A comprehensive research resource for state-of-the-art nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been established by the CUNY Center for Applied Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CABB) in conjunction with chemistry departments at the College of Staten Island and Hunter College. Directed by Professors Ruth Stark (CSI), Fred Naider (CSI) and William Sweeney (HC), these CUNY facilities are made available to academic, industrial, and governmental researchers. The CUNY CABB NMR facilities are managed by Drs. Hsin Wang (CSI) and Michael Blumenstein (HC), along with five part-time technical assistants.
With new equipment funded at a cost of $2.2 million through a combination of Federal and State grants and legislative initiatives, the CUNY NMR Facility has six instruments that are connected by a network of SUN and SGI computers and are Internet-accessible. Operating at 1H NMR frequencies of 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 MHz, these spectrometers can provide high-resolution data on a variety of nuclear species (1H, 2H, 13C, 15N, 31P, 29Si, etc.) and on compounds in both solution and solid state. The work performed ranges from acquisition of simple spectra to three-dimensional pulsed-field-gradient triple-resonance NMR experiments.
NMR takes scientific researchers to the level of individual molecules in their efforts to address key problems in biomedicine and chemical technology. Through scientific collaborations and with the benefit of computer networking, the CUNY facilities are used and supported financially by researchers at numerous academic, governmental, and industrial institutions. For instance, chemists at CUNY CSI and Monsanto Company are conducting joint 13C and 2H solid-state NMR experiments to understand the waterproofing and antifungal functions of the skin of plants. In partnership with Staten Island’s NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, these CUNY scientists are using high-field two-dimensional NMR to develop a molecular basis for the action of anticonvulsant drugs. CUNY CSI researchers are also using 1H and 13C NMR along with their counterparts at Hoechst-Celanese to characterize materials used industrially in packaging films and oil additives. At Hunter College, New York City’s Innovir Laboratories is monitoring the modification of polynucleotides with 31P NMR. Diatide Corporation is carrying out one- and two-dimensional NMR experiments to examine the molecular structure and metal binding sites of radiolabeled peptide drug candidates.
Typical internal CUNY projects that rely on these advanced NMR facilities span the areas of rational drug design, nutritional therapy, protein structure and folding, plant-derived medicines, crop protection, and polymer manufacturing. Staff members at the CUNY CABB Center are also working to optimize protocols for structure determination of complex biological molecules and intractable natural products. Underlying both internal and collaborative studies at the NMR Facility is the expectation that knowledge of the relevant molecular structures will yield practical functional information in the areas of human physiology, food production, and advanced materials design.
For additional information, contact: Dr. Ruth E. Stark, College of Staten Island, Tel: (718) 982-3894; email: stark@postbox.csi.cuny.edu Dr. Fred Naider, College of Staten Island, Tel: (718) 982-3896;email: naider@postbox.csi.cuny.edu Dr. William Sweeney, Hunter College, Tel: (212) 772-5332; email: wsweeney@shiva.hunter.cuny.edu