Analytical Chemistry Commons^™

The Best Of Both Worlds: Building On The Copus And Rtop Observation Protocols To Easily And Reliably Measure Various Levels Of Reformed Instructional Practice, Travis J. Lund, Matthew Pilarz, Jonathan B. Velasco, Devasmita Chakraverty, Kaitlyn Rosploch, Molly Undersander, Marilyne Stains

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

Researchers, university administrators, and faculty members are increasingly interested in measuring and describing instructional practices provided in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses at the college level. Specifically, there is keen interest in comparing instructional practices between courses, monitoring changes over time, and mapping observed practices to research-based teaching. While increasingly common observation protocols (Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol [RTOP] and Classroom Observation Protocol in Undergraduate STEM [COPUS]) at the postsecondary level help achieve some of these goals, they also suffer from weaknesses that limit their applicability. In this study, we leverage the strengths of these protocols to provide an …

The Investigation Of The Low Temperature Combustion Of Mesitylene And Tert-Amyl Methyl Ether By Synchrotron Photoionization Mass Spectrometry, Martin Yu-Hin Ng

Master's Theses

This thesis describes the combustion experiments performed at the Chemical Dynamics Beamline of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) located at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL). The need for renewable fuel sources, the need for the study of their combustion in the contexts of homogenous charge combustion ignition (HCCI) engines can be found in Chapter 1. The components of the experimental set-up used throughout this thesis—time-of-flight mass spectrometer, Excimer laser, vacuum pumps and other components—and the components of ALS responsible in synchrotron radiation generation and processing—the linear accelerator, the booster ring, insertion devices, gas filters and monochromator are explained in …

Nanodiamond Extraction At A Potential Impact Location, Joel Kathan

DePaul Discoveries

Meteoritic or cometary impacts create the temperature and pressure conditions necessary to form nanodiamonds (NDs). The presence of extracted NDs from rocks of the time and locations of extinctions, fires, or known environmental changes are commonly used to confirm that a theorized cosmic impact occurred to trigger those events. Samples were obtained from an archeological site described in the Old Testament of the Bible as having been destroyed by the God of the Old Testament.† To see if the historical description of Biblical events might have been triggered by a cometary impact or explosion, an attempt was made to …

Diol-Mediated Versus Water-Mediated Proton Transfer Reactions, Angela Moses

DePaul Discoveries

The triple-proton-transfer reactions of 8H-1,8-naphthyridin-2-one (8H-naph) have been investigated by employing different ab initio quantum mechanical methods. The proton transfer reactions studied were facilitated through an adjacent 1,3-propanediol molecule or two adjacent water molecules. Identical proton transfer reactions were studied using a model system of 8H-naph to investigate the validity of computational approaches that use model systems to study more complex systems. The solvent effects on the structures were investigated for comparison to the initial gas phase calculations. The potential energy, reaction force, and work profiles were studied along the intrinsic reaction coordinate to monitor the developing proton transfer reactions.

Quechers (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, And Safe) Extraction – Gas Chromatography For The Analysis Of Drugs, Michelle L. Schmidt

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) is an extraction technique developed by Anastassiades and co-workers initially for the extraction of veterinary drugs from animal tissue. Since its inception, it was discovered that this method is particularly adept for the extraction of polar and basic compounds, thus the majority of research previously performed using QuEChERS involves the extraction of pesticides from various matrices, especially fruits, vegetables, and other food products. Combining a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and a dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) clean up, QuEChERS provides a clean sample for analysis by gas chromatography (GC) or liquid chromatography (LC) …

Monitoring Dissolution Of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Using Infrared Spectroscopy, Julianne Berger

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

A comparison study was conducted to look at the formulation of three brands of naproxen sodium. These brands included Bayer Aleve ®, CVS All Day Pain Relief and Walgreens All Day Pain Relief. The active and inactive ingredients were the same yet the size and shape of the tablets differ among the three brands. S-naproxen was extracted from the tablets and evaluated by GC-MS to determine the purity of naproxen in the tablets. Dissolution was monitored by an IR probe for eight hours while using 0.1M phosphate buffer pH 7.4, 0.05M phosphate buffer pH 4.5 and simulated gastric fluid pH …

Surface-Engineered Magnetic Nanoparticles For Sample Preparation And Analysis Of Proteins And Peptides, Parisa Pirani

