Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development Of Remote Optical Instrumentation For The Enhanced Detection Of Airborne Environmental Toxins, Riley Mungo

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The severity of wildfires in the United States are increasing and in the amount of acreage burned due to climate change and a sustained drought in the western part of the country. As a greater number of wildfires burn in the west, the amount of smoke produced becomes a health concern to the public. Wildfires release airborne toxins and hazardous air pollutants that cause adverse health effects to the public in high concentrations but are of principle concern to health officials as they have differential impacts on infants and children. Some of the airborne toxins released are carbonyl compounds such …

Toxicological Investigation, Identification, And Bioactivity Evaluation Of Steroidal Alkaloids Derived From Veratrum Parviflorum, Jared Taylor Seale

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Plants of the Veratrum genus have been used throughout history for their emetic properties, rheumatism, and for the treatment of high blood pressure. However, inadvertent consumption of these plants, which resemble wild ramps, induces life threatening side effects attributable to an abundance of steroidal alkaloids. Several of the steroidal alkaloids from Veratrum spp. have been investigated for their ability to antagonize the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, a key pathway for embryonic development and cell proliferation. Uncontrolled activation of this pathway is linked to the development of various cancers, most notably basal cell carcinoma and acute myeloid leukemia. Additional investigation of …

Open-Source Workflows For Reproducible Molecular Simulation, Jenny W. Fothergill

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

We apply molecular simulation to predict the equilibrium structure of organic molecular aggregates and how these structures determine material properties, with a focus on software engineering practices for ensuring correctness. Because simulations are implemented in software, there is potential for authentic scientific reproducibility in such work: An entire experimental apparatus (codebase) can be given to another investigator who should be able to use the same processes to find the same answers. Yet in practice, there are many barriers which stand in the way of reproducible molecular simulations that we address through automation, generalization, and software packaging. Collaboration on and application …

Design And Synthesis Of Thiazole-Based Small Molecules To Inhibit The Inflammatory Cytokine Oncostatin M, Samuel Randall

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The body’s innate ability to produce an inflammatory response due to tissue irritation or damage is essential for growth and survival. The inflammatory response can be triggered by numerous stimuli, including physical trauma, inhalation of dangerous debris (such as silica and asbestos), tobacco/alcohol consumption, microbiota, diet, and other lifestyle stressors. In a well-orchestrated inflammatory response, the circulatory system increases blood flow and capillary permeability in the inflamed area to deliver nutrients, white blood cells, and inflammatory mediating molecules. However, a dysregulated inflammatory response can lead to chronic inflammation. Emerging evidence continues to frame oncostatin M (OSM) as a pro-inflammatory cytokine …

Bioactivity Assessment Of Veratrum Californicum Alkaloids, Madison Dirks

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The native Idaho plant Veratrum californicum is known to contain steroidal alkaloids that function as inhibitors of hedgehog signaling, a pathway utilized for the growth and differentiation of cells as well as proper tissue development. Veratrum californicum was originally noticed when pregnant ewes consumed the plant and later gave birth to lambs with craniofacial mutations such as a cyclopean eyes. These malformations were caused by the plant’s steroidal alkaloid cyclopamine blocking the hedgehog signaling pathway. This same pathway is used by more than 20 types of cancer for multiplication of cells. Additional alkaloids have been found in Veratrum californicum, …

Exploring Electron-Sink Behaviors Of Molecular Assemblies, Yume Mai

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Metal carbonyl clusters, such as the [Ni₃₂C₆(CO)₃₆]^6- anion, have been documented to display electron-sink phenomena. However, such large clusters suffer from inefficient yields due to their demanding and unreliable synthesis routes. To approach this obstacle, we investigated the electrochemical properties of Fe₂(μ-PPh₂)₂(CO)₆, an organometallic complex known to experience a reversible two-electron transfer process. In this work, we report a modular synthetic strategy for expanding the electron-sink capacity of molecular assemblies by installing Fe₂(μ-PPh₂)₂(CO)₆ redox mediators to arylisocyanide ligands. …

Whey Protein Powder Analysis By Kjeldahl And Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy, Rose Saxton

