Through CChES you can access a wide range of nuclear magnetic resonance instrumentation and specialist expertise. We are one of just a few UK research facilities offering solid state NMR.
Whether you’re looking for high-throughput characterisation services, or specialist R&D support for problem solving or discovery, we can help.
Contact usWith an array of state-of-the-art instrumentation, we can provide:
These allow us to identify and confirm the structure and composition of a sample, quantify and compare samples, track motion, and see inside using non-destructive techniques.
Additional facilities include a mechanical workshop with CNC, laser cutting and 3D printing facilities for bespoke components, and customised equipment for non-standard sample preparation.
Using these techniques we can support your project, whether for quality control, product development, custom synthesis, materials verification or reaction monitoring. For example, we can:
We have extensive experience of providing NMR spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging for industry clients, for applications in:
This 700MHz Bruker system is made by a Bruker Ascend 700 NB magnet coupled to a Neo console and a SampleJet. It is equipped with a Bruker BBO 5 mm probe for liquids and a Bruker TCI prodigy 5 mm cryoprobe. The TCI CryoProbe Prodigy is designed for the highest 1H and 13C sensitivities, short pulse widths, and the highest 2H sensitivity, resulting in optimal lock stability. It can be used for the usual inverse triple resonance experiments 1H {13C, 15N} and 13C and 19F observation experiments.
Configured with a 5 mm 1H, 13C, 15N inverse detection probe with the electronics cooled to 20 K to enhance signal to noise, this system is aimed at biomolecular NMR with the emphasis on protein structure, protein/ligand interactions, affinity measurements, protein dynamics as well as qualitative/quantitative metabolite analysis.
This system features three room temperature solution probes: a standard 5 mm HCN triple resonance; a 5 mm pentaprobe covering HCNPD; and, an 8 mm HCN probe tuneable to 19F. The 3.2 mm and 1.6 mm solid state probes can spin samples at up to 20 kHz and 40 kHz respectively and be equipped with low-gamma accessories extending the range of nuclei available for study. This system is routinely used to investigate protein/membrane interactions and effects, protein structure in microcrystalline and fibrillar form and new NMR methodologies to extract novel information about biomolecular form and function.
This triple-resonance NMR system features a wide range of solid-state NMR probes for magic-angle-spinning and static NMR experiments, including a 7mm HX, a 4mm HX, a 4mm TX and a 2.5mm TR Bruker solid-state probes. The system also supports high-resolution solution NMR experiments and is equipped with a Bruker 5mm BBI probe with z-gradient. A world-unique cryogenic magic-angle-spinning NMR probe is also available. This probe uses the evaporation of liquid He to spin and cool the sample. The lowest achieved sample temperature is 10 Kelvin, at a spinning frequency of 10 kHz. We have also developed NMR probes for experiments on static samples at temperatures down to approximately 1.5 K.
This 500 MHz solution NMR system is equipped with a wide range of solution NMR probes and also microimaging equipment including a 10mm BBO, a 5mm TBO, a 5mm BBI probes with z-gradient plus a MICWB40 micro-imaging probe equipped with 1H, 1H/13C and 1H/15N 10mm and 25mm resonators. This system hosts a custom-made shuttle for rapid sample shuttling experiments at two (or more) fields.
The 400MHz system is equipped with high power amplifiers and is routinely used to investigate the behaviour of lipids in membranes in the presence of peptides and proteins as well as the states of catalysts in material science. A range of probes are available including 3.2mm, 4mm and 6mm magic-angle spinning probes and a 5mm single resonance static probe which are tuneable to a broad range of nuclei. Experiments can be conducted at a range of temperature from –100C to 120C.
This system is constituted by a 9.4T widebore Oxford Instrument magnet coupled to 400 MHz Bruker Neo console and is equipped with a 5mm and a 10 mm Bruker BBO solution NMR. This system hosts a custom-made fast sample shuttle and a Magnetically shielded chamber; therefore, it can work as a dual-magnetic-cores spectrometer with a probe at 9.4 T and a second probe at 2 μT (variable between +/- 1 mT) for rapid sample shuttling experiments at two fields.
This system is equipped with a 5mm broadband fluorine-observe (BBFO) probe for routine observation of proton (¹H), carbon (¹³C), fluorine (¹⁹F) and phosphorus (³¹P), and is intended for rapid acquisition of routine NMR experiments such as one-dimensional (1D) ¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ³¹P spectra, and experiments like proton-proton correlation spectroscopy (HH COSY), proton-proton total correlation spectroscopy (HH TOCSY), heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC), heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC), and fluorine-fluorine correlation spectroscopy (FF COSY).
