BrightSpec has announced the start of operation of a broadband Molecular Rotational Resonance spectrometer at BASF’s research centre in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
BASF will utilise MRR spectroscopy for the structure elucidation of organic compounds where isomerism is an underlying question. Major applications comprise stereochemical analysis, including chirality, defining the composition of mixtures without purification, and the facile structural analysis of gas-phase samples. Implementing MRR as a technology was driven by Senior Principal Scientists Wolf Stegmaier and Reinhard Doetzer of BASF’s Competence Center Analytics.
“MRR is an excellent tool for elucidating structures in combination with the classical methods FT-IR, MS and NMR since it provides critical information orthogonal to them”, stated Dr Doetzer. He continued: “We leverage MRR to increase the accuracy and speed of the structure elucidation process, boosting our analytical productivity. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of a sample for which MRR would be the perfect method for solving a structure-related problem.”
Dr Wolf Stegmaier added: “In gas analysis, MRR is providing quick answers for polar analytes without gas chromatographic separation or special detection systems. Its high selectivity is a great help in the direct analysis of complex gas samples; this is particularly so for the quantification of analytes in mixtures.”
BrightSpec’s Broadband MRR provides the ability to identify unknown molecules directly from a crude mixture. In conjunction with modern quantum-mechanical calculations, MRR allows the identification of the unequivocal three-dimensional structure of a molecule without reference standard or front-end separation. This combination increases sample throughput and reduces the cost for many applications across the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.