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

There is an ever-expanding number of high protein dietary supplements marketed as beneficial to athletes, body builders, infant formulas, elder care, and animal feed. Consumers will pay more for products with high protein per serving data on their nutritional labels, making the accurate reporting of protein content critical to customer confidence. The Kjeldahl Method (KM) is the industry standard to quantitate dairy proteins, but the result is based on nitrogen content, which is an approximation of nitrogen attributable to protein in milk. Optical spectroscopy is commonly used for quality control measurements and has been identified as having the potential to …

New Applications For The Kinetic Exclusion Assay (Kinexa), Mark Harrison Smith

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the fundamental principles and applicability of the kinetic exclusion assay (KinExA), developed and marketed by Sapidyne Instruments of Boise, Idaho, since 1995. Chapter One reviews and consolidates the manufacturer’s guidance and many early papers that delineate the practical and theoretical aspects of the technology. In brief, KinExA is a two stage analytical system. In stage one, a number of solutions are prepared, whereby one of the partners is kept constant (the constant binding partner, or CBP), while the other (the titrant) is varied, usually in serial dilution. As the titrant is increased, the free CBP decreases, and …

Observed Defects Of Swiss Cheese Based On The Microbiome Contribution To The Production Of Organic Acids, Vannessa D. Campfield

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The United States Department of Agriculture downgrades on the order of 17% of all Swiss cheese produced in the United States due to defects. Many of these defects are related to improper eye formation, number, distribution, or size; leading to an industry loss of over $69 million per annum. The microbiome in Swiss-type cheeses plays a significant role in eye development due to production of organic acids and gaseous emissions contingent on bacterial abundance and phenotype. The relationship between bacteria and the organic acids they produce leading to Swiss cheese defects can be correlated using Next-generation sequencing and high-performance liquid …

Mxenes As Flow Electrodes For Capacitive Deionization Of Wastewater, Naqsh E. Mansoor

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The energy-water nexus poses an integrated research challenge, while opening up an opportunity space for the development of energy efficient technologies for water remediation. Capacitive Deionization (CDI) is an upcoming reclamation technology that uses a small applied voltage applied across electrodes to electrophoretically remove dissolved ionic impurities from wastewater streams. Similar to a supercapacitor, the ions are stored in the electric double layer of the electrodes. Reversing the polarity of applied voltage enables recovery of the removed ionic impurities, allowing for recycling and reuse. Simultaneous materials recovery and water reclamation makes CDI energy efficient and resource conservative, with potential to …

Comprehensive Investigation Of Bioactive Steroidal Alkaloids In Veratrum Californicum, Matthew West Turner

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Veratrum californicum, commonly referred to as corn lily or Californian false hellebore, grows in high mountain meadows and produces bioactive steroidal alkaloids, including cyclopamine. Cyclopamine is a potent inhibitor of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. Our lab has optimized methods to extract cyclopamine and related steroidal alkaloids from V. californicum, and implemented in-house Hh signaling bioactivity evaluation of these steroidal alkaloids using a Shh-Light II cell assay. A survey of extraction methods and solvents resulted in the identification of conditions most favorable for alkaloid extraction yield and antagonist activity in the Shh-Light II cell assay. The highest amount …

A Foundational Study Of A New Synthetic Method Of Metal Carbonyl Clusters, Miles Shaun Millard

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

“Traditional” Metal Carbonyl Clusters (MCCs) contain a framework of multiple metal atoms bound together through formal metal-metal (M-M) bonds. Current methods of synthesis result in different cluster sizes and lack a method to control growth. This project proposes a new method of MCC synthesis to build larger structures utilizing secondary non-covalent interactions to develop “non-traditional” MCCs. The N,N’-diarylurea moiety is a strong hydrogen bond donor/acceptor that can induce self-assembly into larger secondary structures. The union of metal carbonyl and urea chemistry provides a potential method of “non-traditional” MCC synthesis. This proof of concept experiment will elucidate foundational information such …

Investigating Soluble Organic Compounds In Aqueously Altered Carbonaceous Chondrites By Ultrahigh Resolution Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry, Patrick Kyle Schwartz

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Most meteorites are fragments from main-belt asteroids and contain extremely primitive materials that have preserved a compositional record of the early Solar System. After the formation of their parent bodies, carbonaceous chondrites experienced secondary modification from thermal metamorphism and/or aqueous alteration. Secondary processing likely influenced the synthesis and/or final composition of organic compounds in parent bodies; thus, these effects may be elucidated from the study of different meteorites. Although the role of aqueous alteration has been investigated for a few specific classes of compounds (such as amino acids), the effect of aqueous alteration on the full inventory of organic compounds …

Modern Electronic Structure Theory: The Search For Chemical Accuracy, Jonathan Prince

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Electronic structure theory has progressed significantly within the last few decades, venturing far from the early days of the Hartree-Fock self-consistent field method. Modern electronic structure theory focuses on compound methods, which operate under the idea that we can take a lower level of theory computation (typically, a result from Hartree-Fock, Configuration Interaction, Coupled Cluster or Moller-Plesset perturbation theory) and add in higher level of the theory corrections such as extrapolations to the infinite basis set limit, as well as, relativistic effects.

