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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Mass Spectrometry Based Experimental Strategies To Characterize Native And Non-Native Disulfide Bonds In Cysteine-Rich Protein Therapeutics, Adriana Z. Kita Nov 2014

Mass Spectrometry Based Experimental Strategies To Characterize Native And Non-Native Disulfide Bonds In Cysteine-Rich Protein Therapeutics, Adriana Z. Kita

Doctoral Dissertations

The impact post-translational modifications (PTMs) can have on the structure, function, and immunogenicity of protein therapeutics makes it especially important for these protein-based treatments to be well characterized. Mass spectrometry has become instrumental in the examination of enzymatic and non-enzymatic PTMs. Disulfide bonds fall into both of these categories in which native disulfide bonds are formed in the ER by disulfide mediated enzymes and non-native disulfide bonds are often formed by non-enzymatic reducing/oxidizing reactions. Disulfide bonds are particularly important for protein folding and reinforcing higher order structure, and are typically characterized by LC-MS of non-reduced peptides. However, characterizing the disulfide …


Volatile Profiles And Resistance To Herbivory In Eastern Hemlock, Elizabeth A. Mckenzie Nov 2014

Volatile Profiles And Resistance To Herbivory In Eastern Hemlock, Elizabeth A. Mckenzie

Masters Theses

Eastern hemlock hosts the hemlock woolly adelgid, an introduced sap-feeding insect that causes rapid deterioration of the host. Like most conifers, eastern hemlock produces a variety of constitutive and induced defenses, primarily terpenoids. To explore the relationship of terpenoid defenses with adelgid infestations, we artificially infested hemlocks at a forest site and a plantation site, and compared their terpenoid concentrations to those in control trees. Infested trees showed lower terpenoid concentrations than control trees, suggesting that eastern hemlock not only fails to induce production of terpenoids in response to adelgid infestation, but becomes less able to produce carbon-based defenses due …


Modification Of Gold Nanoparticles For Sers Application In Emulsion And Lipid Systems, Michael J. Driver Nov 2014

Modification Of Gold Nanoparticles For Sers Application In Emulsion And Lipid Systems, Michael J. Driver

Masters Theses

Gold nanoparticles produced using the Turkevich method were able to have their hydrophobicity modified using octanethiol in a novel method for SERS application. Both amphiliphic GNPs and hydrophobic GNPs were produced and differentiated by Raman signals. The amphiliphic GNPs were able to enhance the SERS signals of the protein emulsifier in the emulsion in situ and the hydrophobic GNPs were able to enhance the SERS signals from canola oil. Further purification of the hydrophobic GNPs proved to have higher enhancement and sensitivity, but still poor consistency which is typical of SERS. Monitoring lipid oxidation using Raman and SERS using alternative …


Mass Spectrometric Characterization And Imaging Of Nanoparticles In Biological Samples, Bo Yan Aug 2014

Mass Spectrometric Characterization And Imaging Of Nanoparticles In Biological Samples, Bo Yan

Doctoral Dissertations

Nanoparticles (NPs) are being investigated widely for use in biomedical applications such as imaging, drug delivery, and cancer therapy due to their small size and readily tunable properties. The ability to accurately characterize NPs and monitor their spatial distributions is highly desirable for effective use of NPs and evaluation of their potential adverse environmental, health, and safety effects. In this dissertation, a simple, fast, and sensitive method based on laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) to characterize and track NPs in biological systems has been developed. This method is especially well suited for characterizing core-shell structured NPs, such as quantum dots …


Protein Behavior Directed By Heparin Charge And Chain Length, Burcu Baykal Minsky Aug 2014

Protein Behavior Directed By Heparin Charge And Chain Length, Burcu Baykal Minsky

Doctoral Dissertations

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), highly charged biological polyelectrolytes, are of growing importance as biomaterials and pharmaceutical drugs due to their immense range of physiological functions. They bind to many proteins; however, the degree of structural selectivity in GAG-protein interactions is largely unknown .Our studies have focused on the importance of heparin (a model GAG) charge and chain length in protein binding in order to explore its potential applications in biofunctional tissue scaffold materials, as polysaccharide drugs in anticoagulation, and as inhibitory agents in protein aggregation. We used electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis, size exclusion chromatography, dynamic/static light scattering and electrostatic protein …


Cell-Based Sensing Of Endocrine Disrupting Substances Using Fluorescent Protein-Gold Nanoparticle Complexes, Xian Wang Aug 2014

Cell-Based Sensing Of Endocrine Disrupting Substances Using Fluorescent Protein-Gold Nanoparticle Complexes, Xian Wang

Masters Theses

Developing a sensitive and effective in vitro bioassay to detect endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) would reduce the cost, eliminate the possibility of low dose effects, detect the non-monotonic dose responses, and identify mechanisms of actions. The “chemical nose” sensing method using supramolecular complexes composed of cationic monolayer functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and fluorescent proteins (FPs) can successfully distinguish serum proteins, mammalian cells, tissue lysates, and chemotherapeutic drug mechanisms. EDCs regulate target cells via genomic or non-genomic pathways in terms of proliferative effect and response time. In this thesis, green fluorescent protein-gold nanoparticle (GFP-AuNP) sensors were used to detect the proliferative …


Evaluation Report, Alan Peterfreund Jan 2014

Evaluation Report, Alan Peterfreund

STEM Digital

This evaluation report synthesizes the results of evaluation activities conducted by SageFox Consulting Group of the STEM DIGITAL project led by the UMass STEM Ed Institute for its no-cost extension year, covering the period September 2013 to August 2014. The goals of the program are to facilitate the participants’ abilities to stimulate student interest in STEM careers while engaging them in ways to think critically about their environment. Participating teachers incorporated digital cameras and Analyzing Digital Images (ADI) software into lab activities focusing on environmental science. STEM DIGITAL materials focused on three strands related to (1) ozone and air quality, …