Sensitivity Comparison of NMR Instruments

The table below compares the sensitivity of some of the NMR instruments available at the RSC.
The proton sensitivities for the Avance 600 and new Avance 800 are high because they are fitted with cryoprobes. The figures will be considerably lower if a different probe is installed.

nucleus	MR 400†	Avance 400	Avance 600	Avance 700	Avance 800	standard sample
¹H	210	490	7000	500	8900	0.1% ethyl benzene
¹³C	160	230	1200	420	1000	10% ethyl benzene
³¹P	90	230		280		TPP
¹⁹F	210	540	4700*	610		TFT

* As of Nov 2021, this probe achieves a 19F sensitivity of over 6000; note that re-cabling is required to run 19F on the 600 (see MRF staff).

† Console decommissioned and replaced by an Avance III HD 400 in Dec 2019.

The available probes and number of RF channels of each instrument are listed below:

Instrument RF Channels Probes Location

Avance III 400 2 BBFO Level 2

Avance III 400 2 BBFO Level 3

Avance III HD 400 2 BBFO NMR Suite

Avance 600 4 CP TCI, QXI NMR Suite

Avance III HD 700 4 BBO NMR Suite

Avance III HD 800 4 CP TCI, BBO, TBI NMR Suite

Instrument	RF Channels	Probes	Location
Avance III 400	2	BBFO	Level 2
Avance III 400	2	BBFO	Level 3
Avance III HD 400	2	BBFO	NMR Suite
Avance 600	4	CP TCI, QXI	NMR Suite
Avance III HD 700	4	BBO	NMR Suite
Avance III HD 800	4	CP TCI, BBO, TBI	NMR Suite

Probe Types

CP TCI	cryoprobe	H, C, N (also H/F for 600 TCI probe)
BBO	broadband probe	¹⁵N to ^31P and ¹H
BBFO	broadband probe	¹⁵N to ³¹P and ¹H / ¹⁹F
TBI	Triple resonance plus broadband	¹H, ³¹P, plus ¹⁰³Rh to ³¹P BB
QXI	Quadruple resonance probe	¹H, ¹⁹F, ¹³C, ¹⁵N

Australian National University NMR Centre home page.