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Determination Of The Effects Of Zno And Ceo2 Nanoparticles In Mesquite (Prosopis Juliflora) And Soybean (Glycine Max): Synchrotron And Spectroscopic Approaches, Jose Angel Hernandez Viezcas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The rapid growth of nanotechnology is exposing the environment to abnormal concentrations of engineered nanoparticles (NPs). There is concern about the unknown consequences of NPs on the environment and human health. This Dissertation has relied significantly on Synchrotron and other spectroscopic techniques to give insights on the effects, speciation and distribution of two metal oxide nanoparticles (ZnO, CeO2) on two plant species (Mesquite and Soybean). We evaluated the effects of ZnO (10 nm) and CeO2 (8 nm) NPs on a plant species native to the semi-arid regions of North America, Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora velutina). Mesquite plants grown in hydroponic culture …

Earth Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging And Paramagnetic Contrast Agents, Saideh Sadat Mortazavi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this research was to visualize the uptake of copper by plants to aid phyto-remediation research. The hypothesis was that regions of the plant with more copper will have an enhanced NMR signal using copper as a paramagnetic contrast agent.

As the name implies, Earth Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (EFMRI) spectrometry uses a magnetic field 300,000 times weaker than a 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Just like in conventional human MRI, this portable instrument is capable of recording one, two and three dimensional images though the sample size is much smaller.

The enhancement of signal was …