Bruker Announces Successful Installation of 1.2 GHz Avance® NMR Spectrometer at the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI)

SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 13, 2024--

Bruker Corporation is pleased to announce the successful installation and acceptance of a 1.2 GHz Avance® Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer at the Korea Basic Science Institute ( KBSI ), just in time before the start of the ICMRBS 2024 conference in Korea. As the first 1.2 GHz NMR system in the Asia-Pacific region, it sets a new benchmark for molecular, cell biology and disease research by ultra-high field NMR.

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This underscores KBSI’s unwavering commitment to innovation in research infrastructure, cementing its status as a world-class fundamental research institute. This cutting-edge 1.2 GHz NMR spectrometer further enhances KBSI’s capabilities in biomolecular structure analysis and drug development, pushing the boundaries of protein NMR research. Ultra-high field NMR provides excellent sensitivity and unprecedented resolution, enabling researchers to observe functional molecular dynamics and structural rearrangements in real time. Complementary to other structural biology technologies, GHz-class NMR allows KBSI to elucidate complex biological processes, such as protein-ligand interactions and the behavior of intrinsically disordered proteins, which are crucial for understanding disease mechanisms and developing new therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Hae-Kap Cheong, Manager of the UHF NMR system at KBSI, expressed his enthusiasm: “When using the 1.2 GHz instrument, the opportunities for small molecule research made me speechless. In particular, the structural elucidation of natural products will be greatly beneficial.”

Dr. Donghan Lee, Scientific Researcher at KBSI, adds: “As Richard Feynman said, ‘Everything that living things do can be understood in terms of the jiggling and wiggling of atoms.’ The function of biomolecules can be understood by their dynamic nature. In particular, the functional conformation of biomolecules may be hidden because of their dynamic nature. With the 1.2 GHz instrument, the detection of these conformations enables the unprecedented identification of functional conformations.”

KBSI is dedicated to advancing scientific research through state-of-the-art technology and innovative research facilities. As a platform for global basic research, KBSI connects research facilities, equipment, and researchers, driving the future of science and technology in the Asia-Pacific region. With its mission to lead the innovation of research facilities and equipment, KBSI continues to support advanced analytical research and joint research initiatives in Korea and beyond.

Dr. Kyoung-Seok Ryu, Director of the Biopharmaceutical Research Center at KBSI, added: “The application of the 1.2 GHz instrument includes mechanistic understanding, in particular, the mode-of-action of drug-target binding and molecular communication. Furthermore, studying intrinsically disordered or partially disordered proteins with the 1.2 GHz NMR instrument can elucidate the functional mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration.”

KBSI will utilize the 1.2 GHz spectrometer for a diverse range of research applications, including the study of biomolecular structures and the development of new drugs. This ultra-high field NMR instrument will support other KBSI research in biomedical multiomics, bioimaging, and the development of diagnostic methods for infectious diseases. The broader benefits of this research will extend to advancements in medical research, materials science, and other critical fields.

Dr. Falko Busse, President of Bruker BioSpin, commented: “We are thrilled to see the 1.2 GHz NMR become a key part of KBSI’s research infrastructure. Grateful for the trust from KBSI, we look forward to the scientific advancements that will emerge. We are pleased to offer a tour of the 1.2 GHz NMR at KBSI during the International Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems.”

Interested researchers can book the tour at Bruker Booth A1 at ICMRBS for Friday, August 23, providing a unique opportunity to explore the advanced capabilities of this revolutionary instrument.

With the installation at KBSI, there are now 22 GHz-class NMR spectrometers installed worldwide, including two in the Asia-Pacific region. This demonstrates the growing recognition of the value GHz-class NMR brings to scientific research. Together with the first single-story 1.0 GHz NMR already installed in Japan, KBSI’s 1.2 GHz highlights the need for cutting-edge research infrastructure.

About Bruker Corporation – Leader of the Post-Genomic Era (Nasdaq: BRKR)

Bruker is enabling scientists and engineers to make breakthrough post-genomic discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular, and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity, and customer success in post-genomic life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and biopharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial and cleantech research, and next-gen semiconductor metrology in support of AI. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics. For more information, please visit www.bruker.com.

Dr. Kyoung-Seok Ryu, Director of Biopharmaceutical Research Center, KBSI

1.2 GHz Avance® NMR system at Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI)

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — The last time Khadija Ahidid saw her son, he came to breakfast in 2021 looking “homeless” with big hair so she offered to give him $20 so he could go get a shave or a haircut that day. Hours later, he shot and killed 10 people at a supermarket in the college town of Boulder.

She saw Ahmad Alissa for the first time since then during his murder trial on Monday, saying repeatedly that her son, who was diagnosed after the shooting with schizophrenia, was sick. When one of Alissa’s lawyers, Kathryn Herold, was introducing her to the jury, Herold asked how she knew Alissa. Ahidid responded “How can I know him? He is sick,” she said through an Arabic interpreter in her first public comments about her son and the shooting.

Alissa, who emigrated from Syria with his family as a child, began acting strangely in 2019, believing he was being followed by the FBI, talking to himself and isolating from the rest of the family, Ahidid said. His condition declined after he got Covid several months before the shooting, she said, adding he also became “fat” and stopped showering as much.

There was no record of Alissa being treated for mental illness before the shooting. After the shooting, his family later reported that he had been acting in strange ways, like breaking a car key fob and putting tape over a laptop camera because he thought the devices were being used to track him. Some relatives thought he could be possessed by an evil spirit, or djinn, according to the defense.

No one, including Alissa’s lawyers, disputes he was the shooter. Alissa has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting. The defense says he should be found not guilty because he was legally insane and not able to tell the difference between right and wrong at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors and forensic psychologists who evaluated him for the court say that, while mentally ill, Alissa knew what he was doing when he launched the attack. They point to the planning and research he did to prepare for it and his fear that he could end up in jail afterward to show that Alissa knew what he was doing was wrong.

Alissa mostly looked down as his mother testified and photographs of him as a happy toddler and a teenager at the beach were shown on screen. There was no obvious exchange between mother and son in court but Alissa dabbed his eyes with a tissue after she left.

The psychiatrist in charge of Alissa's treatment at the state mental hospital testified earlier in the day that Alissa refused to accept visitors during his over two year stay there.

When questioned by District Attorney Michael Dougherty, Ahidid said her son did not tell her what he was planning to do the day of the shooting.

She said she thought a large package containing a rifle that Alissa came home with shortly before the shooting may have been a piano.

“I swear to God we didn’t know what was inside that package,” she said.

Dougherty pointed out that she had told investigators soon after the shooting that she thought it could be a violin.

After being reminded of a previous statement to police, Ahidid acknowledged that she had heard a banging sound in the house and one of her other sons said that Alissa had a gun that had jammed. Alissa said he would return it, she testified.

She indicated that no one in the extended family that lived together in the home followed up to make sure, saying “everyone has their own job.”

“No one is free for anyone,” she said.

FILE - Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in March 2021, is led into a courtroom for a hearing, Sept. 7, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool, File)