Microscopic detector

Detecting the molecular structure of a tiny protein using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) currently requires two things: a million-dollar machine the size of a massive SUV, and a large sample of the protein under study.

Now, researchers from MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms have developed a radically different approach to NMR. Their new highly sensitive technique, which makes use of a microscopic detector, decreases by several orders of magnitude the amount of protein needed to measure molecular structure.

The new technology could ultimately lead to the proliferation of tabletop NMR devices in every research laboratory and medical office. Among other things, such devices could prove invaluable in diagnosing a variety of diseases.

The research team, led by Yael Maguire, reported their work in the online and print editions of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

‘It's revolutionary,’ said Shuguang Zhang, one of the authors and associate director of MIT's Center for Biological Engineering. ‘It's not just incremental progress.’