NMR magnets

Varian has debuted its first shielded vertical high-resolution superconducting magnets designed to reduce stray magnetic fields by up to fivefold (in volume), allowing researchers to save space in pharmaceutical and academic laboratories and making nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) more accessible for routine applications. The 500 and 600 MHz premium shielded magnets are integrated with the company's Varian NMR System and are compatible with its suite of cold and room temperature NMR probes.

Core to NMR, magnets provide a strong, extremely homogenous magnetic field into which the sample, whether liquid or solid, is placed for non-destructive mapping of molecular structures and learning how molecules function and relate to each other. Traditional magnets emit stray magnetic fields that can encroach on other analytical instrumentation, thereby restricting the amount of working space in pharmaceutical and academic laboratories. With Varian's premium shielded magnets, magnet perimeter space requirements are minimised, reduced by as much as fivefold. This is an important step toward moving NMR into more routine application laboratories.

The Varian premium shielded magnets have 54 mm internal bores, which are compatible in diameter with the bores of other magnets in the 300 to 900 MHz range, enabling probe development to be centred on one platform. An NMR probe holds the sample within the bore of the magnet, at the centre of the magnetic field. The wider 54 mm bore allows for greater flexibility in designing new probes and in the future development of NMR systems.