Contract for the Supply and Installation of Ascend Aeon 900 MHz Magnet to the University of Birmingham

1. Scope of Procurement - short description

HWB-NMR is a Wellcome Trust-funded National NMR Facility, and has been funded by the Wellcome Trust to provide access to ultra-high field NMR spectroscopy for the UK biomolecular user community. To build capacity and maintain state-of-the-art capability within the UK, as requested and required by our national user community, following the decommissioning of an unshielded Oxford 900 MHz magnet and acquisition of a shielded Bruker 1.0 GHz magnet we wish to procure an actively cooled, actively shielded 900 MHz superconducting NMR magnet, that will be compatible with our existing Bruker Avance III HD 900 console and cryoprobe (custom-built to fit the Oxford 900/54 magnet). This magnet will be located alongside the Bruker 1.0 GHz magnet in the same magnet chamber.

2. Description of Procurement

To be compatible with the existing Bruker Avance III HD 900 console and helium-cooled cryoprobe (custom-built by Bruker to fit Oxford 900/54 magnet), the national NMR facility wishes to procure • a shielded, standard-bore (54mm) 900 MHz superconducting NMR magnet, including • active magnet cooling (built-in helium recycling) • 5G stray magnetic field <4.3 m • anti-vibration legs • magnet control unit • quench manifold/duct • gantry/platform • solid-state probe compatible, for measurement of bio-solid samples at 900 MHz

3. VEAT JUSTIFICATION

Bruker is to the best of our knowledge the only manufacturer of superconducting NMR magnets in the world that can provide a standard-bore actively-cooled, actively shielded superconducting magnet capable of NMR spectroscopy at the required magnetic field strength, 900 MHz. Furthermore, the magnet must be compatible with the existing Bruker custom-made cryogenic probe and console, and be available for delivery and installation within two months.