20 YEARS OF ENVIRONMENTAL NMR DEVELOPMENT: TRANSFERABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNIQUES FOR EVERYONE

NMR spectroscopy is arguably the most powerful tool for elucidating structures and probing molecular interactions. Practically all environmental research, at least to some extent, involves working with ultra-complex natural mixtures that are ubiquitous in soil, water, air and living systems. Over my career environmental questions have required the development of a wide range of novel technologies and techniques. The presentation will cover a range of approaches with a focus on those that have the largest potential for widespread NMR application, some examples include:

Comprehensive Multiphase (CMP) NMR: CMP NMR, was co-developed between my group and Bruker Biospin. The approach combines all the electronics from solution-state, semi-solid and solid-state NMR into a single NMR probe. The resulting technology permits an uncompromised analysis of liquid, semi-solid and solid components within unaltered samples in their natural swollen state. As well as unravelling the binding orientation, and receptors for contaminants/drugs CMP-NMR is also capable of monitoring the kinetic transfer between and across interfaces providing an unprecedented window into otherwise inaccessible molecular information

In-vivo NMR and Targeted Experiments: The living organism becomes the “ultimate biosensor” responding in real time to its environment, while the NMR spectrometer interprets the biochemical changes, providing information explaining sub-lethal toxicity at the molecular level. The special techniques needed to extract information in-vivo, hold great potential for many areas of research and wide range of experiments will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will introduce a novel technique, ahead of publication, that should represent a paradigm shift in the application of NMR to ultra-complex mixtures.

Digital Microfluidics NMR and Microcoil Technology: Microcoils are required for the study of mass limited samples but sample handling becomes challenging. Digital Microfluidics involves the movement of droplets over an open array of electrodes, essentially a tiny computer-controlled laboratory. When inside the NMR and integrated with micro coils, separations, titrations, reactions, even chromatography can be performed on chip and the products analyzed in realtime. Recent progress has evolved DMF-NMR to keep organisms alive inside the NMR. Novel ways to rapidly design and machine customized and economical micro-coils will also be covered.