Light-coupled cryogenic probes to detect low-micromolar samples and allow for an automated NMR platform

Abstract

Recent advances in NMR fragment screening use sample illumination to boost NMR sensitivity, reduce measurement time to a few seconds, and reduce sample concentration to a few micromolars. Nevertheless, the absence of a fully automated solution to measure several hundreds of samples with photoinduced hyperpolarization limits the large-scale applicability of the method. We present a setup to couple an optical fiber with a cryogenic probe using the flow-cell accessory port. This setup is compatible with commercially available autosamplers, enabling the fully automated measurement of several hundreds of samples per day.