Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation Of The Natural Degradation Of Selected Endocrine Disrupting Compounds In Wastewater, Toni Carrick

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are a class of compounds that are of concern for their potentially adverse effects on fish, wildlife, and humans. They can cause developmental and reproductive anomalies at concentrations in the low ppb to ppt levels. Studies have shown the primary route of exposure of EDCs within the environment is through the discharge of effluent wastewater. Removal efficiencies of wastewater treatment plants have been studied extensively, however, in rural or developing areas, which often lack secondary or tertiary wastewater treatment, little is known about the stability of these compounds and the rate at which they degrade in …

Evaluation Of Small Molecules On The Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 3 (Eaat3) For The Treatment Of Ocd, Emmanuel Zubia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We seek to discover new drug candidates for the excitatory amino acid transporter 3 (EAAT3) for the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). We hypothesize that decreasing the glutamatergic transmission via EAAT3 intervention will create an amelioration of the symptoms of OCD. For this we have prepared in-silico binding calculations to identify a better compound that can stimulate EAAT3 and decrease glutamatergic transmission. This research will help us further understand and elucidate the role of glutamate in the neural mechanisms of this illness, which to date remain inconclusive. Those areas of study are significant because, until now, there is no …

Role Of Small Molecules In Rescuing Protein Folding Under Oxidative Stress, Mahmoud Fawzi Megahed Helal Khalil

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Increased levels of nitrosative stress intracellularly within the endoplasmic reticulum is a key factor involvled in the pathogenesis of both Parkinson's (PD) and Alzheimer's (AD) diseases. Previous in-vitro studies in our lab showed that increased levels of nitrosative stress lead to aggregation of misfolded proteins and formation of Lewy Bodies, the main biomarker of PD and AD diseases. Although this was mainly through nitrosylation of Protein Disulfide Isomerase (PDI), the chief endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident oxidoreductase chaperone responsible for maturation of disulfide-bond-containing proteins, we demonstrate in this project that increased levels of nitrosative stress has an additional direct effect on …

Characterization Of Kendex® 0834 (Heavy Resins) & Kendex® 0897 (Light Resins), Victor Correa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Characterization of crude oil and some of its refined products has always been a challenge in the refining industry. This is mainly due to the high molecular complexity of crude oil. In this research, Heavy and Light Resins extracted from Penn Grade crude oil were analyzed with a wide variety of techniques, ranging from X-Ray Diffraction, Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transformed Infrared, C-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and chromatographic methods. An asphaltene extraction protocol was performed on both products. Only the Heavy Resin sample yielded a low amount of asphaltene. Results show that both Resins have a high degree of carbon branching, …

Transition States And Modeling For Co9s8/Mos2 Catalysis, Gabriel Angel Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Transition state computational studies of the sulfur removal from dibenzothiophene (DBT) molecule have herein been performed considering the Co9S8/MoS2 interface existing on unsupported Co/MoS2 catalysts. The linear synchronous transit (LST) and quadratic synchronous transit (QST) methods integrated in a density functional theory (DFT) program such as Dmol3 were used for the calculations of energy barriers of the transition states. Three different configurations present on the Co9S8/MoS2 interface have been envisaged as possible catalytic sites: sulfur-sulfur (S, S) sites, and molybdenum-sulfur (Mo, S) and molybdenum-molybdenum (Mo, Mo) edge sites. This study revealed that the (Mo, Mo) edge site is the most …

On The Path To Multi-Electron Redox Chemistry With Bimetallic Systems, Nathalie Metta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following study is presented in two sections, in the first, a novel digold (II) complex with semi-bridging chlorides supported by two bulky formamidinates was synthesized for the purpose of studying late-transition metal multi-electron redox chemistry. Electrochemical analysis shows one non-reversible reduction. Although the electrochemistry of this complex is restricted, the compound shows interesting electronic properties. The crystal structure reveals a geometry distortion of the Au2ï?­-Cl2 core. The coupling of an unoccupied orbital and an occupied orbital through a vibrational mode, causes a distortion in the geometry of the molecule lowering the D2h symmetry to C2h. This is an example …

Total Synthesis Of Syringolides 1 And 2, Sudhakar Kalagara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The total synthesis of Syringolides is described. The synthetic pathway was designed in order to synthesize Syringolides in high yields using inexpensive starting materials. The synthesis strategy features a preparation of the linear tricarbonyl compound followed by intramolecular cyclization. The linear precursor is divided into two fragments, β-keto acid and protected D-xylulose, which are the key fragments and were synthesized from α,β-unsaturated compound followed by asymmetric dihydroxylation. The α,β-unsaturated compound was efficiently prepared by a Wittig reaction between aldehyde and ylide fragments. The butenolide derivative was also achieved by the Knoevenagel condensation of the tricarbonyl compound.

