Josef Dadok: One Hundred Years Since the Birth of the Man Who Transformed Magnetic Resonance

On 28 February, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Josef Dadok – a pioneer of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a graduate of the Brno University of Technology, and a scientist who fundamentally shaped modern NMR spectroscopy.

CEITEC: Josef Dadok: One Hundred Years Since the Birth of the Man Who Transformed Magnetic Resonance.

Today, NMR plays a crucial role in biomolecular research, drug development, materials science, and medical diagnostics. In the 1950s and 1960s, Josef Dadok was instrumental in developing the first high-resolution NMR spectrometers in Brno. Thanks to his work, TESLA Brno became the third manufacturer of industrial NMR spectrometers in the world. His technical solutions for magnetic field stabilisation paved the way for higher resolution and more precise measurements.

After 1968, he continued his scientific career at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, where he contributed to the development of superconducting magnets and the design of the first practically usable NMR spectrometer operating at a magnetic field strength of 14.1 T (for comparison, the Earth’s magnetic field is approximately one million times weaker). His rapid-scan correlation method became an important contribution to the advancement of modern NMR.

An International Research Hub in Brno

Today, his name is borne by the Josef Dadok National NMR Centre at CEITEC Masaryk University. The term “national” is, in this case, rather modest – the centre has a strong international reach and is part of the European research infrastructure Instruct-ERIC as well as the Czech infrastructure CIISB. Its services are used by researchers from across Europe and beyond, including Australia, Israel, Turkey, Switzerland, the USA and Mexico. Scientists come to Brno not only for the state-of-the-art instrumentation, but above all for the expertise that enables experiments not routinely available elsewhere.

“I started working in NMR in 1984 at the institute founded by Josef Dadok. Although he had long since left, he was still remembered as the person who set the direction,” says Radovan Fiala, former long-term head of the centre. He met Josef Dadok personally after 1990, including at the inauguration of the laboratory in 2013. In 2021, at the age of 95, Dadok even learned how to present via MS Teams so that he could join an online conference organised in honour of his jubilee.

Today, the centre operates commercial instruments, but its core mission lies in methodological development, student training, and providing open access to NMR measurements for both academic and industrial users. Among its major contributions is the WATERGATE method developed by Vladimír Sklenář – now the most widely used approach worldwide for measuring NMR spectra of biomolecules in water, their natural environment. At CEITEC MU, unique techniques continue to be developed to improve measurement outcomes and provide new insights into the molecules under study.

CEITEC: Josef Dadok: One Hundred Years Since the Birth of the Man Who Transformed Magnetic Resonance: Pavel Kadeřávek, Head of the Josef Dadok National NMR Centre.

From Fundamental Research to the Foam on Beer

NMR spectroscopy is essential for understanding the structure and dynamics of biomolecules. At the same time, it also leads to surprisingly tangible applications. One such example is the study of the temperature stability of the barley protein LTP1 – a protein necessary for proper beer foam formation.

Examples like this demonstrate that cutting-edge instrumentation science can have a direct impact on everyday life.

CEITEC: Josef Dadok: One Hundred Years Since the Birth of the Man Who Transformed Magnetic Resonance: Josef Dadok National NMR Centre.

Pohled do budoucnosti

Josef Dadok’s legacy is further developed today at CEITEC BUT. The research team led by Petr Neugebauer has developed and constructed a new spectrometer, FRASCAN II, enabling combined measurements of electron spin resonance (ESR) and nuclear magnetic resonance using extremely fast scanning (the so-called fast-sweep technique, on which Josef Dadok himself once worked).

This spectrometer generates a magnetic field ten times stronger than those used in industrial scrap-sorting magnets. Such immense power allows researchers to study microscopic interactions that are essential for understanding complex biological and chemical processes.

“We are methodologically building on Dadok’s pioneering work – combined scanning should enable scientists to better understand protein structure and potentially design drugs that combat diseases at the molecular level,” explains Petr Neugebauer. The new instrument is now located at the Josef Dadok National NMR Centre at CEITEC MU, expanding the portfolio of advanced methods available to users.

One hundred years after Josef Dadok’s birth, this anniversary is not merely a historical commemoration. It is confirmation that Brno’s tradition in magnetic resonance remains vibrant – and that the Josef Dadok National NMR Centre at CEITEC continues it naturally into the future.

CEITEC: Josef Dadok: One Hundred Years Since the Birth of the Man Who Transformed Magnetic Resonance: Josef Dadok National NMR Centre.