New Educational Video Reviews the Current use of Benchtop NMR in Real-Time Monitoring and Optimisation of Chemical Reactions

Mestrelab Research produces a software program called Mnova which is widely used by organic chemists to analyse NMR spectra. Magritek customers often use MNova to carry out their NMR data processing and analysis. Mestrelab organised a series of webinars on benchtop NMR and invited Magritek CEO, Dr Andrew Coy to describe the growth of applications using benchtop NMR to monitor reactions in real time.

The Spinsolve Benchtop NMR Spectrometer is robust enough to be deployed outside the controlled environment of an NMR laboratory, and has the performance to provide quick, reliable and useful chemical information. While traditional superconducting NMR means bringing the sample to the spectrometer, the benefit of a benchtop NMR Spectrometer is that it can be deployed next to the reaction and monitor its progress in real time. In this presentation video, Dr Coy introduces the Spinsolve Benchtop NMR Spectrometer and discusses some of the issues to consider in NMR reaction monitoring. Results are presented from a number of different applications and research groups, and highlight some of the future developments and trends that are likely to impact this field.

In this review, the focus is on reaction monitoring where a system maybe set up in a routine fume hood as would be found in most organic and synthetic chemistry laboratories. The ability to quickly track a reaction, i.e. monitoring the decay of reactants while simultaneously following the reaction products, helps chemists determine reaction parameters when scaling up to the production line. Systems are now in use worldwide with many publications now appearing in the peer-reviewed literature illustrating the acceptance of benchtop NMR analysis. One particularly exciting development is that of Professor Lee Cronin´s group from the University of Glasgow where he has been studying imine synthesis. By applying closed loop control he is able to self-optimise the experiment protocol to maximise yield through iterative routines.

With over a dozen applications examples described in some detail, the presentation is an excellent introduction to those wishing to use NMR in their research or teaching activities. To view the video visit http://www.magritek.com/2015/06/17/magritek-webinar-video-reaction-monitoring-in-real-time-with-benchtop-nmr/.