High-Field Field-Cycler (HFFC)
Our High-Field Field-Cycler (HFFC) is a rapid sample shuttler designed for High Field Relaxometry, perfectly adapted for your high-field NMR spectrometer.
Introduction
The compact sample transportation devices, “High-Field Field-Cyclers”, were installed in many worldwide commercial spectrometers. Our device provides high-precision positioning and stability during high-speed sample shuttling and is compatible with commercial high-field standard bore NMR spectrometers with commercial probe heads, including a cryogenically cooled NMR probes.
Various aspects of relaxation studies, such as relaxivity measurements allow to obtain detailed information on protein dynamics and contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging at the atomic resolution. Despite relaxation studies, our newly developed add-on module (see also Field-Cycling Illuminator) combined with our High-Field Field-Cycler can perform field-dependent photo-related experiments in solutions, for instance photochemical induced nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP).
The sample is shuttling up and down with acceleration 131.25m/s2. The shown video is the area of the rail approximate to the probe head.
Key Features
- Adjustable Velocity: The shuttle's speed and acceleration can be finely tuned to meet specific requirements, allowing for precise control. It is capable of shuttling the sample at a distance of 100cm within a minimum of 100ms.
- Exceptional Stability: The shuttle's movement closely adheres to linear motion principles with constant acceleration, ensuring high stability during operation. It reaches equilibrium within tens of milliseconds after high-speed shuttling actions.
- Customizable Acceleration: Users can program the acceleration profile to suit the sensitivity requirements of different samples, providing flexibility and optimization for various experiments.
- Effortless Sample Handling: The system offers user-friendly sample loading and packing, using standard NMR tubes without requiring specialized sizes or styles. Sample preparation can be completed in just a few minutes.
- Intuitive Software: The included software allows for programmable shuttle positions, computer-assisted sample loading, and customizable shuttling profiles, simplifying operation and experiment setup.
- Broad Compatibility: The shuttle rail design accommodates the most commercially available NMR spectrometers, minimizing compatibility concerns and ensuring seamless integration.
- Space-Efficient Installation: The device's compact footprint within the spectrometer minimizes space usage, leaving ample room for other equipment or experiments.
- Versatile Probehead Compatibility: The system is adaptable to conventional probeheads, including cryoprobes, without any special requirements, enhancing its compatibility with various NMR setups.
- Multi-Purpose Functionality: Besides its primary function, the device can also serve as a regular sample lifter for a wide range of experimental applications, further enhancing its utility.
Shuttling on Bruker 700MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with 5mm TCI Bruker cryoprobe for 11,000 shuttling times in 20hours. Sample is 0.2mM UUCG tetra-loop 14nt RNA. Compared spectra are 1H, 10K TD with 8 NS
Proven performance at high field
An independent study by the New York Structural Biology Center (NYSBC) has demonstrated reliable high-field relaxometry using the Field-Cycling Shuttle System (J. Magn. Reson., 2025).
Their results confirm stable shuttling up to 700 MHz and highly consistent signal decays and achieved without any post-processing or algorithmic correction. This third-party validation highlights that true signal integrity comes from precise engineering, not computational adjustment.
Components
Schematic diagram of the High-Field Field-Cycling (HFFC) system, showing the seamless integration of the sample shuttling unit with commercial NMR spectrometers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- I already have a 500–900 MHz NMR spectrometer. Can I add field-cycling capability without buying a separate instrument?
Yes. The HFFC is designed as an add-on to your existing high-field NMR spectrometer (Bruker, Varian, JEOL, Oxford). It installs inside the standard bore and works with your existing probe head, including cryoprobes. No separate magnet or console is required.
- Does installing the HFFC affect other users of a shared NMR spectrometer?
No. The HFFC is designed for permanent installation and does not need to be removed between experiments. For non-shuttling users, the only difference is the sample insertion mechanism — instead of the standard pneumatic lift, samples are loaded via the motor-driven shuttle. Standard NMR tubes and Shigemi tubes are fully compatible, so routine NMR experiments on the shared spectrometer can continue without any modification to the user's workflow.
- How is HFFC different from a standalone FFC relaxometer such as STELAR?
Standalone FFC relaxometers operate at low fields (typically below 1 T) and cannot provide atomic-resolution spectra. The HFFC shuttles the sample within the stray field of your existing high-field magnet, enabling relaxation measurements from near-zero field up to the full spectrometer field — while detection still occurs at high field. This means you retain full chemical-shift resolution and can resolve individual residues in proteins or nucleic acids.
- Can HFFC measure relaxation dispersion with atomic resolution for protein dynamics?
Yes. Because detection occurs at high field using your existing probe and console, HFFC delivers site-specific relaxation data across a wide field range. This is the key advantage over conventional FFC relaxometers, which sacrifice resolution for field range.
- Is the HFFC compatible with cryoprobes?
Yes. The shuttle rail and sample holder are designed to be compatible with commercially available cryogenically cooled probeheads without any special modification. An independent validation study confirmed stable operation on a Bruker 700 MHz equipped with a 5mm TCI cryoprobe over 11,000 shuttling cycles.
- Which NMR spectrometer field strengths are supported?
HFFC is compatible with spectrometers from 300 MHz to 1.3 GHz (7 T to 30.5 T). Contact us for compatibility confirmation for your specific spectrometer model.
- Can HFFC be used for photo-CIDNP or other light-dependent experiments?
Yes, with the optional Field-Cycling Illuminator add-on module. This allows field-dependent photo-CIDNP, LC-photo-CIDNP, and in-situ irradiation experiments across the stray field range of your spectrometer.
Notable laboratories utilizing HFFC for High Field Relaxometry
HFFC installations include: New York Structural Biology Center (NYSBC, USA), CEA Saclay (France), Max-Planck Institute (Germany), High-Field NMR Center at Academia Sinica (Taiwan), Biomolecular NMR Facility at University of Maryland (USA), and Washington University in St. Louis (USA).
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