Optimization Of Polymer Separation By Gradient Polymer Elution Chromatography,
2013
Purdue University
Optimization Of Polymer Separation By Gradient Polymer Elution Chromatography, Gideon R. Liem, Linda Nien-Hwa Wang
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) has been a versatile separation method for polymers for many years. Analysis of different polymers by HPLC is typically done by utilizing the differential solubility of the polymers by mixing a good solvent and an anti-solvent in various compositions. This method is called Gradient Polymer Elution Chromatography (GPEC). While GPEC has been used extensively, it commonly uses a linear gradient to separate components. Linear solvent gradients consume a lot of solvent and take a relatively long time (> 30 minutes) to complete. The goal of this study is to develop a step gradient from a …
Advanced Visualization Techniques Of Hot-Jet Combustion Of Lean And Ultra-Lean Substances,
2013
Purdue University
Advanced Visualization Techniques Of Hot-Jet Combustion Of Lean And Ultra-Lean Substances, Timothy I. Machin, Li Qiao
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Research has been conducted on ignition of natural gas as a potential replacement for fossil fuels. A reason natural gas is not widely used and adapted is because of the harmful emissions created when combusted in rich mixtures, but if the gas can be burned at a lean or ultra-lean equivalence ratio, these emissions can be reduced or even eliminated. One method of burning lean and ultra-lean substances is by use of hot-jet ignition. This method ignites the substance near its combustion temperature, reducing the harmful emissions. This method is not yet fully understood, and so research must be done …
Dna Based Carbon Nanotube Porphyrin Nanohybrids Molecular Recognization And Regeneration,
2013
Purdue University
Dna Based Carbon Nanotube Porphyrin Nanohybrids Molecular Recognization And Regeneration, Molly M. Riccitelli, Hanyu Zhang, Jong Hyun Choi
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
In the search to improve solar cells, scientists are exploring new materials that will provide better current transfer. One material that has emerged as a strong contender is the single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT). Current DNA-SWNT based films combined with chromophores have poor operational lifetimes compared to commercial solar cells. Once exposed to light the chromophore begins to degrade, eventually rendering the solar cell unusable. To solve this problem, we used a method involving multiple steps. First we found which DNA sequences formed structures around the SWNT that could hold the most chromophores by using a spectrophotometer to test the …
A Generalized Design For Affinity Chromatography Columns,
2013
Purdue University
A Generalized Design For Affinity Chromatography Columns, Lee-Wei Kao, Nien-Hwa Linda Wang
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
In affinity chromatography, an adsorbent with a high selectivity for a target solute is used to isolate the target molecule from other impurities. With sufficient selectivity, the target molecule can be isolated in a highly purified and concentrated state. Common applications of affinity chromatography include Protein A chromatography for antibody purification and Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC) for protein purification. The well-known design method based on constant-pattern mass transfer zone analysis does not apply to small feed batches, which are insufficient to form constant-pattern frontal waves. Other literature design methods rely on simulation or experimental trials that can be time-consuming …
Non-Mass Transfer Limited Crystal Growth,
2013
Purdue University
Non-Mass Transfer Limited Crystal Growth, Ryan J. Smyth, Caitlin Schram, Stephen P. Beaudoin
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
There are many different active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that have been discovered in research labs all around the world that can be used to treat and cure patients with a variety of different ailments. The challenge with these APIs in treatments is that they are not soluble in water, thus they low absorption into the blood stream (bio-availability). The key to making these APIs more bio-available is to understand how they grow as crystals and drop out of the aqueous solutions. One of the ways these APIs were made more bio-available is to render them amorphous and suspend them in …
Synthesis And Characterization Of Bismuth Telluride Nanoparticles For Use In Flexible Polymer-Nanoparticle Hybrid Thermoelectric Devices,
2013
Purdue University
Synthesis And Characterization Of Bismuth Telluride Nanoparticles For Use In Flexible Polymer-Nanoparticle Hybrid Thermoelectric Devices, Alexander R. Muller, Bryan Boudouris, Edward P. Tomlinson
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Polymer-based thermoelectric materials, which can have readily-tuned properties through simple control of their chemistry, offer the promise of providing flexible, lightweight, and low-cost modules for the environmentally-friendly conversion of waste heat to electricity without the need for moving parts. As such, they have started to be explored in applications ranging from improved building efficiency to increased mileage in automobiles. However, widespread implementation of these materials is limited due to their low performance relative to their mechanically-rigid, heavy inorganic material-based counterparts. Therefore, a critical need exists to design polymer-nanoparticle composite materials to increase the energy conversion of thin film thermoelectric devices. …
Multi-Factorial Stability Study Of Metabolites,
2013
Purdue University
Multi-Factorial Stability Study Of Metabolites, Ruijun Zheng, John A. Morgan
