$500,000 grant will enhance research and education capabilities at Portland State University

Vancouver, Washington-based M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust has awarded Portland State University a $500,000 grant that will support the establishment of a state-of-the-art Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility at the university. The grant will partially fund the purchase of a Bruker 600 MHz Avance NEO NMR spectrometer and funding for a technician. PSU provides additional funding for the new facility.

NMR spectroscopy is an essential tool for determining molecular structures, studying molecular dynamics, and the characterization of materials at the molecular level. When opened, the NMR facility will support the research portfolios of chemistry and biology faculty and students with enhanced capabilities. The spectrometer provides for a vastly improved signal-to-noise ratio which will significantly enhance sample characterization and a high throughput allowing researchers and students to analyze more samples in less time.

Research expected to benefit from the facility includes the development of novel antimalarial drugs, biosensors, magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents and solar energy technologies, analysis of e-cigarette fluid aerosols and biological processes that may lead to new treatments for disease. The facility will integrate with chemistry and biology curriculums and provide hands-on training and experience for graduate and undergraduate students in research labs. The facility will also increase opportunities for collaborations between PSU and OHSU and other universities and private sector organizations.

"In my lab, we're involved in the discovery and development of new drug compounds," said David Peyton, chemistry professor and Principal Investigator on the grant. "That requires the characterization of hundreds of synthesized molecules. With this tool, we'll be able to perform that work more quickly and at a higher signal-to-noise ratio, which will improve our analysis."

"The addition of the Bruker NMR spectrometer will support research in the physical and life sciences at PSU and beyond," said Jason Podrabsky, Interim Vice President of Research & Graduate Studies and a co-investigator on the grant. "It will improve the quality and quantity of analysis we can do, and it will give students the opportunity to learn and train on world-class equipment."