New lab equipment gives chemistry and biochemistry programs a boost
Ron Kelley, associate professor of bio-organic chemistry, inserts a sample into the
new nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer housed in the Science Center at
EOU. Twenty-four different samples can be inserted into the carousel at once.
Story and photos by Laura Hancock | Media and Publications Writer
University Advancement | lhancock@eou.edu
La Grande, Oregon – A super-conducting magnet with the ability to analyze the very structure of a molecule, may sound like science fiction.
But at Eastern Oregon University, a new $350,000 piece of equipment is busy proving it to be science fact.
It’s called a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, or NMR. Specifically, the new acquisition is a 400-megahertz unit and operates much like a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instrument used in medical diagnostics. A stainless steel hull surrounds the magnetic coil, forming a protective barrier from the outside world. The strength of the magnetic field emitted by the equipment is enough to bend the hands on a watch.
Anna Cavinato, professor of chemistry, looks at a reading
from one of the samples with Kelley. The NMR can also
be operated remotely, using a computer program to run
the equipment.
“This is a fundamental piece of instrumentation,” said Ron Kelley, associate professor of bio-organic chemistry at EOU.
Housed in a special room in a controlled area of the chemistry department in the Badgley Science Center, the NMR looks more like a rocket than the high-tech scientific instrument that it is.
Within the shiny metal body of the NMR, vital liquid nitrogen and helium used to stabilize the temperature of the super-conducting magnetic core. A reading of 4 degrees Kelvin must be maintained at all times. Zero on the Kelvin scale is equal to minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit – essentially, the temperature of outer space.
Kelley will use the new NMR to look at plant-derived natural products, especially toxic alkaloids that plants produce for their protection.
“Alkaloids often have addictive components that affect the brain,” Kelley said. “They imitate nervous system compounds.”
The instrument will be able to chemically identify different plant species, analyzing their makeup on a molecular level. This will help Kelley understand the systematics of how related plants are evolutionarily connected.
"This takes our University and programs to a completely different level."
— Anna Cavinato, EOU professor of chemistry
The NMR will allow Kelley to detect signals produced by unique carbon and hydrogen atoms in a molecule, displaying these signals as a plot of their frequency versus their intensity.
“It’s like putting together the pieces of a puzzle,” said Anna Cavinato, professor of chemistry at EOU.
The practical application of Kelley’s research will potentially impact the livestock industry. Identifying toxicity in plants will be very helpful to landowners concerned with controlling the harmful species that may be growing in their fields. New plant compounds are being discovered all the time, Kelley said, an estimated 90 percent of which remain unknown.
The NMR provides another unique advantage. It can be operated remotely. This may enable EOU to partner with community colleges, or even private industry to conduct vital research.
A $2 million grant from the Economic Development Agency, (EDA), made it possible for EOU to purchase the NMR. The EDA grant, received in 2002, supports acquisition of research equipment that will help spur economic development and support health education in rural areas.
Other equipment purchased with the grant include several SimMan computerized mannequins for the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, a DNA sequencer for the biology department, and a stop-flow kinetic system for use in the chemistry and biochemistry departments.
Cavinato said that EOU’s chemistry degree program is also eligible for full certification from the American Chemical Society, now that they have the NMR.
“This takes our University and programs to a completely different level.”
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