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Approaches Towards The Synthesis Of Ketamine Metabolites, Ann K. Patrick

Honors Theses

Major Depressive disorder (MDD) plagues society and stands at the forefront of research as MDD affects approximately 16% of the population. Pharmaceutical drugs, including the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), have been used for MDD treatment and remain a popular option today. However, current antidepressant treatments have proven to be ineffective in just less than half of the patients. Research continues with the goal to better understand the mechanisms of the pathology of depression and to search for other treatment options. For example, the stress-neurogenesis hypothesis investigates the role of stress and decreased neuroplasticity within MDD.

Supporting the stress-neurogenesis hypothesis, …

Silver-Catalyzed Synthesis Of Disubstituted Fluorinated Isoxazoles, Micah Stewart

Honors Theses

The presence of fluorine can provide organic compounds with useful biological properties, such as increased metabolic stability and drug uptake. Because of these advantages, fluorinated compounds make up about 30% of the drug industry. However, fluorination of complex molecules is difficult due to fluorine’s high electronegativity.

Fluorinated isoxazoles are of particular interest in the pharmaceutical industry. Isoxazoles are five-membered heterocycles with oxygen and nitrogen in the 1, 2 positions that are able to engage in interactions unavailable to other ring structures, conferring advantageous biological properties upon compounds containing them. However, there are limited synthetic routes for fluorinated isoxazoles, and those …

Gold Nanoparticles: Core Conversion Of Au144(Sch2ch2ph)60 To Au99(Sph-Ch3)42 Using Aromatic Thiolate Ligands And Crystallization Of Au99(Sph-Ch3)42, Elizabeth Turnage

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to synthesize Au₁₄₄(SCH₂CH₂Ph)₆₀ using a two-step synthesis reaction, and then using this product to conduct a core conversion from Au₁₄₄(SCH₂CH₂Ph)₆₀ to Au₉₉(SPh-CH₃)₄₂. The Au₉₉(SPh-CH₃)₄₂ product will then be used to attempt to form crystals using five different crystal set-up methods. Au₁₄₄(SCH₂CH₂Ph)₆₀ is made with aliphatic thiolate ligands, and when it is placed in a mixture containing excess para-methyl benzenethiol, it undergoes a …