Bruker Delivers 1.2 GHz NMR System to ETH Zürich

ETH Zürich receives ultra-high field spectrometer for solid-state NMR

ZÜRICH, Switzerland – June 3rd, 2020: Bruker today announces the recent delivery of an Avance™ NEO 1.2 GHz NMR system to Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich in Switzerland. The installation and qualification are expected to take several months. Bruker recently completed a successful installation of the world’s first 1.2 GHz NMR at the CERM of the University of Florence in Italy. The ETH 1.2 GHz system with unique solid-state NMR probes will be the centerpiece of the Richard R. Ernst Center of Excellence in Magnetic Resonance at ETH Zürich. 

Professor Beat Meier at ETH stated: “We are thrilled to be the first institution to receive a 1.2 GHz NMR spectrometer with a unique configuration geared towards solid-state NMR. Our research is focused on developing solid-state NMR techniques to study materials and biological systems, as well as fundamental phenomena in physical chemistry. On the applications side, the 1.2 GHz spectrometer will be used to characterize the structure and dynamics of biological systems, including proteins fibrils, some of which are linked to diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. We will also study viruses, such as hepatitis B and C, or SARS-CoV-2, as well as motor proteins, and other large biomolecules.

“With the arrival of the 1.2 GHz spectrometer, solid-state NMR methods development and its applications to biological systems will allow us to push the boundaries further and apply some of our recently developed methods to ultra-high field,” commented Professor Matthias Ernst from the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH. “In particular, dipolar recoupling methods under fast magic angle spinning (MAS) need to be further improved to deliver excellent performance at the highest magnetic fields.”

Professor Alexander Barnes in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH sees the new 1.2 GHz NMR magnet as a basis for further improving NMR technology and performance with an eye towards in-cell NMR and materials characterization. He added: “Pushing structural biology into a truly endogenous cellular context will require access to the highest-end technology we can imagine and build. Extremely high magnetic fields will be a cornerstone of the advanced instrumentation we need to drive the field of magnetic resonance into an even more exciting and impactful future. Bruker’s 28 Tesla magnet will be a “high-altitude” base-camp here in Switzerland, at which we can develop and refine our ability to increase NMR sensitivity through the development of pulsed dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) and ultra-high frequency (>200 kHz) magic angle spinning, using our new spherical rotors.”

ETH Zürich has a long history in the field of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and several key contributions to NMR were made by ETH researchers, including those by Nobel laureates Richard Ernst and Kurt Wüthrich who developed NMR methods such as Fourier-transform NMR, multi-dimensional NMR experiments and protein NMR.

Bruker's unique GHz-Class NMR magnets utilize a novel hybrid design with advanced high-temperature superconductor (HTS) in the inner sections and low-temperature superconductor (LTS) in the outer sections of the magnet. The 1.2 GHz spectrometers are available with different ultra-high field probes, including CryoProbes for solution-state NMR and fast-spinning MAS solid-state NMR probes.

Bruker 1.2 GHz NMR delivery to ETH

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