Policies and Procedures

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All policies for the the NMR Facility are formulated in consultation with the NMR Management Committee, which consists of faculty members with research programs in NMR spectroscopy.

Access to the NMR Facility and its Services

The NMR facility is open to all researchers from CU Denver and its affiliated institutions, including other groups within the CU system. The NMR facility is a Structural Biology Shared Resource facility, and members of the CU Cancer Center are given priority in using the instruments.

Private-sector customers must discuss use of the facility with the facility director even if they have arrangements with CU Denver personnel for the performance of non-CU Denver research. Although some arrangements with the private sector fall under the guidelines for "sponsored CU Denver research," more often they do not. It is imperative that these arrangements are fully established prior to use of the facility.

Usage and Training

All users must either complete training by Facility staff or demonstrate prior expertise in use of the Varian NMR spectrometers. Please contact the Facility Director to arrange for training

Faculty, staff, and students who have undergone user training and/or certification may operate the instruments without direct supervision, provided:

1. Financial responsibility is implicitly agreed to as a result of this use (see below).
2. Such use of the Facility falls within the guidelines for sponsored research at the in-house rates for CU Denver research. The associated charges must be charged to a valid CU Denver account.
3. The only instrumental techniques attempted are routine ones or are those for which the user has received relevant instruction. Only those who have been issued a password and told by the NMR Manager that they may operate the instruments unsupervised may do so. Individuals who have not undergone training and checkout may submit samples to be run by qualified facility personnel at the in-house rates plus an additional $20/hr charge (minimum 1 hr charge). This option is recommended for users who have infrequent need for NMR data, or for those who have temporary need of advanced techniques.

Financial Responsibility for Charges and Damage

Users are responsible for applicable charges and for damage that results from samples that are explosive, pressurized, chemically corrosive, radioactive, biologically dangerous, or that otherwise pose unusual hazards to instrumentation or personnel. In all such cases, prior advice should be sought with regard to these special samples, but permission does not absolve any user from responsibility for harm their samples may cause the Facility. CU Denver researchers use the Facility with the understanding that the account used may be charged up to $5,000 for damages incurred as a result of careless or negligent use of the instrumentation. This obligation does not extend to responsibility for damage that occurs accidentally and unavoidably during normal use.

Payment Options

Customers internal to CU must provide a speed type for invoice payments. Those outside of CU may pay by check, credit card or wire transfer. Paying with a credit card? Click Here

Reporting and Acknowledgments

The NMR Facility is funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. Therefore all users of the facility are required to submit a short annual report on their research efforts in the facility. This report should summarize the results obtained, all grants that are dependent on the facility and any publications arising from use of the facility. This information is used to ensure continued funding of the facility.

All publications resulting from use of the NMR facility must acknowledge use of the facility in the following way:

“The NMR Structural Biology shared resource facility at the CU Cancer Center is funded by the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center and the CU Denver Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics.”

Use of the 800 MHz Spectrometer must also include the following statement:

“The 800 MHz NMR spectrometer was purchased with funds provided the W.M. Keck Foundation”