Probes

The probe is a fundamental part of an NMR spectrometer, providing the interface between a sample and the instrument itself. It is the probe that excites the nuclear spins and detects the NMR signal. It usually comprises two radiofrequency coils to enable it to respond to multiple frequencies, and to allow the excitation of multiple nuclei. Modern NMR probes also include an actively-shielded pulsed field gradient (PFG) coil to facilitate the application of field-gradient pulses.

The sample is positioned within the probe, which is placed in the centre of the magnetic field. Probes can accommodate a range of sizes of NMR tubes for the analyses of liquid samples.

Probes for solid-state NMR include the hardware necessary to spin the sample very fast, at a precise angle relative to the magnetic field. The probe may also include the means to control the temperature of a sample.

Bruker can deliver top-performance probes for almost any application from routine 1H NMR measurements on small molecules to advanced research applications, including inverse experiments. The SmartProbe™ facilitates superior single or multiple solvent suppression using pre-saturation or pulsed field gradients as required for samples from reaction control, biological samples and body fluids.