Bruker AC-250 NMR spectrometer

Until 2006, our primary research instrument was a Bruker AC-250 high-field NMR spectrometer which was purchased in 1993 under an Instruction and Laboratory Improvement (ILI, now Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics [TUES]) program from the National Science Foundation.

The Bruker AC-250 is a superconducting NMR spectrometer.  The field of the magnet is 5.9 Tesla and operates at a nominal proton frequency of 250 MHz.  The magnet is a Bruker Ultra-Long Hold magnet with a nominal helium fill interval of 6 months and was one of the first of its kind available for NMR spectroscopy.  It is a two-channel instrument and is equipped with a 5mm broadband probe covering the range from 15N to 31P with proton observation.  We also have a magic angle spinning (CPMAS) accessory (left) and probe.  Each of the probes supports variable temperature operation controlled through the console.  The AC-250 was housed in room S34A.

A fond farewell to the AC-250
The AC-250 was de-energized and vented on January 3, 2006, and renovation of the NMR room has since been completed.  We have decommissioned the magnet and will be cutting it open as an educational display.  Parts of the AC-250 console have been donated to the University of New Mexico.