Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Investigating Interfacial Reactions Of Silver-Containing Films Using Novel Methods, Sarah Danielle Pretty

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis presents work on the mechanism and kinetics of the surface film reactions involving the conversion of aqueous species on solid surfaces, and specifically, the reactions of iodide and bromide on silver oxide on silver substrate. These reactions provide a method of immobilizing unwanted halides and are particularly suited to control of hazardous radioactive iodine. Potential applications of this research include nuclear reactor safety and post-accident radioiodine management, and the safe production and use of the medical isotope ¹³¹I.

The aqueous-solid conversion of reaction Ag₂O with X^-(aq) to form AgX on a Ag substrate …

Structure And Dynamics Of The Membrane Protein Bacteriorhodopsin Studied By Mass Spectrometry, Yan Pan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Membrane proteins continue to represent a major challenge for most analytical techniques. Using bacteriorhodopsin (BR) as model system, this work aims to develop mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches for exploring the structure, dynamics and folding of membrane proteins.

As the first step, BR in its native lipid environment was exposed to hydroxyl radicals, which were produced by laser photolysis of hydrogen peroxide. It was found that the resulting methionine (Met) labeling pattern was consistent with the known BR structure. This finding demonstrates that laser-induced oxidative Met labeling can provide structural information on membrane proteins. In subsequent experiments, the effects of different …

Rational Design And Advanced Fabrication Of Metallic Nanostructures For Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Betty Cristina Galarreta

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the main challenges in analytical science and technology is to develop devices that provide unambiguously the chemical nature of the material of interest with the minimum intrusiveness, the smallest amount of analyte, and the shortest acquisition time. Among the promising methods for such purpose, optical spectroscopy such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering is considered a suitable option. This spectroscopic technique takes advantage of the interaction between an optical field and metallic nanostructures to magnify the electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the nanostructure, resulting in an amplified signal of the vibrational fingerprints of the adsorbed molecules onto the metallic …