Welcome to the University of Delaware

The Chemistry NMR Laboratory

News Release

November 20, 2007

 

The AMX360 has been charged and is now back on-line in services.  The AMX360 NMR is located at 049 BRL and the web signup has been resumed.  We provide two short training sessions today at 3:30 PM and 4:00 PM to help those who are not quite familiar with the operation of this spectrometer.  Please attend these events if you are interested in.  Both training sessions will be held in 049 BRL.

 

November 6, 2007

 

The DRX400 NMR spectrometer has been relocated to newly renovated NMR service lab (049BRL) and the web signup of DRX400 is now resumed.  The AC250 NMR spectrometer has been decommissioned and will not be a part of NMR facility.  Meanwhile, the AMX360 NMR, which has been stored due to limited space during the Brown lab renovation, will be brought up back to services.  The AMX360 will be located in 049 BRL.  The web signups of AMX360 will be resumed once spectrometer is fully installed.

 

September 8, 2005

 

User’s guide for AV400 NMR/ICON-NMR is now available on the NMR website for your convenience. 

 

In order for operation of this spectrometer to run smoothly all users must respect other users, experiments, and the posted guidelines.  Recently, we have had numerous incidents where users complained that their NMR samples were missing.  If a sample is removed before all of the experiments for that holder are completed, the auto-sampler and experiment queue will halt.  This is unacceptable.  You obviously should not be maliciously removing your colleagues’ samples, and we have tried to minimize mistakes by providing many opportunities for you to keep track of which sample holder(s) you are using:

 

(1) The bottom half of the ICON-NMR automation window is a list of the experiments as they are run.  You should check this queue when you pick up your sample to make sure you are removing the sample that truly belongs to you. 

 

(2) There are paper logs next to the spectrometer where you can record your name and the sample holder you are using.  Please use and check this paper log to make sure you are removing the right sample.  This will ensure that if the computer record is lost we have a written record available.

 

(3) The email you receive when the experiment is completed and the .pdf image of your spectrum both indicate which sample holder the experiment was for.  Please refer to this to confirm that you know which sample holder contains your sample.

 

(4) The printout that is automatically generated at the spectrometer when your experiment is completed will indicate which sample holder the experiment was for.  You should pick up this print out when you come to retrieve your sample and check that you have removed the sample that matches the holder number indicated.

 

(5) You should label your samples with a distinctive mark or name so that you can clearly tell which one belongs to you.

 

If you are running multiple experiments on the same sample you must double (and triple) check that all experiments are completed before removing the sample.  If you wish to remove the sample before the experiments are completed you must sign into the ICON-NMR automation window to cancel and delete any experiments remaining.

 

Finally, you need to retrieve your sample in a timely manner or we cannot guarantee you will get it back.  As soon as you receive word that all experiments are complete on a specific sample, you should come remove the sample from the auto-sampler (after double and triple checking that you have the correct sample holder, of course.)  Samples that remain in the auto-sampler for more than 1-2 days after the experiments are complete will be removed and claimed by the NMR lab.

 

 

September 8, 2005

 

The AMX360 computer has been connected to the network and you can access old data files with your AMX username and password at the IP address 128.175.138.54

 

 

September 7, 2005

 

DRX400 NMR spectrometer is now relocated to 108 LDL and ready for signup and use. Please note the shim file is now named as “qnpcdcl3”.  Make sure the sample depth is set to 20 mm for an optimized homogeneity. Contact Sue James for a key to access 108 and 208 LDL.

 

 

August 19, 2005

 

If you missed the training on the AV400 NMR and autosampler, there will be additional sessions held next week in 208 LDL.  The AV400 is currently the only NMR available, and a short introductory training session is mandatory for anyone that wants to use it.  There are sign up sheets posted outside of 208LDL, so please sign up in advance for one of the following sessions:

 

Tuesday, August 23, 2PM-2:30 PM

Wednesday, August 24, 2PM-2:30 PM

 

 

August 18, 2005

 

There are a few new offices and lab telephone numbers.

