Biological NMR Facility

Plant biotechnology

University of Kent

General description

NMR enables in-depth analysis of crop metabolomics, aiding understanding plant biochemistry under diverse conditions. Crop companies benefit by refining cultivation techniques, trait selection, and enhancing quality. It also serves as a tool for crop product quality control, confirming compound presence and identifying contaminants. In pesticide/herbicide analysis, NMR informs the development of eco-friendly formulations. It contributes to breeding programs, revealing chemical profiles for traits like nutrition, disease resistance, and drought tolerance. NMR sheds light on stress responses, guiding the creation of resilient varieties. Additionally, it assesses nutritional content, aids in metabolic engineering, monitors crop storage, and plant-microbe interactions for strategic applications.

Technical description

600 MHz five channel Bruker Avance III spectrometer with a cryoprobe which can observe a wide range of biologically relevant nuclei at high sensitivity and a 24 place sample changer. The spectrometer is used for structural biology, molecular dynamics measurements, drug binding and discovery campaigns, metabolomics and the analysis of small molecules.

Location: 217 Stacey, University of Kent, Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