Harvard Medical School has selected Agilent Technologies' 700MHz ultra-high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer for bio-molecular research applications.
The instrument will be used by the laboratories of Dr Gerhard Wagner and Dr James Chou of Harvard Medical School to study protein structure and interaction.
Wagner, the Elkan Rogers Blout professor of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology at Harvard, said: 'Our goal is to develop NMR and mass spectrometry methods that will enable us to gain a better understanding of chronic myologenic leukaemia through research into predictive biomarkers.
'Ultimately, this research may lead to improvements in the monitoring of patients undergoing drug treatment.
'We are confident that Agilent's 700MHz ultra-high-field NMR spectrometer has the capabilities to help us achieve these goals,' he added.
NMR is an important tool used to gain a greater understanding of the structure, function, and dynamics of biomolecules such as proteins, RNA and DNA.
NMR experiments provide connectivity information as well as important data about the spatial orientation of the molecule, such as how it is folded or twisted in three dimensions, in its natural environment.
This structural information is critical for applications where scientists desire a deeper understanding of protein or nucleic acid targets and their spatial relationships with other biomolecules.
Agilent's 700MHz system features an actively shielded magnet, which reduces stray magnetic fields, minimising space requirements for the placement of new systems.