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Previous research done on metabolites has found that high energy compounds like adenosine triphosphate(ATP), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced (NADPH) or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide reduced (NADH) are unstable in cell extracts at relatively high temperature and acidic condition. The multifactorial stability study of metabolites enables us to verify the best condition of storage for these energy compounds and sugar phosphates, as well as to strengthen the understanding of metabolism in biological study. As the most solvents for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are acidic and unfavorable for these energy compounds, it is necessary to perform a detailed study about …
Tobacco Mosaic Virus Implemented As An Interfacial Layer In Organic Photovoltaic Cells,
2013
Purdue University
Tobacco Mosaic Virus Implemented As An Interfacial Layer In Organic Photovoltaic Cells, Monica D. Del Real, Bryan Boudouris
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are flexible, light weight, and economical to produce due to low processing temperatures, solution processing, and print fabrication. This makes them optimal for a wide range of applications. However, the efficiencies of OPVs are currently not high enough for them to be viable in the market or to be able to compete with inorganic photovoltaics. Therefore the integration of new materials and methods into OPVs in order to increase their efficiency is a vital field. One way to increase the efficiency of OPVs is to increase the surface area in-between layers to allow for enhanced electron transport. …
Experimental Study Of Co2 Recycling Using Metal-Oxide Enhanced Coconut Char Gasification: Catalytic Effect Of Potassium Carbonate On Gasification,
2013
Purdue University
Experimental Study Of Co2 Recycling Using Metal-Oxide Enhanced Coconut Char Gasification: Catalytic Effect Of Potassium Carbonate On Gasification, Mengqi Gao, Indraneel Sircar, Jay P. Gore
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Biomass gasification is an important process in the production of bio-derived fuels and renewable energy. Biomass gasification with CO2 is an endothermic process requiring high temperatures, resulting in low process-efficiency. Metals found in the ash in biomass feedstock have shown rate-promoting effects on the C-CO2 reaction and have motivated the study of low-temperature catalytic gasification. The present study investigates the catalytic effects of potassium (K) on the biomass gasification reactivity of a coconut-derived char (>99.9% carbon) within the temperature range of 600 – 1000 oC. A wet-impregnation technique is used to prepare K-treated chars. Gasification of …
Database For Solar Energy Group,
2013
Purdue University
Database For Solar Energy Group, Lei Zhong, Rakesh Agrawal
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) is the abundant quaternary semiconducting compound which could be used to make solar thin film. Even though its efficiency is lower than the silicon based film, the cost of CZTS solar film will be lower compared to the current silicon based film. Therefore it is really worth to do research and make improvement on its efficiency. So far, the solar energy group already collected a great bunch of data, which could be employed to guide the future experiment. Hence, it is really necessary to build a database to arrange the information we got. Our project …
Biomarkers For Vincristine-Induced Neuropathy,
2013
Purdue University
Biomarkers For Vincristine-Induced Neuropathy, Danni Li, Jayachandran Devaraj, Doraiswami Ramkrishna
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Vincristine is a vinca alkaloid, a commonly used chemotherapy drug for treating leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and some pediatric cancers. Its major dose-limiting side effect is peripheral neuropathy. The current dosing of “standard-dose-for-all” ignores the genetic and phenotypic variations among different patients, and causes severe neuropathy in some patients while ineffectively treats the others. In the present study, we aim to discover novel biomarkers involved in vincristine-induced neuropathy and identify patients with varied metabolic characteristics. Thus treatment can be tailored accordingly to improve outcomes of vincristine treatment. Pre-dose and post-dose serum samples were collected from two groups of patients (low …
Adhesive Elastomeric Proteins,
2013
Purdue University
Adhesive Elastomeric Proteins, Haefa Mansour, Julie Liu
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Sutures and staples commonly used to close surgical wounds tend to be much stiffer than the surrounding tissue, often resulting in external tissue damage. Surgical adhesives provide a promising alternative to these sutures and staples. Ideal surgical adhesives are biocompatible, able to set well and remain sticky in moist conditions, possess strong adhesive and cohesive properties, and exhibit mechanical properties that mimic those of the surrounding tissue. Unfortunately, the adhesives available today are unable to satisfactorily meet all of these criteria. We are utilizing protein engineering techniques to design, create, and test a new surgical adhesive that combines the adhesive …
Photolithography In Fabrication Of Thin-Film Solar Cells,
2013
Purdue University
Photolithography In Fabrication Of Thin-Film Solar Cells, Yusheng Zhu, Rakesh Agrawal
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Solar energy has steadily increased its efficiency and cost-effectiveness throughout the past three decades and seems poised to compete with current primary energy (natural gas, oil, coal) as the need for alternative energy sources rises. One type of solar cell, thin-film cells, often relies on use of permanent photomasks in order to imprint a pattern onto the front metal contact. However, these machined metal masks are rigid and do not allow for different designs to be explored as current masks encounter difficulties in machining grids thin enough for optimization. Photolithography, traditionally used in the microfabrication field, provides a method in …
