NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a chemical analytical technique used to detemine a sample content, purity and the structure of its components.

NMR spectrometer acquired by CO.T.IR. is FT-NMR 600 MHz, digital high performance,able to analyse liquids and semisolids and to study the biomedical, forensic chemical, biological, agricultural and food sector. NMR can also work both in basic and more application research sectors.

An application in basic research area is the determination of unknown substances molecular structure even if these are mixed with other known or unknown compounds, without needing to divide the compounds: a great advantage if compared to other analytical methods.

Forensic chemical applications can be identified in a more applicative sector, as an alternative method for drugs analysis. With NMR, these analysis can be made without preparing derivatives and without separing the various compounds, individuating also new substances used as drugs or as mixing substances. Seeing the cost of this instrument, it goes without saying that this kind of analysis is advantageous when there is not any other cheaper alternative available, when we want to  recove the entire material, when we want to start new methods, and when we want to have a "certainty" level clearly higher if compared to the ones offered by other analytical methods.

Another high resolution use is the determination of the structure of organic substances with natural origin which have biological activity. In this case we can follow the product distribution in the organism various parts following its possible structural changes due to metabolism.

The determination of proteic substances structure, such as enzymes, and their interactions with substrates is another use of this instrument. By using some technical tricks we can distinguish the internal from the external part for molecules with a tridimensional structure, we can carry out studies on polymers obtaining information for example on what happens at molecular level in stress situations which bring to a break, and much more.

A very particular analytical application for this spectroscopy is in agricultural and food field which is developing very quickly in these years. Infact, it is possible to individuate various foods components and "follow" their story so to have a clear indication on its origin and history.

CO.T.IR. spectrometer owns both probes BBI BBO HR-MAS able to analyse liquids and semisolids (fruit, meat, fish, cheese, pasta), plants, seaweeds, human samples (skin, red corpuscles, bile, normal and cancerous tissues, inner organs), tissues of guinea pigs.

Thus, we can make analyse extracts by using probes for liquids, and semisolids with HR-MAS probe in a not invasive and selective way, discriminating a great number of compounds with a low molecular weight in complex mixtures.