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A Model Experiment To Investigate The Possibility Of Glyphosate Contamination In St. Kitts And Nevis, Winston Fu
A Model Experiment To Investigate The Possibility Of Glyphosate Contamination In St. Kitts And Nevis, Winston Fu
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that is used globally to combat the spread of weeds among crops. Not all countries around the world have been using the herbicide. For example, island countries such as Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis do not use the herbicide on their crops. However, St. Kitts and Nevis imports food and other agricultural products from around the world, leading to the hypothesis that glyphosate is contaminating the soil through those imported products. The aim of this research project was to determine if glyphosate is present in the island country of St. Kitts and Nevis. A …
A Solid-Solution Approach To Multivariate Metal-Organic Frameworks And Their Interactions With Light, Wesley Newsome
A Solid-Solution Approach To Multivariate Metal-Organic Frameworks And Their Interactions With Light, Wesley Newsome
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
This thesis studies the application of a substitutional solid solution (SSS) approach to multivariate metal organic frameworks (MTV MOFs) with a focus on preparing functional organic-inorganic materials. MOFs are a class of crystalline coordination polymers that form 3-dimensional structures with pores. The empty space in the unit cell of these materials allows for the incorporation of functionalized links and leads to a sub-class known as MTV MOFs, where multiple links of varied functionality are incorporated into the same material. MTV MOFs function similarly to the inorganic concept of SSS were a solute atom is dissolved inside a matrix, allowing for …
Quantum Biology? From Dna Point Mutations To Fibril Formation In Alzheimer Disease, Eduardo Romero Camacho
Quantum Biology? From Dna Point Mutations To Fibril Formation In Alzheimer Disease, Eduardo Romero Camacho
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
In the '60s, Löwdin explored the realm of Quantum Biology. Löwdin defined Quantum Biology as the use of quantum mechanics to study the activity and molecular properties of biologically active molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. This dissertation aims to describe molecules of biological interest such as DNA base pairs and amyloid-beta peptides and treat them using a quantum mechanical approach. We used electronic structure methods to achieve the quantum biological nature of these molecules under our computational power, tools, and techniques. In chapter 2, we present the quantum mechanical description of the spontaneous mutations in DNA base pairs …
A Nested Pcr Strategy For Recovering Highly Discriminatory Y-Str Dna Profiles From Trace Male Dna Samples, Anna Kimball
A Nested Pcr Strategy For Recovering Highly Discriminatory Y-Str Dna Profiles From Trace Male Dna Samples, Anna Kimball
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
DNA profiling is an effective method of identifying individuals in forensic casework. In sexual assault cases in particular, male donor DNA can be genotyped using Y chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) analysis even in the presence of significant levels of female DNA. The recently released recommended national standard for sexual assault evidence collection from the victim is within 5 days after the sexual assault, with the probability of obtaining a male DNA profile diminishing significantly thereafter due to degradation and/or loss of sperm. The present study was designed to develop a method of obtaining a highly probative DNA profile with …
In Situ Cultivation Of Potential Pah Degrading Bacteria From Coastal Sediment, Kyle Benkel
In Situ Cultivation Of Potential Pah Degrading Bacteria From Coastal Sediment, Kyle Benkel
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Oil spills can introduce potentially carcinogenic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), into coastal environments. Bioremediation uses the natural microorganisms in the environment to remove these pollutants. Traditional studies of these organisms are limited in the types of bacteria isolated due to the limitations of traditional culturing methods. In this study, diffusion chambers were used to culture and isolate potential PAH degrading bacteria from the coastal sediment obtained from the Chandeleur Islands. The diffusion chambers trapped bacteria in agar that contained 1 ppm benzo[a]pyrene. The bacteria were isolated from the diffusion chambers, and the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced …
Detection Of A Peptide Hormone - Somatostatin - Label-Free Split-Aptameric Probes, Charles A. Dowis
Detection Of A Peptide Hormone - Somatostatin - Label-Free Split-Aptameric Probes, Charles A. Dowis
