Wacker, the Munich-based chemical company, is enhancing its scientific expertise in India by equipping its R&D facility in Kolkata with a novel high-tech Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The 400 MHz Nanobay NMR was officially put into operation recently. NMR spectroscopy is one of the principal techniques used to obtain physical, chemical, and structural information about a molecule. Wacker is one of the very few manufacturing companies in India that operates such an in-house NMR at its R&D facility.

The high-tech equipment was delivered in summer and was tested meticulously over the past weeks. “Our industry demands testing and evaluation of novel compounds in a wide range of chemical space to feed its pipelines,” Soumitra Mukherjee, managing director, Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., said during the launch ceremony. “The installation of the NMR will help leverage our R&D centre capabilities and will multiply our possibilities to create new innovations. With this, we are able to fulfill our customers’ needs in the growing regions of India and Asia and also cater to our key global customers”, Mukherjee continued.

An NMR spectrometer is an analytical research instrument which provides detailed information about the structure, dynamics, reaction state, and chemical environment of molecules. In organic chemistry, itis the ultimate analytical capability. Wacker will use this equipment for the structural analysis of silicones, silanes and allied substances and for detailed information on the exact three-dimensional structure of chemical molecules in a solution.