Using the Gaussian-n, Complete Basis Set and Weizmann compound methods, we were able to provide theoretical evidence to …

Investigating Hydrothermal And Radiation Effects On Nitrogen Heterocycles Relevant To Meteorite Parent Bodies, Phillip G. Hammer

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Organic compounds in meteorites were likely transformed by a variety of processes on the asteroid parent body including aqueous, thermal, and radiolytic alteration. Previous studies have identified a suite of purine nitrogen heterocycles in carbonaceous chondrites (a class of meteorites) and determined that their likely origin was due to cyanide chemistry. The thesis research described here consisted of two parts: investigating thermal effects on aqueous ammonium cyanide reactions and the production/survivability of organics (Chapter 2) and investigating gamma radiation effects on purine nitrogen heterocycles to understand how prolonged radiation exposure influenced the distribution and abundance of nitrogen heterocycles measured in …

Molecular Basis Of Substrate Recognition In Bjai, An Ahl Synthase From Bradyrhizobium Japonicum, Nicole Cornell

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Resistance to antibiotics has become a major challenge in today’s society for treating bacterial infections. Inhibition of quorum sensing has a potential to be a non-antibiotic based therapeutic that could be used to fight these bacterial infections. Quorum sensing is a cell density dependent, intercellular communication mechanism that bacteria use to synchronize behavior such as virulence and resistance to antibiotics. If this switch from planktonic to communal behavior can be inhibited, the bacteria will be less virulent. One possible way to accomplish this is by inhibiting the enzymes that are responsible for making the quorum sensing signaling molecules in Gram-negative …

The Effects Of Hydrogen Bonding On The Reactivity Of Synthetic Ada Repair Protein Analogues, Josiah G. Elsberg

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The study of bioinorganic chemistry is an important field, as it can provide insight as to why Nature has chosen certain active sites and structures within different kinds of metalloproteins. Ada repair protein, a zinc-containing metalloprotein, is one such topic of interest. Although it is known that Ada RP is able to repair methyl-phosphotriester backbone damage by self-methylation of one of its cysteine groups, the mechanism is not fully understood. Two pathways have been proposed: a dissociative pathway where the Zn-S bond becomes a zinc/sulfur ion pair, and an associative pathway where a four ringed σ-metathesis occurs. Previous research has …

Electrochemical Reduction Of Aqueous Uranium, Jonathan M. Scaggs

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The electrochemical reduction of uranium in acidic aqueous environments with the express purpose of generating U(III) consistently is critically evaluated. Generating U(III) in an aqueous environment is difficult and extremely unstable and has historically been difficult to achieve and isolate for further investigation. The electrochemical cell, electrodes, supporting electrolytes, and pH’s are all reviewed and evaluated for the purpose of optimizing the systemic requirements to electrochemically generate U(III). Several new types of electrochemical cells to include two new spectroelectrochemical for UV-Vis and FT-Raman investigation were designed and tested for the purpose of analyzed the redox species of aqueous uranium generated …

Nmr Characterization Of Parathion: Properties, Transport, And Reaction Kinetics, Emma Catherine Baker

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The hydrolysis reaction of parathion (PTH) to produce para-nitrophenolate (pNP) and O,O-diethylthiophosphate (DETP) was examined in a minimally disturbed liquid-liquid biphasic reaction system by proton and phosphorous nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The effect of the micellar cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), on PTH transport, hydrolysis, and system characteristics including reactant-product concentrations, pNP partition coefficients, pNP surface activity, ultraviolet degradation of pNP, oxidation of pNP, and impurities in PTH are reported. Surfactant reaction systems resulted in a 2.5 order of magnitude increase in the amount of PTH transported into the aqueous layer as compared to the control system at 2100 …