 

Steve Bai is now in 111 LDL with phone number 831-8901.

Heather Egolf-Fox is now in 121A LDL with phone number 831-6444.

 

The workstation for data processing is now located in 108 LDL.

 

208 LDL (AC250, AV400)           831-3566

108 LDL (DRX400)                    831-3308

008 LDL (AV600)                       831-4534

 

 

August 12, 2005

 

The DRX400 and AMX360 NMRs will be unavailable beginning Thursday, August 18th.  The DRX400 is being relocated to 108LDL and we will keep all users updated on when it will be available for your use again.  In the meantime, beginning August 18th all samples will have to be run on the newly installed AV400 NMR with sample changer that is located in 208LDL.

 

Anyone who is a user on the AMX360 and/or DRX400 will be able to use the AV400 after completing a short training session.  THIS TRAINING SESSION IS ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY since the new setup will be running under automation with a sample changer.  In order to get as many users trained as possible by August 18th, we will be holding four group training sessions August 16th and 17th.  The sessions will begin in 208LDL and then will move to 214LDL.  There are sign up sheets for the four sessions posted on the windows outside 208LDL - PLEASE sign up in advance for one of the following four sessions:

 

Tuesday, August 16th, 10AM-11AM

Tuesday, August 16th, 2PM-3PM

Wednesday, August 17th, 10AM-11AM

Wednesday, August 17th, 2PM-3PM

 

If you can not come to any of the above sessions, you will have to arrange for training at a future date before you will be able to use the AV400.

 

Thank you for your continued understanding as we deal with the renovation of Brown Laboratory, and I look forward to getting everyone set up on the new instrument!

 

Please don't forget to sign up for a training session outside of 208LDL!

 

 

July 6, 2005

 

The AC250 NMR magnet will be discharged on Thursday (July 7, 2005) for relocations.  No NMR time reservations for this spectrometer will be honored after July 6 until further notice. 

 

 

July 1, 2005

 

The AC250 spectrometer will be decommissioned beginning sometime the week of July 4th to prepare the instrument for its move to 208 LDL.  This is the start of many NMR relocations in the next few months due to the Brown Lab Renovation Project.  Details of the renovation and the new NMR locations can be found on the Chemistry Department website, www.udel.edu/chem

 

The installation of a new 400 MHz spectrometer (AV400) will begin on July 11 2005. 

 

We appreciate your patience as we undergo this move, and stay tuned for updates on when each spectrometer will be shut down.

 

 

June 6, 2005

 

Heather Egolf-Fox joined NMR staff on June 1, 2005 as a Research Associate I to work on a NSF grant sponsored project with a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer to support research and education program.  Most of us know that Heather just graduated as one of top chemistry majors from the University of Delaware.  She has been working in the NMR facilities for past three years as an undergraduate student.  Thus, she brings considerable experience and knowledge, which will be valuable in fulfilling her roles in sample services and user training at all levels.  Heather will also be responsible for coordinating and scheduling instrument time for off-site users from the partner colleges.  To contact Heather, please call her at 831-6444 or email her at hsef@udel.edu. Heather’s office is located at 023 Brown lab.

 

March 4, 2005

 

To accommodate a recommendation from the technical services committee, the NMR signups rules for AMX360 have been modified to encourage efficient usage of spectrometers.  The changes in the AMX360 signup rules are summarized as following:

 

·        One may reserve up to 4 blocks (one-hour) between 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM from Monday though Saturday.

·        There is no limitation on the number of blocks one may reserve on Sundays.

·        Contact the Spectroscopist for a longer reservation for special experiments such as kinetic studies or variable temperature experiments

 

November 10, 2004

 

The University of Delaware has received a $378,434 National Science Foundation grant to purchase a leading edge nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer that will spur multidisciplinary and undergraduate research on the Newark campus and provide remote access capabilities for use by other institutions of higher education in the region.  The new 400 MHz spectrometer will be installed in February 2005.  For more information, read the related article http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2005/oct/nsf111004.html appeared on the UDaily.  

