How to Prepare and Run a NMR Sample

Collect your compound of interest, deuterated NMR solvent, NMR tube, lid, pipettes, and cotton for filtering. Determine the required sample amount: approximately 2-5 weeks for proton NMR or about 20 mg for carbon NMR.

Dissolve your compound in deuterated chloroform using approximately 0.7 mL of solvent to achieve about 4 centimeters of depth in the NMR tube. Mix thoroughly to ensure complete dissolution.

Use a cotton-wool filter in a pipette to filter your dissolved sample into an NMR tube, removing any particulate matter that could contaminate the instrument.

Add fresh solvent to achieve the appropriate 4-centimeter fill depth in the NMR tube, cap the tube with a lid, and carefully label your sample to distinguish it from others in the lab queue.

Place your labeled sample into a sample holder and use a depth gauge to ensure proper positioning. Wipe the outside of the tube to remove contaminants before carefully lowering it into the NMR machine using compressed air suspension or an automation robot arm.

Input the sample information into the spectrometer, specifying that you are using deuterated chloroform as the solvent and select the desired NMR experiment (such as proton or hydrogen NMR). Start data acquisition.

Once data acquisition is complete, process the raw NMR data using the spectrometer software to generate and visualize the final NMR spectrum.