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Description
β-NMR is powerful tool which takes advantage of the anisotropic nature of beta decay to measure a range of nuclear properties. Nuclei are first polarised, then implanted into a crystal or sample of interest from which beta decay intensities are measured in opposing directions. The nuclear structure information is extracted from the excitation radio-frequency which resonantly destroys the polarization. The new VITO beamline has been developed over the last year to provide beams of spin polarised nuclei for study. This culminated in a successful commissioning experiment measuring the beta decay asymmetry in 26Na and 28Na, the results of which were published in March this year [1].
A recent proposal has been submitted to apply this powerful technique to study biological systems. One such example is to observe how Na+ cations interact with DNA G-quadruplex structures in solution, the subject of campaign IS645 [2]. To achieve this, the DNA sample would need to be kept in a low vacuum environment (on the order of a few mbar). Therefore, a new differential pumping system was designed to optimise the transport of the polarised ion beam from the high vacuum of the VITO beamline to the low vacuum of the detection chamber whilst preserving the polarisation properties of the beam essential for β-NMR. In addition, a new transitional magnetic field system and detection chamber featuring a liquid delivery mechanism were installed at the beamline. This contribution will focus on the development, testing and installation of these new systems at the VITO beamline.
[1] M. Kowalska et al. J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 44 (2017)
[2] M. Kowalska, V. Kocman et al. Interaction of Na ions with DNA G-quadruplex structures studied directly with Na b-NMR spectroscopy. INTC Proposal IS645. (2017)
