The Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance Facility (BMRF) is a world-class facility linking collaborative research among government sectors, hospitals, universities, industrial partners and the Atlantic Region’s life science cluster. With over 35 years in the NMR field, the latest acquisition of the 700MHz instrument to the Facility represents the final piece of the MR technologies puzzle for the Atlantic Region. Together we are accelerating the understanding of drug interactions, disease states and effects of treatment, thus improving the health and well-being of Canadians and strengthening Nova Scotia’s Life Sciences cluster. The detailed product information provided by the BMRF provides a basis of unassailable intellectual property for the research and industrial community enabling industries to develop and validate value-added products that are unmatched by their competitors.

MR techniques are non-invasive and non-destructive thus, preserving sample integrity. It has diverse multidisciplinary applications ranging from fundamental molecular science through to diagnostic and practical health care. The BMRF is comprised of three major components: 1) highly qualified personnel for consultation and operational requirements, 2) available laboratory space for sample preparation and data analysis, and 3) two state-of-the art HR-MR spectrometers.

The BMRF is highlighted by dedicated researchers with expertise that includes chemical metrology for certification of reference materials for regulatory agencies, profiling of industry products for Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC), development of health or drug products, chemometrics/metabolomics for the profiling of materials of high complexity, molecular level structural and dynamic characterization of small molecules or proteins, and structural analysis of order phases.

More specifically, the BMRF researchers are involved with industrial, academic, international and hospital based collaborative projects that:

• investigate molecular details (i.e. epitope mapping) of drug interactions with human cells and proteins that were previously thought impossible to clearly identify thereby guiding rational drug design and developing new diagnostic tests

• determine macromolecular structure and function of fusion proteins and antimicrobial peptides to ascertain the details of how these molecules function for developing potent anticancer/antimicrobial agents

• design molecular tags to monitor drug distribution and delivery with pre-clinical MR imaging technologies

• highlight metabolic differences that may depict physiological perturbations in response to disease and drug treatment in an effort to identify pathways and drug actions by examining both in-tact cells and tissues with our semi-solid state capabilities and biofluids and extracts with our solution-state capabilities

• quantitate and monitor purity of standards (QA/QC and chemical metrology) used in the certified reference materials program (CRMP) for government regulatory agencies

• determine detailed dynamic and structural information including stereochemical information for small molecules and proteins

• identify lipids, oils and nutraceuticals from micro-algae used for functional foods or prospective fuel sources

• monitor consistency of proprietary industrial preparations for application in trade and development of new products

NRC-IMB welcomes the use of the BMRF by both Canadian and International researchers by either sending samples for BMRF researchers to acquire data/analyze, or to personally partake in using the facility. Assistance with the equipment through data acquisition, hands-on training and data interpretation is available at NRC-IMB. As a federal government institute, the facility respects data integrity, security and confidentiality.

NRC-IMB Technology Platforms

• Mass Spectrometry
• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
• Natural Products and Analytical Chemistry
• Bioscreening
• Omics and Imaging
• Marine Research Station

For more information, please contact:

Janet Munholland

Manager, Technology Platforms

Tel: (902) 426-6653

E-mail : janet.munholland@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca