Bridge12 Collaborates with Agilent on THz Technology for DNP-NMR

Published: Tuesday, 12 April 2011 - 06:03 UTC

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Click here to read the press release by Agilent Technologies

**Cambridge, Mass. – April 11, 2011 – **Bridge12 Technologies, a leading provider of terahertz technology for applications in science, medicine, security and defense, today announces it has entered into an agreement with Agilent to collaborate on technology for dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. As part of the collaboration, Bridge12 will provide gyrotrons, a critical component for an emerging application known as DNP, which accelerates NMR experiments that typically require weeks to be performed in minutes.

Under the agreement, Bridge12 will provide critical terahertz components such as gyrotrons and terahertz transmission lines for DNP-NMR to be integrated with new and existing Agilent spectrometers. Where other solutions require expensive proprietary equipment, Bridge12’s gyrotron can be retrofitted to existing spectrometers and requires no changes to the facility’s layout.

Applying DNP to NMR experiments significantly improves measurement sensitivity for solid-state samples, reducing the duration of experiments by several orders of magnitude. Structure determination of proteins at atomic resolution by solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy is a time-consuming, iterative process. Signal intensities are typically very small due to the very small gyromagnetic ratio of the nuclei under study, such as 1H, 2H, 13C, and 15N. However, free electrons possess a magnetic moment that is 660 times larger than that of protons. In a DNP experiment this polarization can be transferred to surrounding nuclei by radiating the sample with terahertz radiation to boost NMR signal intensities. With DNP, experiments that typically require several weeks of signal averaging can be performed in minutes. This acceleration is of great value in structural biology, pharmaceutical research and material science

“Bridge12 gyrotrons for Agilent’s spectrometers are turn-key, low-maintenance, and designed specifically for the requirements of the NMR community,” says Dr. Thorsten Maly, a Bridge12 co-founder. “The joint system enables research groups to run DNP NMR experiments without requiring terahertz specialists on staff. Thus far, the scientific community has not been able to take advantage of DNP due to the lack of affordable, reliable terahertz sources. As a result of our collaboration with Agilent, we will be offering a turn-key solution to the NMR community that has far lower maintenance costs than current home-grown systems.”

Bridge12 staff will be available to answer questions at the Agilent booth at the 52nd Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference (ENC) held at the Asilomar Conference Center (Pacific Grove, California) from April 10th to 15th, 2011.