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Cleveland Ohio 44106-4921
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Researchers
receive early holiday gift: One of the strongest magnets in the world for molecular imaging
arrives in Cleveland
imaging. It is a 900 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
spectrometer that allows scientists to detect the molecular makeup and
three-dimensional structure of proteins. It is one of only eight such
instruments in the
The magnet arrived after being driven by truck overnight from
Workers, bundled in winter coats and gloves to ward off the frigid
temperatures, worked relatively quickly to move various crates with components
into the building. The magnet itself was the last piece to be moved. A small
crane lifted its packing crate off a flatbed truck to the ground, where a
worker undid the 
screws holding the container together. The instrument was then lifted
a few feet off the ground to a platform built to the height of an opening for a
large window. A pump then created a cushion of air under the magnet to help
workers gingerly slide the $5 million magnet into place.
The magnet is housed in the new building for the Cleveland Center for
Structural Biology on the West Quad (former site of the Mt. Sinai Medical
Center), located between E. 101st and E.105th Streets at
Mt. Sinai Drive. The West Quad is a 14-acre campus owned by Case Western
Reserve University.
According to Frank Sonnichsen, Ph.D., an
associate professor of physiology and biophysics at the Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine and one of the researchers who will use the
equipment, the powerful NMR will provide unique imaging capabilities. “Compared
to present magnets, this one is stronger, resulting in a higher sensitivity and
better resolution, thus improving researchers’ ability to detect fine details
of proteins and DNA, and to study larger molecules than previously possible,”
he said. “Insights into protein structure and gene interaction potentially can
help researchers learn about what goes wrong with the body’s systems during
illness and help them design new drugs to fight such diseases as cancer,
Alzheimer’s and diabetes.”
Paul Carey, Ph..D.,
director of the
It joins three other NMRs already located
at the
Cleveland Center for Structural Biology is an association of researchers
formed by Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and
Cleveland State
University to conduct molecular imaging. The CCSB is also used by local companies, in biotechnology and other
fields. Funders for the center are Case Western Reserve University; the Case School of Medicine’s
Department of Biochemistry; National Institutes of Health; Ohio Biennial
Capital Bill, FY2005-2006; Ohio Board of Regents Action Fund; Ohio Board of
Regents Hayes Fund; The Cleveland Clinic Foundation; The Cleveland Foundation;
The Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust; Health Resources and Services, and the
Administration of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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