By Dr. Yining Ji Chen, Merck & Co, USA

NMR spectroscopy provides rich chemical and kinetic information but has not been widely adopted as a routine PAT tool due to practical barriers: high capital and operating costs, large instrument footprint and infrastructure needs, complex online/flow integration, intensive data processing, and limited familiarity among process teams. Despite these challenges, Merck has successfully applied NMR across a range of implementations—from simple tube-based measurements to high field flow-NMR instruments—to deepen process understanding and drive improvements in optimization, safety, and robustness. We also describe Merck’s ongoing investments in emerging technologies aimed at closing remaining gaps and expanding NMR’s practical utility in process analytics.