 

August 11, 2004

 

The AMX360 NMR has been repaired and is now ready for use.

 

October 16, 2003

 

The DRX400 NMR is back up and running.  The spectrometer is now open for general use.

 

October 6, 2003

 

NMR web signup resumes today.

 

 

June 23, 2003

 

As a result of an NMR user’s meeting, NMR signups rules (for the DRX400 and AMX360) have been modified to encourage efficient usage of spectrometers.  The changes in the signup rules are summarized as following:

 

(1)   General:

·        Same-day signup has been changed.  Signup starts at 6:00 PM of the previous day.  For example, one may reserve next-day blocks starting at 6:00 PM the day before, instead of at 12:00 AM midnight.

·        Several 30-minute blocks are now split into 15-minute blocks.  The new time slots are:  one-hour block (12:00 AM - 6:00 AM) and 15-minute blocks (6:00 AM - 11:59:PM).

·        Users signed up for a block are expected to use the spectrometer or remove your name on line as soon as possible before the start of the block.  After the start of a block, the spectrometer becomes open if the signed-up user is not present.

·        All users must sign the logbook after use, indicating time, nucleus, status, and whether you are originally signed for the time.  A new signup log has been prepared; please fill in all information.

(2)   DRX400:

·        Same-day and next-day blocks start at 8:00 AM and end at 11:45 PM.

·        Two periods (Period A: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM and Period B: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM), are established for one-block (15-minute) signup only. Each user may reserve ONLY one block (15-minute) during each period.

·        Outside of periods A and B, one may sign up for a maximum of four blocks (one hour) between 8:00 AM and 11:45 PM Monday through Saturday.

·        There is no limitation on the number of blocks one may reserve for the overnight period (12:00 AM to 8:00 AM).

·        There is no limitation on the number of blocks one may reserve on Sundays.

(3)    AMX360:

·        One may reserve up to 8 blocks (two-hours) between 8:00 AM to 11:59 PM from Monday to Saturday.

·        There is no limitation on the number of blocks one may reserve on Sundays.

·        AMX360 is a primary/preferred instrument for routine 13C NMR analysis.

 

All previously issued signup rules are valid if they do not conflict with these new signups rules.  The new signups rules will be implemented through web signup, effective on June 24, 2003.  Due to the structure changes in databases, signups for past few days have been lost, we apologize for any inconveniences that may cause you.  For any other questions or problems, please contact Steve Bai.

 

 

February 26, 2003

 

NMR web signup resumes today.  The paper signup sheets have been removed from the spectrometers. 

 

February 25, 2003

 

The NMR web signup is very slow at the moment.  Please use the paper signups next to the spectrometer.  The paper signups are effective until further notice.

 

February 4, 2003

 

AMX360 NMR spectrometer (located in 011A BrL) has been restarted and ready for use.

 

February 3, 2003

 

AMX360 NMR spectrometer (located in 011A BrL) is temperately shut down due to the high room temperatures in the lab.  A HVAC service call has been made.  AMX360 will be turned back on once the room temperature returns to normal.

 

 

January 23, 2003

 

The QNP probe on DRX400 NMR spectrometer is out of services.  The BB probe is currently installed.  Please use BB probe files for data acquisition and processing.

 

January 21, 2002

 

NMR Web signups resumes today!

 

January 17, 2003

 

NMR web signups is out of service for maintenance purposes until further notice.   In the mean time, please use the paper signups, which are located near the spectrometers.

 

November 21, 2002

 

The AMX360 is now ready for use.

 

November 18, 2002

The DRX400 is ready for use after installing a new Ethernet hub box.

June 27, 2002

The Indy workstation has been replaced with a SGI Octane workstation on DRX400 NMR. The DRX400 NMR is now available for the regular signups.

June 21, 2002

DRX400 will be out of service next Tuesday (6/25) and Wednesday (6/26) to install a new computer and replace the old Indy workstation.  Please make arrangement to have your sample analyzed on AMX360 NMR during this down time.

