PicoSpin

Until now, the smallest nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer capable of obtaining chemical shift information on nuclei in samples has been the size of a desk and cost about $100,000, according to PicoSpin. The company has now reduced this type of NMR instrument to the size of a shoe box and a cost of about $25,000. The level of miniaturization that made the new PicoSpin-45 possible is based on microcoil NMR research and magnet advances. The 10.5-lb instrument, which is being distributed exclusively by Cole-Parmer, is designed for education, process control, and other applications where size and cost are important. The 45-MHz miniature NMR obtains proton spectra at resolutions exceeding 100 ppb. To obtain spectra, liquid samples of 20 μL or larger are injected into an internal capillary via front-panel fittings. The instrument’s temperature-controlled permanent magnet operates without any need for a cryogenic liquid.