What is claimed to be the world's first commercial 950MHz magnet is now at field and being prepared for delivery to Oxford University during September 2005.
What is claimed to be the world's first commercial 950MHz magnet is now at field and being prepared for delivery to Oxford University in September 2005.
The system, which was sold directly to the university, is demonstrating excellent all round performance, says its developer and manufacturer, Oxford Instruments Superconductivity The base drift rate is less than 5Hz per hour - a fundamental parameter for long-term biomolecular NMR experiments and crucial in obtaining excellent data.
The 950MHz system also validates the company's proprietary, niobium-based superconductor, developed to provide enhanced critical current density capacity (Jc).
The introduction of this new superconductor is a major breakthrough as it provides the additional current density necessary for the development of compact ultra high field NMR magnet systems, says Oxford Instruments.
This technology also provides a significant competitive advantage for the company, alleviating the dependence on developing exotic high temperature superconductors, which would otherwise be required to achieve the same field strength.
These proprietary conductors combined with 'femto Ohm' superconducting jointing technology are key elements required to achieve stable operation.
This technology has also enabled the company to achieve rapid time to market for a unique range of 'compact' magnets, such as the actively shielded AS800MHz system, and is key to the success of the 1GHz programme.
Once installed, the magnet will provide the university's NMR Protein Structure Group with the highest degrees of sensitivity and resolution ever available for NMR spectroscopy, says the company.
This will allow data collection and analysis of biomolecules over 100kDa in size, proving the team with new insights into the structure and intra-molecular interactions of a wide range of proteins.
This announcement follows Oxford Instruments' recent initiative to supply NMR magnets directly to the end-user market place, effectively reducing third-party pricing margins.