April 24, 2002

The NMR signup (DRX400 and AMX360) for the weekends is now available.

To meet the requests by faculty and NMR users, we have extended the same-day-signup hours for the DRX400 and AMX360. New same-day-signup hour is from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Monday through Friday.  The maximum number of blocks that each user may sign up during the same-day-signup time has been increased from four to six.

April 16, 2002

AMX360 NMR spectrometer, located in 011A BRL, will be available for use starting Monday, April 22, 2002.  AMX360 NMR is currently equipped with a 5mm-QNP probe (1H/13C/31P/19F) and soon a 5mm-broad-band probe will be added to allow measurements for other nuclei.

The DRX 400 signup rules apply to the AMX360 spectrometer.  All expert users may use the AMX360 with a short training.  Three training sessions have been scheduled as followings:

2:00 PM to 2:30 PM Thursday, April 18, 2002

10:00 AM to 10:30 AM Friday, April 19, 2002

2:00 PM to 2:30 PM Friday, April 19, 2002

Please make sure to attend one of the training sessions to be able to use the AMX360 NMR.  If you cannot make schedules listed above, please contact Dr. Steve Bai to set up a special training time.

March 12, 2002

AM250 NMR is ready for signup and use.  Please sign your name on the logbook as usual.

February 12, 2002

AM250 NMR will be de-energized today. It will be moved to 011 BRL sometime this week and then re-energized.  During the downtime, no signups on AM250 are available. Please use AC250 NMR if possible; otherwise submit your samples with service application form.  The sample service application is available online.

January 28, 2002

4:00 PM    Pat McMahon has fixed the problems with NMR website and it is back running now!  All today’s paper signups will be honored.  The web signups start at 6:00 AM tomorrow (01/29/02).    

9:30 AM   The NMR website for the signup is down.  Please use the paper signup sheets for NMR time reservation until the NMR Website is back.  

June 5, 2001

This week the custodians will be in to redo the floors in all the NMR labs.  The current schedule is: (1) Thursday, clean 047, 011A and 021, (2) Friday, clean 047A and 011.  Therefore, AM250 and DRX400 NMR spectrometers will NOT be available on Thursday. AC250 NMR will NOT available on Friday.   Please make any necessary arrangement in advance to have your sample analyzed with AC250 on Thursday and with AM250 or DRX400 on Friday.

March 28, 2001

Upon the requests of faculty members and students, we have modified some NMR signup rules. These changes in signups are summarized as followings:

·              The overnight blocks have been removed from the web signups, NMR signup of all spectrometers is now open 24 hours a day.

·              Between 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, all signup blocks are reduced from previous 30-minute blocks to a 15-minute block for all spectrometers.

·              The DRX400 same-day-signup time is increased to 6.0 hours, which runs from 12:00 PM to 6:00PM, Monday though Friday.

·              Each user may sign up for a maximum of one hour during the DRX400 same-day-signup time.

·              The new signup rules will be effective starting from April 1, 2001.  However, all signups made before April 1, 2001 will be honored.

·              All signup rules issued previously are still valid only if they are not in conflict with current rules.

Hopefully, the new signup rules will lead to a more effective usage of the NMR spectrometers in the facility.  If you have any questions regarding the new signup rules, please contact Steve Bai.

February 15, 2001

We have received the DESPCT P1 board and installed the P1 board.  The AC250 NMR is now up running!

December 21, 2000

After replacing a magnet, the AC250 NMR is now ready for routine NMR measurements.

October 27, 2000

There are some problems happened in the process of AC NMR magnet rebuilding. The service engineers will come back next week to continue work on it. Your patient during this down time is greatly appreciated.

October 10, 2000

The liquid nitrogen boiling off of the AC250 magnet has been much higher than normal, which leads to a lower magnet bore temperature as well as a lower probe temperature. A magnet service to rebuild the magnet has been scheduled from October 20 to October 27. During that period, AC250 NMR will be out of service. Please prepare in advance for the downtime.