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Peptide hormones are important biomolecules that transduce downstream effects such as cell proliferation, regulation, and gene expression. Their levels have been upregulated in various disorders such as cancer, yet detection methods are lacking. We designed two split aptamer-based assays for the detection of a peptide hormone – Somatostatin (SST) – with different signal readouts: fluorescent readout based on light-up aptamers and the colorimetric readout of ABTS peroxidation from a G-quadruplex. We used an already selected split-aptamer –SSTA5–for SST for our designs and we had expected the developed detection systems to exhibit detection and quantification capabilities that would hopefully allow their …
Tuning Dynamics, Sterics, And Ion Conductivities In Reticular Materials, Demetrius Vazquez-Molina
Tuning Dynamics, Sterics, And Ion Conductivities In Reticular Materials, Demetrius Vazquez-Molina
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
The goal of this thesis is to synthesize libraries of organic building blocks with systematic functionalizations for tuning dynamics and steric traits in crystalline frameworks. Chapter 1 will introduce the materials being studied, their targeted applications, and a brief outline of each chapter will also be included. Chapters 2 explores the impact of mechanical processing in Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) from the point of view of crystallographic effects and pressure induced preferred orientation. This chapter also studies solid-state ionic conduction for Li ions in crystallographically aligned COFs studied by solid-state NMR and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), we observed fast ionic …
Chemometric Analysis Of Multidimensional Fluorescence Data Recorded From Benzo[A]Pyrene Metabolites In Shpol'skii Like Matrixes, Mohammadreza Chehelamirani
Chemometric Analysis Of Multidimensional Fluorescence Data Recorded From Benzo[A]Pyrene Metabolites In Shpol'skii Like Matrixes, Mohammadreza Chehelamirani
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
This dissertation extends the application of Shpol'skii spectroscopy to polar metabolites in polar organic solvents. For the first-time, we reported experimental evidence on the line-narrowing effect caused by primary alcohols on the spectral features of PAH metabolites at 77 K and 4.2 K. The effect of primary alcohols (RCH2OH) on the 77 K and 4.2 K fluorescence characteristics of PAH metabolites showed the best spectral narrowing when matching the length of the alkyl group (R) of the primary alcohol to the length of the n-alkane that best fitted the dimensions of the parent PAH. The spectral narrowing and the fluorescence …
Development Of A Computer Algorithm For Generation Of Primers For Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification (Nasba), Rohit Karnati
Development Of A Computer Algorithm For Generation Of Primers For Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification (Nasba), Rohit Karnati
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA) is a primer based isothermal method of RNA/DNA amplification. Currently, primer design for NASBA has been restricted to hand creating sequences of oligonucleotides that must follow a set of rules to be compatible for the amplification process. This process of hand-creating primers is prone to error and time intensive. The detection of mutants, post amplification, also offers a benefit in point of care scenarios and the design of hybridization probes for sequences in the region of amplification is also an erroneous and time intensive process. By creating a program to design primers and hybridization …
Seaweed As A Carrier For Microplastics, Stephanie M. Rodriguez
Seaweed As A Carrier For Microplastics, Stephanie M. Rodriguez
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Analysis of seaweed as a vector for microplastics is an integral part of understanding the formation and deposition of micro-sized plastic waste in seawater. The project itself originated due to the influx of seaweed (and mismanaged plastic waste) residing on the shores of St. Kitts and Nevis and the constant deposition of plastic pollution intertwined within the seaweed. The natural occurrence of the two together lead to the consideration of fragmented plastics remaining on the seaweed. The objective of this research is to stain, identify, and quantify the concentration of microplastics sourced from both store-bought and environmental seaweed samples. A …
Sorption Of U(Vi) Onto Manganese Oxides In The Presence Of Siderophore Desferrioxamine-B, Morgan Snyder
Sorption Of U(Vi) Onto Manganese Oxides In The Presence Of Siderophore Desferrioxamine-B, Morgan Snyder
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
Anthropogenic activities, such as uranium mining and the production of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, have led to significant uranium contamination of the environment, leaving populations vulnerable to negative health effects. In order to effectively remediate uranium contamination, the mobility of uranium in the environment and its natural attenuation through sorption with active mineral phases, needs to be studied in depth first. This study aims to determine how U(VI) mobility is affected by manganese oxides in the presence and absence of siderophore Desferrioxamine-B (DFOB). Experiments focused on two common manganese minerals, pyrolusite (ß-MnO2) and manganite (γ-MnOOH). Adsorption experiments with U(VI)-DFOB …
