Knowledgebases
Overview
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is one of the most versatile tools in scientific research, enabling detailed, non-destructive analysis of molecular structure, dynamics, and interactions across a wide range of systems. It is used extensively in chemistry, biology, materials science, and medicine to study everything from small organic molecules to complex biomacromolecules, solid-state materials, and living organisms. NMR provides atomic-level insights into chemical environments and conformational changes, supports drug discovery and metabolomics, and is essential for characterizing new materials and probing molecular mechanisms in cells and tissues. Its adaptability across solution, solid, and in vivo states makes it uniquely powerful for answering diverse scientific questions.
To translate that versatility into practice, NAN Knowledgebases (KBs) includes come in two different flavors:
- Knowledgebases for Non-Experts—Topic-focused informational KBs that introduce different ways NMR can be used to address scientific questions across disciplines.
- Knowledgebase datasets—well-vetted experimental datasets that include raw data, pulse programs, acquisition parameters, processing scripts, processed data, sample metadata, and protocols for sample preparation, experimental setup, and analysis. These KB datasets act as exemplars to allow users to fully recapitulate these NMR experiments on different instruments and systems.
Knowledgebases for Non-Experts
KBs for Non-Experts are organized into Content Areas, with each area belonging to one or more filterable high-level categories: Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Materials and Chemistry, Metabolomics, and Other Biological Samples.
The KBs for non-experts are currently under active development and contain Content Areas for:
| Category | Content Area |
|---|---|
| Nucleic Acids | DNA |
| RNA | |
| Metabolomics | Biomarkers |
| Flux | |
| Compound Identification | |
| Systems Biology | |
| Proteins | Intrinsically Disordered Proteins |
| Soluble Proteins | |
| Fibrils and Polymeric Proteins | |
| Membrane Proteins | |
| Ligand Binding | |
| Materials and Chemistry | Molecular Crystals |
| Glasses and Ceramics | |
| Energy Materials | |
| Synthetic Polymers | |
| Biomaterials | |
| Catalytic Materials | |
| Surface Chemistry | |
| Organic-Inorganic Hybrids | |
| Metals and Intermetallics | |
| Small Molecules | |
| Other Biological Samples | Biomaterials |
| Carbohydrates | |
| Natural Products |
NAN provides a suite of Knowledgebases (KBs) to help users explore how NMR can be applied to address important scientific questions. These Knowledgebases are grouped into two main types:
- Novice KBs: Designed for newcomers to NMR, these KBs introduce key applications of NMR across a broad range of scientific domains. NMR is among the most versatile tools for studying matter, and these pages showcase its wide range of uses. Information is presented in four main ways:
- Novice KB pages: Covering a broad range of topics that illustrate the use of NMR in answering scientific questions
- Materials Periodic Table: A solid-state focused table presenting isotope-specific novice KBs and highlighting NMR properties and applications of various nuclei in material science
- Content vignettes: Provide fine-grained supporting information linked from KB pages
- Literature vignettes: Concise summaries of published studies where NMR played a central role in solving a scientific problem. These are linked from novice KBs, content vignettes, and isotope pages from the periodic table
- KB Datasets: These are exemplar datasets designed to guide users through real-world NMR experiments. Each KB dataset includes:
- Pulse programs
- Parameter files
- Example datasets
- Sample metadata
- Protocols
- Sample preparation
- Instrument setup
- Experiment setup
- Data processing
- Data analysis
- Processing scripts
- Processed data
KB Categories
NAN KBs are organized into four thematic categories, with both novice and dataset content available in each:
- BioSolids
- Bio Solutions
- Material Sciences
- Metabolomics
Contribute to the Knowledgebase
We invite members of the community to contribute to NAN KBs. If you are interested in becoming a KB content provider—for either novice KBs or exemplar KB datasets—please contact us to learn more.