Until then, we will do our best to keep the magnet alive. We may need to fill liquid nitrogen to the magnet anytime when needed. To keep the probe and experiments running at room temperatures, the heater in the variable temperature unit is turned on. Please make sure the setting for the heater power is equal to or less than 8 and the air flow is equal to or greater than 5. In the SDC control panel of the NTNMR software, do not set temperature higher than 293K.

If you have any questions concerning this repair and the variable temperature unit settings, please contact us.

September 15, 2000

The Tecmag upgrade for the AM250 NMR has been finished. The regular signup of the AM250 spectrometer resumes tonight!

August 12, 2000   AC250 Training Schedule

The AC250 NMR has been upgraded to a Tecmag DSpect configuration. All users are required for checkout training before using the spectrometer. Please signup a session with Jeff Smith or Dr. Bai. The training schedule follows:

2:00PM to 3:30PM  Monday, August 14

9:30AM to 11:00AM and 1:30PM to 3:00PM  Tuesday, August 15

9:30AM to 11:00AM and 1:30PM to 3:00PM  Wednesday, August 16

June 1, 2000

The AC250 NMR, which has been down due to a power failure yesterday, is now operating and ready for the service.

April 7, 2000

To maximize the facility usage and make it easier to access the instruments, especially drx400 nmr, we decided to extend the same-day-signup time slot from current THREE hours (2:00 pm to 5:00 pm) to FIVE hours (1:00 pm to 6:00 pm) on the drx400 signup. The updated signup rule will be enforced by the computer scripts starting from next Monday, April 10, 2000.

March 8, 2000

9:30 pm The signup page is working now. Please report any problem to Steve Bai.

5:00 pm The NMR signup server is down. Please wait for further notice. Meanwhile, a printed sheet for spectrometer signups is posted in the NMR lab. Sorry for this inconvenience!

February 14, 2000

All NMR spectrometers (AM250, AC250, DRX400, and MSL300) will be DOWN from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Thursday,  February 17, 2000 due to the scheduled service of compressed air. Please make an early arrangement for NMR analysis. All signups on Thursday will be removed.

February 4, 2000.

11:15 am NMR spectrometers in service!

10:30 am NMR Spectrometers are down until further notice. Compressed air was shut down unexpectedly.

February 2, 2000

Recently, some old chairs in NMR lab (011, 011A, and 021 BRL) were replaced by five new chairs. Our gratitude goes to Cathy Skelley for her efforts to make our lab more safe, comfortable, and pleasing to the eye.

November 15, 1999

The software Xwinnmr on the DRX400 NMR has been upgraded to version 2.6 in patch level 3. In Xwinnmr 2.6, many software bugs, including the one with the problem of "lockdisp", have been fixed. Some new experiments have been added to Xwinnmr as a part of standard operations. Please report any problem with use of the xwinnmr 2.6 to Steve Bai.

June 25, 1999

As you may have noticed, the web signup sheet for the DRX400 is getting rather full. In order to allow fair usage and easy access to the NMR instruments, particularly the DRX 400, the signup rules have changed as summarized below. For details, see http://www.nmr.udel.edu/nmr/login.asp. Suggestions from Dr. P.A. Evans, Dr. Taber, and Dr. Koh are acknowledged here.

Users are able to sign up for any instrument three days in advance, instead of 6 days as before, i.e., if today is Monday, you will be able to sign up for Monday through Thursday, but not beyond that. For the DRX 400, the blocks from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday are reserved for the same-day-signup. The reserved blocks are different from the walk-in time since the signup is still required. The signup for the reserved blocks is not available until the beginning (12:00 am) of the same day. In another word, if you would like to use reserved time blocks on the DRX 400 on Wednesday, you will be able to reserve for it starting at 12:00 am of Wednesday, but not before that. A user may not sign up for more than two blocks of the reserved time for the same day. This rule is enforced by the computer scripts. The users from the same research group are encouraged to share one reserved block if only simple proton NMR data are needed.

