Training Guide

Welcome to the NMR Lab.

All training is by appointment with Dr. Kababya or Dr. Ben Shir, 829-3748.
Each lesson is 1 hour, with 1-2 lessons per week.
Training includes how to arrive with a sample and leave with a NMR spectrum.
The first lesson is a demo. The second lesson is hands-on. After completing your hands-on lesson, you may work independently to acquire 1H spectra on the Avance 200. You can have as many lessons as you need in order to feel confident to work by your own. You may also receive a training to work with the automated NMR (AVIII-400) spectrometer.
Shifi Kababya and Ira Ben Shir are available in the lab Sunday through Thursday (8:00 – 16:00) to answer short questions on-call or to schedule appointments for more involved assistance.

What to do:

Before your first lesson, read the sample preparation, basic instructions and safety guides.
Bring a hardcopy of the safety form and the instructions with you to your lessons.

In order to receive a permission to use 300 MHz and higher fields instruments you are requested to take the practical and theoretical examination.

The Practical and Theoretical Exams

Instruction beyond acquiring a basic 1H spectrum on the Avance 200 is contingent upon you demonstrating to the facility managers that you have grasped the first five parameters that apply to all instruments and NMR experiments: o1p, d1, ns, aq, sw.
This is done by completing the practical and theoretical “exams” detailed below – at any time that you feel ready.

Practical:

acquire a non-truncated FID (off-resonance)
sample: CHCl3/CDCl3
acquire an on-resonance FID
sample: CHCl3/CDCl3
obtain a spectrum with good shimming
sample: EtOH/D2O

Theoretical:

First review all the questions given below. If you need more explanations, make an appointment with Ira or Shifi.  The exam consists of a few randomly asked questions related to the list below.

Exam questions:

  • What nuclear property is needed to see a NMR signal?
  • What is the purpose of the NMR button “spin”?
  • What does shimming do?
  • Which shims should be used with or without sample spinning?
  • How can you tell the difference between poor shimming and a real multiplet?
  • What does “lock” do?
  • Can you acquire a spectrum without lock?
  • Do you want the sweep on or off while you acquire your FID?
  • What happens to a solution NMR experiment without deuterated solvent?
  • What does “200” stand for?
  • What is the ppm scale?
  • What is d1?
  • What is T1?
  • What does aq + d1 = 5 x T1 imply?
  • How are the spectral width and digitization rate related?
  • Which parameter increases the time that the detector is on?
    How can you recognize a peak that is on-resonance?
  • Will an on- or off-resonance FID decay faster?
  • Which parameter is changed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio?
  • What is the difference between multiple-pulses and number of shots?
  • How do you convert intensity vs. time to intensity vs. frequency?
  • When do you use an exponential function in processing?
  • Why do different protons have different chemical shifts?
  • What causes J-coupling?
  • How can you distinguish between a doublet (J-coupling) and two singlets of equal intensity?
  • What safety concerns are connected to working in a NMR lab?
  • What are the scheduling rules?
  • What are the lab policies?