Superconducting NMR Magnet 400 MHz

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 528284074

The key objective of the following proposal is a replacement of a superconducting magnet for the 400 MHz NMR spectrometer in the Department of Natural Product Biochemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. The Department specializes in protein and natural products biochemistry and, in particular, addresses research questions in the directions of protein (re)folding and stabilization, enzyme design, peptide synthesis and medium engineering with help of NMR spectroscopy. The 400 MHz NMR spectrometer is an essential instrument in the group and of a central importance in the frames of ongoing and planned research projects aimed at elucidating structure-interaction relationships between highly tuneable ionic liquids and complex biomolecules such as peptides and small proteins, as well as studying kinetic of enzymatic reactions. To that end, the high-resolution multidimensional NMR experiments of both solutions and more challenging highly-viscous samples are necessary. With the established high-resolution magic angle spinning NMR toolbox such measurements were possible in the group. In the planned research projects this NMR technique will be further applied to monitor conformational changes and local structure fluctuations of various elongated structured peptides and small proteins upon dissolving them in ionic liquids, as well as to probe the influence of ionic liquids on highly stable structured biomolecules. In addition to structural features NMR spectroscopy will be used to examine dynamics of different ionic liquids as well as biomolecules dissolved in them by exploiting their relaxation properties. Accurate characterization of interactions between ionic liquids and biocatalysts or peptide and protein targets will facilitate the design of application-specific ionic liquids. Finally, NMR spectroscopy will be applied to address cleavage preferences of peptidases targeting various antimicrobial peptides and kinetic parameters of such enzymatic reactions will be derived. In addition the 400 MHz NMR-Spectrometer will be used for routine analysis measurements in MLU Halle.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Supraleitender-NMR-Magnet 400 MHz
• Instrumentation Group: 1740 Hochauflösende NMR-Spektrometer
• Applicant Institution: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Frank Bordusa