APPLICATIONS OF NMR

A brief introduction to NMR Spectroscopy

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy is a non-destructive analytical technique that is used to probe the nature and characteristics of molecular structure. A simple NMR experiment produces information in the form of a spectrum, which is able to provide details about:

·  The types of atoms present in the sample

·  The relative amounts of atoms present in a sample

·  The specific environments of atoms within a molecule

·  The purity and composition of a sample

·  Structural information about a molecule, including constitutional and conformational isomerisation

There are a number of important characteristics of NMR spectroscopy which makes it favourable to a wide array of industrial, commercial and research applications:

·  There are many nuclei which are NMR active. Some of the more common NMR active nuclei include1H,2H,13C,11B,15N,19F,31P and195Pt.

·  NMR spectroscopy is generally a non-destructive technique, meaning that samples can be recovered.

·  Only a small quantity of material is required for analysis; sample sizes of 5-20mg are generally sufficient for most NMR experiments.

·  Sample preparation is simple and minimal. Typically, samples are simply dissolved in an appropriate solvent.

Applications of NMR Spectroscopy

NMR Spectroscopy is a technique used by most modern chemical laboratories. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, and development of new applied methods for NMR is an active area of research. Methods in NMR spectroscopy have particular relevance to the following disciplines:

·  Chemical research and development: organic, inorganic and physical chemistry

·  Chemical manufacturing industry

·  Biological and biochemical research

·  Food industry

·  Pharmaceutical development and production

·  Agrochemical development and production

·  Polymer industry

Common applications of NMR Spectroscopy include:

·  Structure elucidation

·  Chemical composition determination

·  Formulations investigation

·  Raw materials fingerprinting

·  Mixture analysis

·  Sample purity determination

·  Quality assurance and control

·  Quantitative analysis

·  Compound identification and confirmation

·  Analysis of inter- and intramolecular exchange processes

·  Molecular characterisation

·  Reaction kinetics examination

·  Reaction mechanism investigation