Susceptibility-Matched Multiwell Plates 

for High-Throughput Screening by 

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and 

Spectroscopy

Kenneth W. Fishbein, Ph.D.

Laboratory of Clinical Investigation

National Institute on Aging

National Institutes of Health

10/06/2009 Slide #1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health
10/06/2009 Slide #2

Technology

High-throughput screening by NMR spectroscopy offers:

Non-destructive, detailed analysis of chemical composition and structure

Samples may be pure chemicals or mixtures

Opaque or dirty samples can be analyzed

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has many 

applications in clinical chemistry, drug discovery and pharmaceutical 

quality control but:

Samples must be transferred to special tubes or flow cells

Samples are scanned one at a time

This increases risk of contamination and sample loss and limits potential throughput.

NMR-compatible multiwell plates ?

Would eliminate need for sample transfer 

Could scan 96 wells in parallel

Could be handled by standard lab robots for additional assays

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health
Technology

10/06/2009 Slide #3

Standard 96-well 

polystyrene plate 

Solid polyetherimide

(ULTEM) plate for 

aqueous samples

Susceptibility-matched multiwell plates permit NMR 

analysis of samples without transferring them to 

tubes or flow cells

Sample throughput is increased

Sample loss and contamination are avoided

Sample handling is minimized, enhancing safety

Prototype plates built and demonstrated.

U.S. Patent Application 12/083,501 filed 6/25/2009

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health
09/06/2009

MR Detection of Nanoparticle Probes

by Högemann et al.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health Slide #4
Commercial Applications

NMR spectroscopy is already used for:

Detailed analysis of blood lipids (NMR LipoProfile®)

Evaluation of drug-target interactions

Detection of contaminants in food, industrial chemicals and drugs

NMR-compatible multiwell plates would:

Reduce sample handling needed prior to NMR

Minimize loss of valuable samples during analysis

Minimize contamination of samples or apparatus

Increase sample throughput

NMR-compatible multiwell plates have potential 

applications for high-throughput screening of:

Blood serum and other body fluids

Potential drugs and drug-target complexes

QC for pharmaceutical and chemical products

10/06/2009 Slide #5 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health
Collaboration Opportunities

Collaborators are sought for product development:

Numerical simulation and optimization of plate design

Realistic test samples to demonstrate practical applications

Development of dedicated NMR coils for improved sensitivity

Design of apparatus for true parallel scanning (e.g., multi-channel 

coils)

Development of practical manufacturing techniques

Demonstration of compatibility with existing lab robots

Side-by-side comparison with NMR sample changers and flow probes

Extension to magnetic nanoparticle-based immunoassays

10/06/2009 Slide #6 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health
Contact Information

For further information contact:

Licensing: 

Michael Shmilovich

(301) 435-5019

shmilovm@mail.nih.gov

Collaboration:

Nicole Darack Guyton, Ph.D.

(301) 435-3101

darackn@mail.nih.gov

10/06/2009 Slide #7 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health