the funded project include using the NMR instrument to: 1) characterize compounds designed to recycle carbon dioxide into transportation fuels and useful chemicals, 2) support research endeavors directed toward the preparation of new materials for more efficient organic photovoltaics, 3) characterize new molecules and enzyme models that have contributed to our increased understanding of enzyme mechanism and structure as they relate to enzyme function and disease states, 4) characterize new molecules that have increased our understanding of molecular electron transfer and transport (molecular electronics), and electronics that utilize the spin of the electron (spintronics), 5) elucidate interface structure and interactions in charge transfer complexes of donor/acceptor conjugated materials used in next generation organic solar cells, 6) support efforts to develop advanced materials used for selective and efficient recovery of strategic and rare materials from harsh environments, 7) aid in the development and understanding of new chemical reactions and their utility in preparing biochemically active and potentially medicinally significant substances, 8) develop a novel miRNA regulating strategy that will have broad impact for all biological research fields involving miRNA studies, and 9) elucidate structures of novel natural products that are potential drugs, drug leads, or cellular probes.

Broader Impacts

 The University of New Mexico is a majority-minority institution.  Our undergraduate chemistry program has a high percentage of minority and other traditionally under-represented groups, and both undergraduate and high-school students have benefitted from this instrumentation. We feel that our students should have a hands-on experience with state of the art instrumentation since chemistry is an experimental science. It is through experimentation that new knowledge is generated, and it is through experimentation that students are challenged and the learning process is solidified. Because of this, the Department has encouraged undergraduates to participate in research, and the majority of undergraduate chemistry majors do participate in undergraduate research. Undergraduate students performing research routinely obtain the necessary training to acquire and process their own NMR spectra.

All of the research projects listed above included graduate and postdoctoral students.  Most included undergraduate researchers and several included h...

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