The system features 4 room temperature probes:
5 mm dual (DUL) proton/carbon (H/C) probe for observation protons (¹H) and carbon (¹³C) in one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments
10 mm broadband observe (BBO) multinuclear probe with automatic tuning and matching for observation of nuclei from silver (¹⁰⁹Ag) to phosphorus (³¹P), with proton (¹H) decoupling
10 mm low-frequency multinuclear probe with manual tuning for observation of nuclei from rhodium (¹⁰³Rh)to an unspecified nucleus (XXX) with proton (¹H) decoupling
5 mm single echo field (SEF) probe for observation of fluorine (¹⁹F) with proton (¹H) decoupling (also ¹H observe with ¹⁹F decoupling) one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments
This instrument is equipped with a 5mm small multinuclear auto-resonance tuning (SMART) probe for routine observation of proton (¹H), carbon (¹³C), fluorine (¹⁹F) and phosphorus (³¹P), and is intended for rapid acquisition of routine NMR experiments such as one-dimensional (1D) ¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ³¹P spectra, and experiments like proton-proton correlation spectroscopy (HH COSY), proton-proton total correlation spectroscopy (HH TOCSY), heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC), heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC), and fluorine-fluorine correlation spectroscopy (FF COSY).
The AVIIIHD500 Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance (FT-NMR) spectrometer is used to acquire data from more demanding and specialised NMR experiments.
Equipped with a 5mm broadband fluorine-observe (BBFO) multinuclear helium cryoprobe with automatic tuning and matching for observation of nuclei from nitrogen (¹⁵N) to phosphorus/fluorine (³¹P /¹⁹F) with proton (¹H) decoupling at substantial sensitivity enhancements, the 500 is primarily used for non-routine NMR spectroscopic analyses that are unsuited to the open-access instruments or where the uplifted field is necessary.
Typical experiments include extended variable temperature NMR studies, nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) investigations to probe structural issues, extended 2D experiments, reaction monitoring and kinetics.
This system is constituted by a 7T widebore Oxford Instrument magnet coupled to a Bruker Avance III console with a 3-axis gradient system for micro-imaging experiments. It is equipped with a Bruker MICWB40 microimaging probe with 1H and 1H/13C 10 mm resonators. This system hosts a custom-made temperature-controlled shuttle that keeps the sample temperature constant while shuttling the whole sample along the magnetic field axis and can work as a dual-magnetic-core system that hosts a probe at 7 T and a probe and 3D-axis gradients at 46mT (500 kHz for 13C) for 3D diffusion studies and relaxation measurements in porous media.
This is a 1.4 T desktop magnet from Magritek (Spinsolve 80) that is coupled to a custom-made PHIP/SABRE polariser to perform a variety of para-hydrogen assisted hyperpolarised studies.
At our chemical analysis laboratory, we can work with a wide range of sample types, including:
Pure compounds
Complex mixtures
Fuels
Powders
Crystalline disordered solids
Catalysts
Semiconductors
Volatiles
Real-time reactions
Biofluids
Biomaterials
Biological systems
State-of-the-art, industry-ready facilities including a one-of-a-kind electron beam diffraction service for analysis of smaller crystals and nanoparticles
Access to the optimum techniques for your material or process – CChES hosts an unrivalled range of instruments in terms of spectral region, length scale and dynamics.
Delivered by specialists who are recognised globally for developing theory, techniques, methodologies, hardware and open-source simulation tools.
Dr Julie Herniman
Chromatography, mass spectrometry, supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-resolution mass spectrometry
Dr Neil Wells
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy
Professor Geraint (Taff) Morgan
Analytical chemistry, specialising in novel assays for the quantification of volatile organic compounds in complex samples
Dr Mark Light
X-ray diffraction for materials characterisation
Dr Robert Bannister
Advanced crystallographic techniques, electron diffraction, chemical analysis of air-sensitive compounds
Dr Daniel N Rainer
3D electron diffraction, single-crystal structure determination, porous framework materials, electron microscopy, facility management
Professor Sumeet Mahajan
Advanced Raman, near-infrared and multimodal non-linear spectroscopic analysis and imaging using coherent techniques of biological and environmental samples. Non-destructive compositional analysis including moisture measurements
Professor Simon Coles
Crystallography, structural chemistry and digital chemistry
