Biomolecular NMR spectroscopy in South Africa: the first five years

Biomolecular NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for investigating the structure and function of protein molecules, which makes it important for the future development of biotechnology in South Africa. Although it arises out of a technique in everyday use in chemistry departments around the country, biomolecular NMR presents significantly greater technical and theoretical challenges than small-molecule NMR spetroscopy and necessitates the use of biological systems for the production of protein samples enriched with stable magnetic isotopes. In this review, I discuss some of the benefits and challenges associated with biomolecular NMR spectroscopy, both spectroscopic and biological. I also describe the progress made towards setting up the first biomolecular NMR spectroscopy group in South Africa, which is a collaboration between the universities of the Western Cape and Stellenbosch, and which culminated in the determination of the first high-resolution protein structure in South Africa using this technique.