UW CHEMISTRY NMR

Dear Users

Nothing more to add on the technical side of the instrument.  But I do have something to add as to the handling of sample and the system.  There is a ‘method to the madness’ and a ‘rationale behind a pesky insistence’, when me or Adrienne shout from the rooftop.   (As I was writing this,  I got a call that another user broke a sample tube with the same instrument within the spinner.  Today !)  The following reminder is prompted by my on the spot observation after the said cleanup was completed.

• Placing a sample tube in the spinner needs to be done gently and not as if you are rushing to catch a flight.
• Instead of forcing it linearly into the spinner, use a corkscrew motion to gently descend the tube into the spinner.
• Please DO NOT HOLD the spinner by the Black-White-Black reflective strip, that can get faded after repeated abuse leading to serious sample detection and spinning issues, down the road.  These spinners cost upwards of $200/- a piece and you can do the math for a carousel system like NEO with 24 spinners.
• Use the depth gauge to your eye height and make sure that the liquid volume is symmetric above and below the two guide marks.  I notice that people rarely look at the depth gauge when they insert the sample in the spinner and they tend to keep the depth gauge at hip height to do this – totally against the above protocol
• The sample tube, with the spinner, should be placed/removed with a given holder using a vertical motion.  You should not go at an angle.  Choose a sample holder that is free of constraints so that you can stand next to the Carousel and do the above comfortably.

Remember that this is your instrument.   As staff, we are here to help you handle it properly and clean up in the aftermath of unfortunate incidents like the above. But, it is your primary responsibility to approach it with a sense of importance so that all of you can enjoy the unique capabilities of such instruments for a long time to come.  These are impressive but delicate pieces of engineering, that solicit and deserve a certain grace while handling, so that these can provide enduring service for everyone’s benefit.

Thank you for taking the time to think and act on these.

NMR Facility Manager

6/21/2023