New NMR Instrument Takes Student-Faculty Research to the Next Level

With a significant $175,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust, LVC's legendary student-faculty research in the sciences took a big step forward this fall. The grant, matched by funds from the College, enabled the faculty to purchase an advanced Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) instrument for the Neidig-Garber Science Center.

An NMR gives very detailed structural information for organic and inorganic molecules. It is an essential tool for determining the structure of chemical compounds.

"The new instrument will enable us to get immediate feedback about our experiments," said Dr. Tim Peelen, Associate Professor of Chemistry. "It's not an understatement that my research group uses the NMR 10 times daily during peak summer research times. Without the NMR instrument, we hoped that our experiments worked while moving on to the next one."

Dr. James MacLaren, LVC President and physicist by training, is equally excited about the new instrument.

"This foundational instrument will be critical toward ensuring the future readiness of LVC graduates who, unlike many of their peers elsewhere, will have the opportunity to learn how to use this important technology as undergraduates and will use it to contribute to science and health professions fields. We are grateful for this generous gift from the George I. Alden Trust."

Students at all experience levels, starting for many during the College's Research First Program, which enrolls incoming students in summer research before they take their first class, will use the instrument, according to Peelen.

"The new NMR has an autosampler, which will allow the instrument to be incorporated into our teaching labs much more extensively," he said. "The autosampler allows students to load samples in a tray and set up their equipment with a few mouse clicks. This efficiency will enable greater use of the NMR, including by my faculty colleagues studying polymer, inorganic, analytical, and physical chemistry."

The new instrument, which also has a stronger magnet, "will give us more precise measurements," according to Dr. Michelle Rasmussen, Co-Chair of Chemistry and Physics and Associate Professor of Chemistry. "Students will learn how to use NMR data to infer the structure of a molecule. They can verify they have made the expected product when running a chemical reaction."

Coincidentally, Dr. Allison Putt Latshaw '12, Senior Research Chemist at Versum Materials, trained many of LVC's science professors on the new NMR.

However, Zachary Morrow '25, a senior ACS Chemistry major, was already trained, having used the instrument during his three undergraduate research experiences at LVC, West Chester, and Merck.

"The purpose of NMR in organic synthesis is to elucidate structure by measuring the precession frequency of the active nuclei based on the desired experimentation (typically proton). Other instruments can hint at a structure's compound, but NMR is by far the most powerful and useful.

"I use the NMR to perform structure validation on synthetic products I am trying to make," added Morrow, President of the College's Chemistry Club, which welcomes students from any major. "In my flagship project with Dr. Peelen, I attempt to reductively cyclize a di-enol compound electrochemically. This work was studied over 20 years ago, but our research suggests a different cyclization is occurring."

Morrow, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in synthetic organic or physical organic chemistry next fall, advises students interested in learning more about the NMR instrument and its many possibilities.

"Depending on their potential area of interest, you can talk to faculty in our Physics Department or Drs. Marsh, Peelen, Rasmussen, or Sterner in our Chemistry Department. LVC students also can contact me with questions at my campus email. Through internships and summer research at two universities, I have a lot of advice to offer students unsure about what, if any, research they would like to explore."