Characterization Of Clear Coat And Base Coat Automotive Paint Analysis Using Dart-Hrms And Comparison Of Ftir Spectroscopy, Py-Gc-Ms, And Dart-Hrms For Clear Coat Analysis, Kaitlin Jones
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
Current techniques used to analyze automotive paint samples include microscopy, fourier – transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and pyrolysis gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS). These techniques are performed in the respective order listed above. Out of the three techniques currently used in this field, the one that has the highest discriminatory power is py-GC-MS; however, this technique is time consuming and destructive toward the sample. One hundred automotive paint samples were analyzed using FTIR, Py-GC-MS and direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometry (DART-HRMS) to determine how DART-HRMS compared to Py-GC-MS in terms of discriminatory capability. DART-HRMS takes approximately …
Fluoresence Spectra Study Of Sterically Strained Isomers Of C24h14 Polycyclic Aromatic (Pahs) & Characterization Of A Bio-Sourced, Fluoresent, Ratiometric Ph Indicator With Alkaline Pka, Samar Abd Alelah
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
This thesis is composed to two studies, each of which relies on recent advances in time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) to accurately model fluorescence spectra. The first study focuses on evaluating the fluorescence spectrum of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) having a molecular weight of 302. Three isomers are analyzed including dibenzo[a,j]fluoranthene, dibenzo[a,k]fluoranthene and dibenzo[a,l]fluoranthene. These isomers differ in the placement of one of six aromatic rings and in the amount that each molecule deviates from planarity. The TD-DFT methods are used to compute spectra in an environment that simulates solvent (n-hexane). These computed spectra are compared to vibronically resolved experimental …
Total Synthesis Of Natural Products From Oxidative Dearomatization, Nameer Ezzat
Total Synthesis Of Natural Products From Oxidative Dearomatization, Nameer Ezzat
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
The goal of our research is to prepare natural products and related core structures through oxidative dearomatization. The development of a stereoselective iron (III)-mediated intramolecular cascade dearomatization of phenol allowed access to various spirocyclohexadienones and tropons in one step using potassium ferricyanide via single electron transfer (SET). Using this oxidative dearomatization reaction, the thesis focuses on three main parts. The first part is the synthetic efforts toward total synthesis of Harringtonolide. The second part focused on the synthesis of spiro[4.5]decane, a core structure in multiple natural products. The spiro compounds were prepared from ortho hydroxyphenyl nitroalkanes using SET reaction with …
Composition, Encapsulation, And Dimensionality: A Study Of The Photophysics Brought On By Synthetic Changes In Perovskite Materials, Andrew Towers
Composition, Encapsulation, And Dimensionality: A Study Of The Photophysics Brought On By Synthetic Changes In Perovskite Materials, Andrew Towers
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023
Perovskite materials are currently being explored as a candidate for a wide variety of optoelectronic applications with a focus on active materials for solar cell and an array of lighting applications. To optimize perovskites for optoelectronic applications, a myriad synthetic and processing techniques are used to overcome limitations in the raw materials. Presently, perovskite materials have demonstrated vast improvements as candidates for solar cell and lighting applications, though the fundamental photophysical characteristics resulting from the rapid succession of synthetic developments require further investigation. Further comprehension of the basic photophysical processes being altered by synthetic and processing changes must be achieved …
Synthesis Of Polyacrylic Acid - Dopamine Nanoparticles As Radical Scavengers For Antioxidant Applications, Russell D. Cox
Synthesis Of Polyacrylic Acid - Dopamine Nanoparticles As Radical Scavengers For Antioxidant Applications, Russell D. Cox
Honors Undergraduate Theses
The antioxidant activity of novel drugs has been of increasing interest in recent years. Free radicals are linked as a cause to many diseases such as atherosclerosis and cancer,1 so development of drugs that can scavenge and break down free radicals is needed. One such potential solution is using dopamine, which is water-soluble and an antioxidant. However, the tendency of antioxidant drugs reacting undesirably with proteins and other biochemical compounds is a big issue for the drugs' antioxidant potential. One solution is by encapsulating the antioxidant compound in biocompatible polymer nanoparticles. In this project, dopamine is bound to the polymer …