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Sample preparation as an essential step in mass spectrometry-based analysis, plays a critical role in proteomics studies. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely used in protein and peptide sample preparation due to their magnetic properties, biocompatibility, easy synthesis and surface functionalization. MNPs loaded with analyte or analyte modification reagent can be easily separated from the reaction medium by an externally applied magnetic field. The small size of MNPs provides high analyte loading and extraction capacity. Additionally, MNP can be decorated with different functional groups to achieve selective modification or extraction of analyte. In this study we have utilized silica coated …

Analysis Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Nutrients In Lake Sediment, Kelsey L. Berrier

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Analytical methods for the determination of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients (NO₃-N, NH₄-N and PO₄-P) in sediment were studied with the goal of developing extraction steps compatible with analysis by ion chromatography (IC). Research focused on extractant solution composition, Dionex OnGuard^® sample pretreatment cartridges for salt removal, and chromatographic resolution. Aqueous test samples, lake sediment samples and spiked lake sediment samples were analyzed. Dionex Ag, Ag/H, and H cartridges were studied for the pretreatment step. Silver (Ag) cartridges were found effective in removing >99% of interfering chloride ion to allow NO₃-N determination …

An Investigation Of Inorganic Compound Scattering., Karl Jay Bernstein

Doctoral Dissertations

Raman and its associated forms of spectroscopy are powerful tools that have been under-utilized. Presented within are three inorganic compounds studied with some form of Raman spectroscopy: normal Raman, hyper-Raman (HR), surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), surface-enhanced hyper-Raman spectroscopy (SEHRS), or resonance Raman spectroscopy (RR).

The first study involves the investigation of phosphine binding with silver metal. Phosphines find wide use in synthetic circles yet have had little study into their method of binding, unlike similar compounds comprised of sulfur. In order to understand the binding of phosphines, several tertiary phosphines, secondary phosphines and secondary phosphine oxides are examined with SERS. …

Oxygen Reduction Reaction By Copper Complex Based Electrocatalysts, Congling Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

My research focuses on catalysis of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by a series of Cu(II) [copper with positive two valence] -1,2,4-triazole complex-based electrocatalysts at the cathode of PEMFC (polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell), an efficient and environmental friendly energy conversion system compared to internal combustion engines in use today. The sluggish kinetics of ORR considerably limited the performance of PEMFCs. Understanding of ORR mechanism is important for developing affordable, active and durable ORR catalysts for such devices.

The first part of my work focused on improving the ORR performance of Cu(II)-1,2,4-triazole complex-based catalysts in an acidic environment by exploring synthesis …

The Fabrication Of Micro- And Nano- Scale Deterministic And Stochastic Pillar Arrays For Planar Separations, Teresa Byers Kirchner

Doctoral Dissertations

Planar chromatography, unlike high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), has not experienced a significant evolution in stationary phase media since the development of the technique. This has lead HPLC to become a much more popular and robust analytical method. Main factors that contribute to improved performance of chromatographic systems include a reduction in particle size, homogeneity of the stationary phase, and an increase in velocity of the mobile phase. In general, a reduction in particle size should lead to an improvement in the performance of all chromatography systems. However, the main obstacle of improving the performance of planar chromatography systems is …

A Rapid Lc-Ms/Ms Method For Quantification Of Csuoh0901, A Novel Antitumor Agent, In Rat Plasma, Ramakrishna R. Voggu, Ravali Alagandula, Xiang Zhou, Bin Su Ph.D., Bo Zhong, Baochuan Guo

Chemistry Faculty Publications

CSUOH0901, a novel anticancer derivative of nimesulide, exhibits very promising anticancer activities in various cancer cell lines. In order to support further pharmacological and toxicological studies of this promising anticancer drug candidate, an LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated in accordance with the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The drug molecules were extracted from plasma samples by protein precipitation and then analyzed with LC-ESI-MS/MS. An excellent analyte separation was achieved using a phenomenex C18 column with a mobile phase of 90% methanol and 5 m m of ammonium formate. The validated linear dynamic range was between 0.5 and 100 …

Green Chemistry As A Tool For Understanding The Toxic Substances Control Act: A Lecture Module For Undergraduate Students, Molly R. Blessing

Honors Scholar Theses

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is the central form of chemical regulation existent in the United States today, yet scientists are often unaware or uncertain of its provisions. Violations of TSCA by unknowing chemists set industry and government unnecessarily at odds. A lecture on TSCA was developed for undergraduate students that uses the concept of green chemistry to promote interest and incentivize learning. Green chemistry methods are cleaner and less wasteful than traditional chemical ones, and many companies using them are at the forefront of technological innovation. The lecture explains both green chemistry and TSCA, includes company case studies, …

