NSF-BSF: IIBR Instrumentation: Photonic Band Gap Resonators for High-Field Dynamic Nuclear Polarization of Biological Macromolecules

An award is made to North Carolina State University (NCSU, USA) with support from the Infrastructure Innovation Program for Biological Research in the Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry to considerably – by up to several orders of magnitude – improve sensitivity of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy by employing pulsed high-frequency methods of Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP). This first-of-its kind spectrometer will be developed in partnership with Tel Aviv University (TAU, Israel), thereby strengthening scientific collaboration between the two Nations.

Such gains in sensitivity will expand the applicability of NMR methods to some of the most challenging problems of structural biology and, potentially, make the method suitable for studying protein structure and function in living cells. This highly interdisciplinary collaborative project will provide unique training opportunities for students with backgrounds in biology, physical chemistry, spin physics, and millimeter-wave technologies.

The project is aimed at transforming DNP NMR methods by significantly expanding the photonic band-gap resonator technology invented at NCSU from the current 200 GHz electron resonance frequency to 400 GHz and take advantage of the expertise of the TAU team in pulse shaping and cryoprobe development. The instrument will operate at 400 GHz electron and 600 MHz proton NMR frequencies, which will be highly beneficial for higher resolution and sensitivity.

Coherent manipulation of the electronic spin states will be achieved by combining state-of-the- art digital technologies and recent advances in solid-state millimeter-wave devices. The spectrometer will serve as a unique platform for developing new methods for transferring spin polarization in DNP. The method is expected to yield novel structural and dynamic information on biological macromolecules as compared to conventional NMR spectroscopy.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.