Abstract
Benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers are versatile analytic instruments with low acquisition and operation cost. However, in the basic version, samples must be manually measured one after the other. We herein describe the open-source autosampler RotoMate that allows the automated operation of such instruments. The hardware is easily assembled from 3D-printed and inexpensive off-the-shelf parts, and is controlled by an Arduino Uno. A software package interlinks the operation of the autosampler with the software of the NMR spectrometer and the software for the processing of the spectra. Experiments for up to 30 samples can be inserted into an interactive sample list. The autosampler automatically inserts and ejects the samples, initiates measurements on the spectrometer according to parameters specified in the sample list, and interacts with a common NMR software in the processing and visualization of the obtained spectroscopic raw data. If an internal standard is present, conversions and yields of chemical reactions are automatically calculated, enabling e.g. the monitoring of reactions. The device was fitted to a Magritek Spinsolve instrument and can interact with a free academic version of ACD NMR software to process the spectra, but can likely be adapted to similar instruments and spectroscopy software packages.
Highlights
Benchtop nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers are versatile analytic instruments with low acquisition and operation cost
The device was fitted to a Magritek Spinsolve instrument and can interact with a free academic version of ACD NMR software to process the spectra, but can likely be adapted to similar instruments and spectroscopy software packages
NMR spectroscopy is an inherently quantitative analytical method, as the integral of a signal is proportional to the number of corresponding nuclei [2]
Summary
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful and versatile analytical methods available today. Advances in materials chemistry have led to the development of ‘‘benchtop” NMR spectrometers They have high-performance permanent magnets rather than helium-cooled superconductive magnets, which dramatically lowers the acquisition and maintenance cost – especially when purchased without any expensive accessories [4]. Their resolution is markedly lower than that of traditional NMR spectrometers, but is still sufficient for many applications such as quality control [5], forensic analysis [6], on-line reaction monitoring [7], and academic teaching [8]. The spectrometer does not get contaminated by the chemicals inside samples, and there are no chromatographic phases that need to be replaced regularly or must be exchanged after analysing a corrosive or toxic sample The cost of building a RotoMate is only a small fraction of the price for a proprietary autosampler
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