NMR, its applications and the Dutch uNMR-NL facility

What is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and what can we do with it? This video, produced for the occasion of the official opening of the uNMR-NL research facility at the Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, shows how, with NMR spectroscopy, we can determine the structure of molecules to help develop the materials, food and medicine of the future.

An NMR spectrometer works using the same principle as an MRI scanner in a hospital, in order to visualise the structure of molecules. Molecules are the foundation for life and for the materials that we as humans can make. In order to understand the role a specific protein plays in the development of cancer, or why a new nanomaterial displays certain properties, you have to understand the structure of the molecules.

The uNMR-NL research facility at Utrecht University was opened by State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands Sander Dekker on Thursday, 5 November, 2015. With its ultra-powerful 22 Tesla magnet, uNMR-NL is among the world’s leading NMR facilities, allowing researchers to study very large molecules for the first time, with an extremely high spectral resolution. The magnet can be used for chemical, biological, and materials science research. The uNMR-NL facility was set up by the universities of Utrecht, Eindhoven, Leiden, Nijmegen and Wageningen in cooperation with the public-private institute for analytical chemistry COAST and is part of the National Road Map programme for large-scale research facilities of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO.

Website of uNMR-NL: http://www.unmr.nl
Produced by Sensu: http://www.sensu.org