(KANNAPOLIS, N.C.) - The world's first and only actively shielded 950 MHz superconducting magnet is being donated to the soon-to-be-formed non-profit David H. Murdock Research Institute by David H. Murdock, chairman and owner of Castle & Cooke Inc. and Dole Food Company Inc. The Institute will be located on the North Carolina Research Campus.

The two-story, eight-ton machine, known as the Avance II 950 US2, will allow scientists to delve into the three-dimensional structures of molecules and study their interactions with greater clarity than ever before, significantly enhancing such key areas of research as drug development and nutrition.

Additional equipment being donated to the Institute will allow scientists to conduct a large amount of research at once, creating a community of research and avoiding any bottlenecks. The additional equipment includes two (2) Avance II 700 MHz systems, one (1) Avance II 600 MHz system, and one (1) Avance II 400 MHz system, all of which will be located in the Core Laboratory facility.

"I want everyone to understand the importance of the Institute and the campus in plain English," says Murdock. "We've opened the door to research that will help everyone lead longer, healthier lives. World class resources will attract world class scientists."

"The Bruker actively shielded 950 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer is the first commercial self-shielded device of this magnitude in the world," says Dr. Robert L. Taber, vice chancellor of corporate and venture development at Duke University Medical Center. "This instrument will allow us to view biological molecules at an unprecedented resolution. It will be the flagship of a virtual armada of NMR devices available to the scientific community."

"This is a world class piece of equipment that will enable scientists to do the kind of groundbreaking research that David Murdock envisions occurring at the Institute," says Dr. Steven H. Zeisel, Kenan Distinguished University Professor of Nutrition and Director of the UNC Clinical Nutrition Research Center.

"Access to a Bruker actively shielded 950 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer will assist in countless efforts at North Carolina State University," says Dr. Steven Leath, associate dean and director of Agricultural and Life Sciences Research at NC State University. "Programs that will be significantly enhanced include research into proteins that are implicated in the onset of Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases, the development of anthrax infection, protection of the nation's crops and bacterial infections that affect marine life. Studies designed to create novel therapeutics in combating biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance will also benefit greatly from a 950MHz NMR."

Dr. Frank Laukien, president of Bruker BioSpin Corp. added, "The equipment will put the Institute and its NMR facility on the scientific map overnight. This sends a clear signal to the scientific community worldwide that the Institute will be a leading-edge facility with the most advanced instrumentation for scientific research."

It is anticipated the Institute's facilities will support researchers from UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, Duke University and other institutions and scientists.

The 950 MHz NMR is the highest field actively shielded superconducting magnet in the world for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy, one of the fundamental techniques of advanced scientific research. Its central magnetic field is 15 times stronger than most hospital MRI magnets and about half a million times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. Liquid helium, the coldest liquid on the planet—minus 456 degrees Fahrenheit—bathes its superconducting coils. The result is a tool that gives scientists unparalleled access to molecular structures and interactions.

The Bruker BioSpin group of companies is building the magnet at the world's most advanced precision ultra-high field NMR manufacturing facility in Germany.

"The Institute, already remarkable in its ambition, is coming together at a remarkable rate," says Dr. Andrew Conrad, the campus' chief scientific officer. "This commitment by David Murdock is the first of many scientific purchases that will give the researchers using the Institute's facilities the tools they need to make many new discoveries that will help change the world. We in the scientific community have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here."

The North Carolina Research Campus is a developing public/private, 350-acre life sciences hub near Charlotte, N.C. involving David H. Murdock, Duke University, the University of North Carolina, the N.C. Community College System and other institutions of higher education and corporations.