Simulation In Algorithmic Self-Assembly, Jacob Hendricks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Winfree introduced a model of self-assembling systems called the abstract Tile Assembly Model (aTAM) where square tiles with glues on their edges attach spontaneously via matching glues to form complex structures. A generalization of the aTAM called the 2HAM (two-handed aTAM) not only allows for single tiles to bind, but also for "supertile" assemblies consisting of any number of tiles to attach. We consider a variety of models based on either the aTAM or the 2HAM. The underlying commonality of the work presented here is simulation. We introduce the polyTAM, where a tile system consists of a collection of polyomino …

Optimized Acid/Base Extraction And Structural Characterization Of Β-Glucan From Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Shardrack O. Asare

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

β-glucan is a major component of the fungal cell wall consisting of (1→3)-β linked glucose polymers with (1→6)-β linked side chains. The published classical isolation procedure of β-glucan from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is expensive and time-consuming. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop an effective procedure for the extraction of glucans. We have developed a new method for glucan extraction that will be cost effective and will maintain the native structure of the glucan. The method that we developed is 80% faster and utilizes ¹/₃ of the reagents compared to the published classical method. Further, the method …

Distinguishing Macrophage Activation States By Mass Spectrometry, Matthias Manfred Knust

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages are versatile and highly adaptive cells that are involved in a wide range of physiological processes including host defense, homeostasis or regeneration, as well as pathogenesis. They react to their microenvironment, assuming various roles based on chemical and/or physical cues, and can reversibly shift between these so-called activation states. Concurrently, the technique of immunohistochemistry is used to gain spatial information on activated macrophages on tissue sections. The aim of this work was to find mass spectral biomarkers that allow the differentiation of activation states, and establish conditions that can be used in imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) experiments to investigate …

Comprehensive Quantification Of Triacylglycerols In Soybean Seeds By Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry With Multiple Neutral Loss Scans, Maoyin Li, Emily Butka, Xuemin Wang

Biology Department Faculty Works

Soybean seeds are an important source of vegetable oil and biomaterials. The content of individual triacylglycerol species (TAG) in soybean seeds is difficult to quantify in an accurate and rapid way. The present study establishes an approach to quantify TAG species in soybean seeds utilizing an electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry with multiple neutral loss scans. Ten neutral loss scans were performed to detect the fatty acyl chains of TAG, including palmitic (P, 16:0), linolenic (Ln, 18:3), linoleic (L, 18:2), oleic (O, 18:1), stearic (S, 18:0), eicosadienoic (20:2), gadoleic (20:1), arachidic (20:0), erucic (22:1), and behenic (22:0). The abundance of …

Chromatographic Analysis Of Drug-Protein Interactions During Diabetes And Characterization Of Human Serum Albumin Through Multidimensional Mass Spectrometry, Ryan E. Matsuda

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that can lead to the non-enzymatic glycation of serum proteins such as human serum albumin (HSA). Previous studies have indicated that glycation can affect the structure and function of these proteins. This dissertation describes the development of tools and techniques based on high performance affinity chromatography (HPAC) and multidimensional mass spectrometry to analyze the effects of glycation on the function and structure of HSA.

A major portion of this research involved the utilization of HPAC to examine the effect of glycation on the binding of three second-generation sulfonylurea drugs and one third-generation sulfonylurea drug. These …

Analysis Of Free Solute Fractions And Solute-Protein Interactions Using Ultrafast Affinity Extraction And Affinity Microcolumns, Xiwei Zheng

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation describes the use of a high-performance affinity chromatography method based on ultrafast affinity extraction and microcolumns to study biological interactions.

In the first project, a new method was created and based on ultrafast affinity extraction to determine both the dissociation rate constants (k_d) and association equilibrium constants (K_a) for drug-protein interactions in solution. Various conditions to optimize the use of ultrafast affinity extraction for equilibrium and kinetic studies were considered.

The objective of the next portion of this dissertation was to develop a chromatographic approach to measure free drug fractions in more …

Comprehensive Quantification Of Triacylglycerols In Soybean Seeds By Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry With Multiple Neutral Loss Scans, Maoyin Li, Emily Butka, Xuemin Wang

Xuemin (Sam) Wang