Solvent Selection For Liquid-Liquid Extraction Of Acetic Acid From Biomass Hydrolysate,
2013
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Solvent Selection For Liquid-Liquid Extraction Of Acetic Acid From Biomass Hydrolysate, Emma A. Barber, Mahdieh Aghazadeh, Abigail Engelberth
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Biofuels are one of the most hopeful alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. However, the processing and production of biofuels needs improvement to be economically competitive in the current market. One drawback is the presence of naturally occurring compounds that decrease the bioethanol production rate and yield; these are called inhibitors. A resolution to this problem is to remove the inhibitors from biomass fermentation broth prior to fermentation. This project examined liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) for removal of acetic acid, a major inhibitor. Initially, a stock solution of glucose, xylose, acetic acid, and water was combined with an additional organic solvent …
Characterization Of The Saturation Level Of Nucleosome Arrays And Plasmids By Mnase Digestion,
2013
Purdue University
Characterization Of The Saturation Level Of Nucleosome Arrays And Plasmids By Mnase Digestion, Wenjie Liu, Nathan Nurse, Chongli Yuan
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Studying processes involving DNA such as DNA replication and transcription is best done in the context of chromatin because the structure of DNA influences the efficiency of such processes. Chromatin structure is derived from DNA wrapping around histone octamers with the histone octamer density termed saturation level. For in vitro studies on DNA replication and transcription, it is important to maintain a constant saturation level so that saturation level can be removed as a variable. Our goal is to characterize the saturation level of plasmids using the rate of MNase digestion. MNase digestions were first performed on reconstituted nucleosome arrays …
In Situ Study Of The Role Of Substrate Temperature During Atomic Layer Deposition Of Hfo2 On Inp,
2013
University of Texas at Dallas
In Situ Study Of The Role Of Substrate Temperature During Atomic Layer Deposition Of Hfo2 On Inp, H. Dong, Santosh Kc, X. Qin, B. Brennan, S. Mcdonnell, D. Zhernokletov, C. Hinkle, J. Kim, K. Cho, R. Wallace
Faculty Publications
The dependence of the “self cleaning” effect of the substrate oxides on substrate temperature during atomic layer deposition (ALD) of HfO2 on various chemically treated and native oxide InP (100) substrates is investigated using in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The removal of In-oxide is found to be more efficient at higher ALD temperatures. The P oxidation states on native oxide and acid etched samples are seen to change, with the total P-oxide concentration remaining constant, after 10 cycles of ALD HfO2 at different temperatures. An (NH4)2 S treatment is seen to effectively remove native oxides and passivate the InP surfaces …
Design And Preparation Of A Ni Steam Reforming Catalyst,
2013
Brigham Young University
Design And Preparation Of A Ni Steam Reforming Catalyst, Phillip R. Smith, Dr. Calvin H. Bartholomew
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Steam reforming catalysts play an essential role in the production of hydrogen, which is an essential fuel, feedstock, and reactant in the worldwide chemical industry. These steam reforming catalysts use a finely dispersed metal, supported on a porous ceramic material, to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbon sources. This is shown in reaction 1, where HC denotes hydrocarbon, H2O denotes water, H2 denotes dihydrogen, CO denotes carbon monoxide, CO2 denotes carbon dioxide, and CH4 denotes methane.
Determining Biomass Particle Properties Via Digital Imaging,
2013
Brigham Young University
Determining Biomass Particle Properties Via Digital Imaging, Justin Scott, Dr. Larry Baxter
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Understanding the devolatilization and combustion of biomass (sawdust, agricultural waste, etc.) will lead to better use of this renewable fuel source. The overall goal of the project is to write a computer model that can accurately predict what will occur during biomass combustion. The research conducted over the past year has focused on developing an apparatus capable of determining the needed data for model development. The apparatus, once completed, will consist of an entrained flow reactor, an optical measurement system, and a computer algorithm to process the needed data from the images.
Polymers Functioning As Artificial Muscles,
2013
Brigham Young University
Polymers Functioning As Artificial Muscles, Nicholas Stanonis, William Pitt
Journal of Undergraduate Research
Current research in the field of polymers has led to the development of synthetic muscles that function similar to biological muscles. Scientists have engineered polymers to contract up to one thousand times their original volume when exposed to changes in light, temperature, voltage, or pH. The ability to contract and relax makes these polymers ideal artificial muscles. Currently, artificial muscles are being applied in the field of robotics. NASA is in the process of developing a dust wiper for their planetary rovers that operates with an artificial muscle. A common goal that many scientists are working towards is the implementation …
Black Liquor Pyrolysis,
2013
Brigham Young University
Black Liquor Pyrolysis, Jarom D. Webster, Dr. Thomas H. Fletcher
Journal of Undergraduate Research
The black liquor recovery boiler is the largest and most expensive piece of equipment in a modern pulp mill. Inside this boiler, black liquor is burned to produce electricity for the mill and also to recover spent chemicals. Black liquor combustion occurs in three stages: drying, pyrolysis, and char combustion. Understanding black liquor pyrolysis is an important step to controlling and improving the efficiency of the recovery boiler.
