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Evaluation Of Electron Donor Materials Used To Create Subsurface Permeable Reactive Barriers For Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination Of Chlorinated Ethenes, Elizabeth S. Semkiw

Dissertations

Chlorinated ethenes (CEs) are widespread ground water contaminants, apparently due to their extensive migration from numerous contamination source points. In this study, a long-term field investigation and aquifer microcosm experiments were combined to evaluate the effectiveness of electron donor materials used to create and maintain subsurface permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) for the enhanced in-situ biodegradation of CEs. The laboratory component includes the first side-by-side comparison of electron donor materials dairy whey, lactate syrup, and Hydrogen Release Compound® (HRC), in which dechlorination rates, fermentation product distributions, and H₂ production were monitored as measures of substrate efficiency. Field study allowed the …

Switch On And Switch Off Nanosensors For The Detection Of Nerve Gas Agents, Shankar Varaganti

Dissertations

The central hypothesis of this research is the development of novel nanosensors by a bottom-up approach for the detection of nerve gas agents. The nanosensor assembly consists of four main parts; nanoparticles (N), Monomer (M), Complex (C) and Receptor (R). Two novel Ru (II)-bipyridyl and zinc complexes with tryptophan receptors either in 4,4' or 5,5' position of the bipyridyl ring have been synthesized and characterized by using ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, mass spectrometry and absorption spectroscopy. Silica nanoparticles or quantum dots are used as a platform for the nanosensors. Highly conjugated stilbene type compounds are used as monomers. …

Characterization Of P62, Hah1 And Their Interaction With The Wilson Disease Protein, Paul Sifuna Oshule

Masters Theses

Wilson disease is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting in the accumulation of copper in the body primarily in the liver and brain. In order to understand the pathogenesis of Wilson disease, our laboratory is studying several different proteins. Wilson disease protein (ATP7B) is a P-type ATPase which acts to remove excess copper from the cells. The p62 subunit of the dynactin complex is a protein whose function is still unknown but it has been proposed to have a copperdependent interaction with ATP7B. HAH1 is a human metallochaperone that binds copper as it comes into the cells from CTR1, a permease. …

Origin Of Size-Dependent Energy Transfer From Photoexcited Cdse Quantum Dots And Fluorescent Dyes To Gold Nanoparticles, Mariana Kondon

Masters Theses

The photoluminescence quenching of CdSe quantum dots (QD) and fluorescent dyes by hexanethiolate Mono layer Protected Clusters (MPCs) with core diameters of 1.1- 4 .9 nm is described.

The CdSe QD investigated had the following core diameters of 2.0, 2.6, 3.4 and 6.9 nm. The florescent dyes used were: Coumarin 440 (CM440), Fluorescein 548 (F548), Rhodamine 6G (R6G), Pyromethene 597 (PM597) and Lyssamine Dye (LD700). Experimental evidence suggests that the photoluminescence quenching of both CdSe QD and the fluorescent dyes occurs through energy transfer and that the AuMPCs are efficient quenchers in both cases. The larger MPCs are more efficient …

Optical And Electrochemical Molecular And Nanoscale Sensors For The Selective Detection Of Organophosphorus Based Pesticides, Chandrima De

Masters Theses

Organophosphorus based pesticides are highly toxic and represent serious environmental concerns. These compounds tend to easily enter ground water and cause drastic pollution. The toxicity levels of the organophosphorus pesticides however are based on their structures, and hence methods for their selective detection are in high demand. The creation of new materials for sensing and actuation requires careful manipulation of the responsive units required to control analyte selectivity. We have successfully designed and synthesized a molecular sensor based on the family of stilbenes that not only can detect organophosphorus pesticides, but also distinguish between them. Four different pesticides have been …

Blocked Localized Wavefunction Analysis Of Π And Σ Bonds In The Metal Carbonyl, Kazuhito Nakashima

Masters Theses

The bonding features in group 10 and 11 metal carbonyls Ni(CO), Pd(CO), Pt(CO), [Cu(CO)]+, [Ag(CO)]+, and [Au(CO)]+ have been studied with BLW method. The carbon monoxide is well known as both a π acceptor and a σ donor. The π back bonding and o bonding are synergistic in these metal carbonyl complexes, because the π donation from the metals polarizes the metals and creates a negative force field as an additional driving force on the σ donation from the carbon end of CO vice versa. The synergistic effect in the metal-carbonyl bonds can be described by decomposing the binding energy …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Catalytic Application Of Gold Nanoparticles, Junhyung Kim

Dissertations

Properties of nanometer-sized gold(Au) particles, especially those that are protected by a monolayer coating of thiolate ligands, called 'Monolayer Protected Clusters' (MPCs), are of rigorous multidisciplinary interest for their potential applications in catalysis and electronics due to their variation with size.

In larger core diameter sizes (>1.5nm) AuMPCs show metallic behavior as observed from electrochemical measurements. On the other hand, sub-nanometer ([approximate]1.1nm) AuMPCs exhibit molecule-like electronic behavior which is typical of Au38 nanoparticles. The various alkane chain thiols(C4 S-C12 S) capped Au38 MPCs have been examined with independent analytical tools, producing a remarkably consistent picture of these materials.

The …

Exploration Of The Chemical And Biological Processes Through Molecular Dynamics Simulation And Blocklocalized Wavefunction Method, Yuchun Lin

Dissertations

Computer simulation plays a crucial role in interpreting, unifying and guiding experimental observations. In this dissertation, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the block-localized wavefunction (BLW) method have been used to explore the chemical and biological processes.

Detailed MD simulations were performed to study the transportation of NH₄⁺, NH₃ and H₂O through the Escherichia coli ammonium transporter (AmtB) membrane protein. A periplasmic recruitment vestibule was identified and the entrance of an NH₄⁺ into this vestibule requires only 3.1 kcal/mol. In the end of this vestibule, the phenyl ring of Phe107 dynamically opens and …

Real-Time Analysis And Investigation Of The Mechanism Of The Palladium On Carbon Catalyzed Isomerization Of Megestrolacetate, Charlene K. Wiglesworth

Masters Theses

Megestrol Acetate is a semi-synthetic steroid hormone of the progestin family and currently used as a drug therapy in many areas including treatments of cancers and AIDS. The final step to form the bulk drug is an isomerization using palladium on carbon with cyclohexene as an activator. This step is sensitive to catalyst quality and is hazardous to sample because of the reactivity of the catalyst. Physical and catalytic properties of the catalyst were evaluated, as were the effects of solid support and different washing strategies. Response of the reaction mixture to catalyst poisons was studied as a function of …

N-(Deoxyadenosine-8-Yl)-4-Aminobiphenyl Adduct Formation In Vitro On Tp53 Exon7 Genome: Quantitation By Lc-Esi-Ms/Ms, Paul René Knoll

Masters Theses

The p53 protein has been documented to be mutated in more than 50% of late stage bladder cancers and tobacco causes 50% of all bladder tumors. The 4- arninobiphenyl (ABP) carcinogen comprises 5 ng per cigarette in the smoke and is a known bladder carcinogen. The research goal in the present study was to compare the reactivity of rat liver S-9 fraction activated 4-arninobiphenyl with the 45-mer sense strand of the TP53 exon7 gene to the respective anti-sense strand. The specific and sensitive technique of LC-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used for quantitation. The authentic standard of N-(adenine-8yl-)-4-arninobiphenyl (A-ABP) …