Transition Metal Carbide (Tmc) Novel Materials For Novel Catalytic Applications, Svetlana Lagoykina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Transition metal carbides (TMC) constitute a diverse class of materials and traditionally have many technological applications. TMC became a subject of extensive research since 1973, when their platinum -like properties were discovered. They demonstrated high catalytical activity and selectivity in a variety of chemical reaction and have potential for some novel catalytic application.

This research is an effort to design new high effective, selective and stable bimetal or alkali promoted TMC catalyst. After extensive theoretical research a wide range of TMC, including bimetal and alkali promoted carbides, were synthesized by different methods. All solids were characterized by XRD and microscopy. …

Versatility Of N-Peptidyl And N-Glycopeptidyl Nitroindolines For The Formation Of Peptide/Glycopeptide Acids, Amides, And Thioesters, Luis Alfonso Barrera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

N-acyl-7-nitroindolines are photoreactive compounds that are known to acylate a number of nucleophiles in inert aprotic solvents under neutral conditions when illuminated at 350 nm. We have assembled a MUC1-derived peptide and Tn or STn-containing MUC1 glycopeptides with a C-terminal photoreactive 7-nitroindoline linker attached to Sieber amide resin by solid phase peptide synThesis using the Fmoc strategy. This type of construction allows for the cleavage of fully protected photoreactive peptides/glycopeptides from the resin with dilute trifluoroacetic acid, or for the direct photorelease of protected peptide/glycopeptide derivatives. Here we demonstrate that N-peptidyl and N-glycopeptidyl 7-nitrindolines can be photochemically converted into their …

Synthesis Of Benzofused-P-Indolequinones From 1,4-Naphthoquinone And Selective N-Debenzylation By Dess-Martin Periodinane, Quang Huynh Luu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

p-Indolequinones are important heterocycles since they display interesting bioactivities such as anticancer activities as well as the ability to trigger drug release in drug targeting research. Additionally, they are also useful in precursors for the synThesis of bioactive compounds. Over decades, many methodologies have been investigated for the synThesis of p-indolequinones. Among those, cyclization of quinones plays an important role in convenient synThesis of these compounds. However, the great majority of these methods only describe quinones as electrophiles in cyclization. In our research, we found an intramolecular nucleophilic attack of quinone to an in-situ generated carbonyl group and developed a …

Triphenylamine-, Porphyrin- And Fullerene-Based Derivatives For Photovoltaic And Other Applications, Danisha Marie Rivera Nazario

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Proper collection of charges at the electrodes is an important process in organic solar cells. Interfacial layers between the electrodes and the photoactive layer have been design to improve charge collection and ohmic contacts. The most studied interfacial layer between the anode and the photoactive layer is the negatively charged polymer poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), that possesses good hole transporting ability. However, inhomogeneities at the surface of the electrode after deposition of the polymer lower the stability and performance of the OPV devices. Triphenylamine (TPA) derivatives have received increased attention in the organic solar cells (OSCs) field because of their favorable light …

Nanoceria Exposure To Kidney Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris): Implications On Plant Physiology, Nutrition And Their Transfer To Next Trophic Level, Sanghamitra Majumdar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous studies investigating the effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria, nCeO2) on plants have primarily focused on the physiological and biochemical changes at early growth stages. Comprehensive information on the effects of nCeO2 through the entire life cycle of plants and the nutritional quality of the edible tissues is limited. No studies have been reported on the interactions between nCeO2 and common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Common beans are leguminous crops, which are societally important due to their nutritional benefits. The beans are rich in proteins and essential nutrients like folate, iron, zinc, molybdenum and magnesium, and are consumed worldwide. This …

Elucidating The Electronic Structure Of Multiple Bonded Systems: Synthesis And Characterization Of Bimetallic Tungsten And Ruthenium Complexes, Karen Ventura

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following study is presented in two sections. In the first section variable-temperature magnetic and structural data of two pairs of diruthenium isomers (having an idealized D4h symmetry), one pair having axial ligands and the formula Ru2(DArF)4Cl (where DArF is the anion of a diarylformamidine isomer, and Ar = p-anisyl or m-anisyl) and the other one being essentially identical but devoid of axial ligands and having the formula [Ru2(DArF)4]BF4, show that the axial ligands have a significant effect on the electronic structure of the diruthenium core. Variable-temperature crystallographic and magnetic data as well as density functional theory (DFT) calculations unequivocally …