Over the past 30 years, NMR spectroscopy has had tremendous impact on organic chemistry and biomolecular structure determination. NMR spectroscopic techniques are therefore profoundly important at all stages of drug discovery and development, including medicinal chemistry, structure determination of protein-ligand complexes, toxicology, pharmaceutical analysis and biomarker discovery. NMR techniques are used for structure elucidation/confirmation and as a quantitative analytical tool; they are useful for studies of pure samples, complex mixtures, and in relation to assessment of biological activity. More recently, the advent of ‘omics’ technologies has focused attention on the potential of NMR spectroscopy in the newly emerged fields of metabolomics and metabonomics. Sensitivity gains and miniaturization have enabled the application of NMR spectroscopy to extremely mass-limited samples, and hyphenated methods have revolutionized the structure elucidation of mixture components.

The purpose of the course is to give participants knowledge about the basic theory of advanced NMR experiments as well as the applications of NMR spectroscopy in various areas of drug research. In addition to lectures, discussions and lab demonstrations, the course will include hands-on experience with processing and analysing NMR data.  A number of exercises will illustrate use of NMR as a tool for problem solving in organic and medicinal chemistry.

The course is in two parts. The first part aims to give participants an understanding of modern NMR spectroscopy, including the most recent advances of NMR from the perspective of structure elucidation as well as target- and non-target multi-component analysis. Discussion will cover practical aspects of NMR spectroscopy, including sample preparation, hardware requirements and developments, data acquisition and processing, and the practical use of 1D and 2D NMR methods.

Topics will include: 

• Brush-up on NMR theory
• Sample preparation
• Spectrometer optimization and function
• Non-mathematical description and practical use of homo- and heteronuclear 2D NMR experiments
• Data acquisition (lab demo) and data processing (hands-on computer exercises)

The second part of the course will cover specific applications of NMR spectroscopic techniques in drug research, mainly in relation to small molecules. The aim is to give students knowledge of the important fields of application of NMR spectroscopy, as well as to inspire them to apply NMR methods in their research projects.

Topics will include: 

• NMR in metabolite profiling and fingerprinting, metabolomics and metabonoics
• Hyphenated NMR methods
• Micro-coil NMR and other sensitivity-enhancement measures
• Ligand discovery by NMR

Finally, the course includes exercises carried out by students in pairs on the practical use of NMR spectroscopy. Each exercise will provide the basis for a written report. Participants will choose the type of exercise,  e.g., structure elucidation of a complex molecule from 2D NMR data, quantitative analysis of the components of a mixture, identification of a component in a complex mixture, or sample classification based on metabolomic fingerprints.   

The eight-day course will comprise about 24 lectures and 18 hours of practical exercises and demonstrations, as well as discussions and problem-solving sessions.  

Lecture notes and selected scientific articles will be used as teaching material.

The course leader gives a pass/fail grade based on individual performance as assessed by active participation and a short report on a pre-determined exercise.

19 to 28 March 2012.

5 ECTS credits (European Credit Transfer System)

Student work load: 112 hours (40 for preparation, 42 for course and 30 for report).

Total course fee: DKK 12,800 (including lunch),

of which operating costs: DKK 2,900.

15 January 2012.

18 participants.

The course addresses PhD students with an MSc degree in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, pharmacology and medicine, as well as research scientists in the pharmaceutical industry, in particular those working with projects in medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical and biochemical analysis, natural products, and metabolomics/metabonomics.

Applicants enrolled in the part-time MIND master's program may participate in the course.