Shared Resource Director: Carol
B. Post
E-mail: cbp@purdue.edu
Facility Director: John Harwood
Department: Chemistry/Medicinal Chemistry
Phone: (765) 494-5287
Building/Room: WTHR, Room 365B
General Information and Services
The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shared resource
provides a broad spectrum of NMR instrumentation and scientific expertise
for cancer research. The resource maintains medium and high-field
spectrometers housed across campus for easy access by all Cancer Center
researchers.
NMR spectroscopy plays a central role across many areas of cancer
research. The resource serves research projects in structural biology
as well as synthesis and analysis of complex natural products and
synthetic molecules.
The Facility provides training and access to a number of NMR spectrometers,
ranging from walk-on use of 200-, 300-, and 500-MHz multinuclear spectrometers
to week-long use of 500- and 600-MHz multinuclear spectrometers with
gradient capabilities.
Researchers are taught to operate the instruments by expert staff
members, and data can be processed either by off-line computers available
in the resource or by electronic transfer to user-owned computers.
Two Ph.D. spectroscopists, an instrumentation engineer, and an instrumentation
specialist staff the NMR resource. Staff members are responsible for
maintaining the instruments, scheduling, training, and day-to-day
operations.
NMR spectroscopy plays a critical role in a variety of cancer research
projects. Studies to determine 3-dimensional structure and elucidate
protein-protein interactions are underway for several signaling proteins
including Src-family tyrosine kinases, tyrosine phosphatases, Syk
and a tumor suppressor protein. These studies demand high-field multiresonance
NMR spectroscopy with highest sensitivity and resolution.
Structure elucidation of proteins associated with abnormal cell growth
add to our knowledge of cell growth regulation and enhance the development
of agents with potential therapeutic use.
Current research that relies on NMR spectroscopy also includes the
development of synthetic protocols for natural products, such as cephalostatin,
and other small-molecule inhibitors with chemotherapeutic activity.
Further studies are ongoing to design and synthesize new phosphoramidate
anticancer prodrugs. NMR is used routinely to characterize synthetic
intermediates and follow activation kinetics.
NMR Rates
(Rates for Cancer Center members will be discounted)
