The Role of Small Molecules in Biology
The Network for Advanced NMR (NAN) is supported by the NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-2 program. UGA partners with the University of Connecticut Health Center and NMRFAM at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. UGA will get a 1.1 GHz NMR that will be dedicated to biological solution NMR. UW-Madison will get a 1.1 GHz NMR dedicated to biosolids and materials. UConn is the central hub, where data are automatically and securely stored. Users will be able to use “knowledgebases” in 4 areas: 1) Metabolomics, 2) Solution structural biology, 3) Solid-state structural biology, and 4) Materials. UGA is developing the first two knowledgebases. The knowledgebases include NMR protocols and pulse sequences with example datasets, training videos and other training material, and data processing and analysis protocols. Much of the protocol information is being shared through protocols.io. Users will also be able to discover instruments that would be best for their study through a discovery portal that is modeled loosly like airBnB (e.g, airB0). Experienced users will be able to send samples to NAN facilities and operate the instruments remotely. Data are transfered to NMRbox, which is operated by the NAN collaborators at UConn. One of our primary goals is to make NMR more accessible to non-experts: The Democratization of NMR. I am trying to make some videos that explain NMR to non-experts. This project is going slowly, but the first in the series is available on YouTube. Feedback is welcome!