Naman Lab
Instruments and Equipment
The Ningbo University College of Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences provides direct access to top of the line instrumentation so that students, postdocs, and staff scientists can obtain the information to complete leading research projects. We commit to giving hands-on experience that prepares our graduates for the next stage of their careers, especially in academia or industry. The following instruments are either independently part of the Naman lab, or are available for use as departmental resources:
600 MHz NMR
Operation of our college's new NMR facility is underway with the installation of a 600 MHz Bruker NMR with a cryoprobe, automatic sample changer, and AVANCE NEO console. This is the workhorse of our structure determination research.
800 MHz NMR
Our Bruker 800 MHz NMR has been delivered and installed! It offers increased resolution, sensitivity, and opens the door to new experiments with a specialized solid-state probe to go along with a liquid-state cryoprobe.
High Resolution UPLC MS and MS/MS
We have an Agilent 6545 QTOF LC/MS as the foundational instrument in our department's new MS facility for obtaining molecular formulas of unknown natural products, for more efficient target dereplication and prioritization, and to facilitate new analytical chemistry projects. We expect to have another HRMS instrument coming in the near future.
UPLC-PDA-MS/MS
Our Waters Xevo TQ-S micro Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer is connected to another Acquity UPLC for providing MS/MS "chemical fingerprint" fragmentation data for the molecular networking sample prioritization and target determination research in the lab.
UPLC-PDA-MS
We are running a Waters Acquity UPLC equipped with a QDa detector for the analytical chemistry dereplication and targeted isolation of natural products based on their UV and MS data together. This is routinely operated and never seems to sleep. A nitrogen generator is attached, but not pictured.
Automated Microwave Peptide Synthesizer
We are using the Liberty LITE Automated Microwave Peptide Synthesizer in each manual, semi-automated, and automated modes to synthesize natural product polypeptides and new analogues depending on the target molecule and amino acid building blocks required. This improves our overall efficiency and yield, especially for taking lead molecules further in preclinical development and pharmacological investigations.
MPLC "Flash Chromatography"
We have several MPLC systems for efficient separation of natural product mixtures and synthetic reaction products. One older device was inherited, and two newer models are running with automatic fraction collection to facilitate our work flow.
High Speed Countercurrent Chromatography (HSCCC)
We are using a Tauto instrument to prepare sample purification methods that are both lossless (no solid resin scaffold) and directly transferable from analytical to industrial scales. The instrument belongs to Shan He, a departmental colleague and research collaborator.
Cyanobacteria Culture Room
The lab maintains a large temperature-controlled room with automated UV light-dark cycling for the purpose of cultivating single strains and large biomass of cyanobacteria that have been collected in the South China Sea. Our culture collection is young, like the lab, but both are growing together.