[NMR in the 80s: new nuclei, new pulses]

In recent years, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been enriched by a large number of new experimental techniques which, on the one hand, have opened up new areas of applications in physiological chemistry and even medicine, and on the other hand resulted in considerable progress for nmr spectroscopy as a branch of molecular spectroscopy as a branch of molecular spectroscopy as it is used in chemistry. In this context, two aspects must be emphasized: The nmr spectroscopy of rare nuclei and the invention of two-dimensional methods. Both aspects will be treated using selected examples: nmr measurements for iron-57, chromium-53, and nitrogen-15 as well as new experimental techniques like polarization transfer, J-resolved two-dimensional nmr spectra, two-dimensional shift correlations and multiquantum phenomena are discussed. Besides practical applications the basic physical principles of these techniques are briefly evaluated.