Weekend usage is still unrestricted and user may reserve instrument time freely. Other rules still apply. New rules apply immediately, however their effect may not be seen until late next week. The existing signups on all the instruments will still be honored.

Again I would like to stress the importance of responsible instrument usage. If for any reason you do not need the instrument time you have reserved, remove your signup as soon as possible. Should this behavior continue to cause wasted instrument time, an automated computer script will be deployed to check a user's actual instrument usage against his signup and purge all his signup in a 4-day period should he fail to use his reserved time.

June 1, 1999

The major hardware and software upgrades have been done for the DRX400. The upgrades include:
(1) Memory from 32 M to 128 M.
(2) Added an internal hard drive of 9 GB.
(3) The sgi operating system was upgraded from IRIX 5.3 to IRIX 6.5.3m.
(4) NMR software Xwinnmr has been upgraded from the 1.x to the Suite 2.5. Suite 2.5 includes xwinnmr and some additional futures such as ICON NMR.
There are a couple of bugs in the old version has been corrected in the new version. For example, now you can set up the receiver gain automatically using command rga, which is more accurate and is less time consuming. In all ed subroutines, you may using TAB key on the keyboard to select entries. Many more such improvements will be discovered in the future. The ICON NMR, which is designed for the routine NMR users, is the further step toward to automations in the spectrometer operations. It is expected that more and more users will use the ICON NMR. The spectrometer performance has been enhanced with these upgrades. The upgrades assure that all of the components in the DRX400 NMR are fully Y2K compliant. However, it is not surprising to find serveral new problems related to these upgrades. Please report them to Steve Bai and let's work together to get them fixed.

March 8, 1999

New features added for the signup page. If your browser supports JavaScript version 1.1+ (Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.5+), you may quickly reserve for or remove time blocks. For details, read the Help page.

March 7, 1999

Spectrometer usage statistics page added. Functions include bar graph for spectrometer usage percentages and list of top 10 users.

February 15, 1999

Since the ONIM started to serve our NMR user community on February 1, 1999, many changes and modifications have been made to strengthen its functionality and to improve usability. The ONIM users are now able to pick the probe when they sign up for the DRX400 NMR. A set of color codes has been assigned to different probes. The user ID will be coded with different colors on the DRX400 Signup Sheet according to the chosen probe, so that the NMR spectroscopist is able to make sure that the proper probe is installed on the DRX400 spectrometer.

Now, the ONIM is smart enough to detect the currently installed probe and the current user on the DRX400 NMR spectrometer.

In addition to the changes mentioned above, some help files and the signup rules are included in the ONIM for your convenience.

Some of these changes in the ONIM are direct results of our users' suggestions and comments, which are always greatly appreciated.

January 28, 1999

As part of instrumentation maintenance, it is the time to clean up the hard disk on the AM250. The current directory has been printed out. You will find it in Rm 011A BRL. Please circle the files you want to keep. You may transfer your data to a floppy or a zip disk. If you have problem with the data transfer, please contact Steve Bai for help. The deletion of the unwanted files on the hard disk is scheduled on
Monday, February 15. Any files without marked circle will be considered as unwanted files.

January 21, 1999

The Online NMR Instrumentation Management (ONIM) software is a web application that handles routine instrumentation signup, viewing of schedules, user training application submission, service application submission, and NMR user lists. The usage of the ONIM is straightforward and self-explanatory. Please bookmark this page for your future use and convenience.

I suggest that all NMR users should spend a little time to become familiar with the ONIM now and give your feedback to me on it.   I will be available next Wednesday January 27 from 10:00 am to 11:00am in room 011 BRL to answer your questions about the ONIM.

VERY IMPORTANT: The web signup will start on February 1, 1999.  No paper signup will be available or allowed unless the NMR Server is down after February 1, 1999.

Prof. Dybowski and Prof. Brown gave their suggestions and ideas from the very beginning of the software development. Many of our NMR users provided valuable inputs and are greatly acknowledged here. Further comments and thoughts by you are always welcome.