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Detoxification Of Mitochondrial Oxidants And Apoptotic Signaling Are Facilitated By Thioredoxin-2 And Peroxiredoxin-3 During Hyperoxic Injury, Benjamin J. Forred, Darwin R. Daugaard, Brianna K. Titus, Ryan R. Wood, Miranda J. Floen, Michelle L. Booze, Peter F. Vitiello

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mitochondria play a fundamental role in the regulation of cell death during accumulation of oxidants. High concentrations of atmospheric oxygen (hyperoxia), used clinically to treat tissue hypoxia in premature newborns, is known to elicit oxidative stress and mitochondrial injury to pulmonary epithelial cells. A consequence of oxidative stress in mitochondria is the accumulation of peroxides which are detoxified by the dedicated mitochondrial thioredoxin system. This system is comprised of the oxidoreductase activities of peroxiredoxin-3 (Prx3), thioredoxin-2 (Trx2), and thioredoxin reductase-2 (TrxR2). The goal of this study was to understand the role of the mitochondrial thioredoxin system and mitochondrial injuries during …

Maternal Inflammation At Mid-Gestation In Pregnant Rats Impairs Fetal Muscle Growth And Development At Term, C. N. Cadaret, K. A. Beede, E. M. Merrick, T. L. Barnes, J. D. Loy, D. T. Yates

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Low birth weight resulting from preterm birth and/or IUGR is an underlying factor in 60–80% of perinatal death worldwide, and is particularly common in developing countries (UNICEF, 2008). Furthermore, studies have linked IUGR and the associated fetal malnutrition to increased incidence of metabolic syndrome in adult life (Barker et al., 1993; Godfrey and Barker, 2000). The “thrifty phenotype hypothesis” developed by David Barker (Hales et al., 1991) states that IUGR-associated fetal malnutrition forces the fetus to spare nutrients by altering tissue-specific metabolism in order to survive. In …

A Parapoxviral Virion Protein Targets The Retinoblastoma Protein To Inhibit Nf-Κb Signaling, Ponnuraj Nagendraprabhu, Sushil Khatiwada, Sabal Chaulagain, Gustavo A. Delhon, Daniel L. Rock

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Poxviruses have evolved multiple strategies to subvert signaling by Nuclear Factor κB (NF-κB), a crucial regulator of host innate immune responses. Here, we describe an orf virus (ORFV) virion-associated protein, ORFV119, which inhibits NF-κB signaling very early in infection (≤30 min post infection). ORFV119 NF-κB inhibitory activity was found unimpaired upon translation inhibition, suggesting that virion ORFV119 alone is responsible for early interference in signaling. A C-terminal LxCxE motif in ORFV119 enabled the protein to interact with the retinoblastoma protein (pRb) a multifunctional protein best known for its tumor suppressor activity. Notably, experiments using a recombinant virus containing an ORFV119 …

การคัดกรองและการประยุกต์เครื่องหมายไมโครแซทเทลไลท์เพื่อการวิเคราะห์ความหลากหลายทางพันธุกรรมของนกกระเรียนพันธุ์ไทย Grus Antigone Sharpii Blanford, 1895 ในสภาพกรงเลี้ยง, รังสินี สันคม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Grus antigone sharpii จัดเป็นนกกระเรียนที่เคยสูญพันธุ์ไปจากธรรมชาติของประเทศไทย การเพาะเลี้ยงและขยายพันธุ์นกกระเรียนในกรงเลี้ยงเป็นขั้นตอนสำคัญที่สามารถเพิ่มจำนวนประชากรเพื่อนำไปปล่อยคืนสู่ธรรมชาติในอนาคตได้ โดยสิ่งสำคัญที่ต้องคำนึงถึงคือความหลากหลายทางพันธุกรรม โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งในกลุ่มของพ่อแม่พันธุ์ตั้งต้น ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อคัดกรองเครื่องหมายไมโครแซทเทลไลท์จำนวน 28 ตำแหน่ง ซึ่งเป็นไพรเมอร์ที่เคยใช้ศึกษาในนกกระเรียน G. americana และนกกระเรียน Anthropoides paradisea เพื่อใช้วิเคราะห์ความหลากหลายทางพันธุกรรมของนกกระเรียนพันธุ์ไทยจากสวนสัตว์เปิดเขาเขียว (KKOZ, n = 11) และสถานีวิจัยเพาะเลี้ยงนกน้ำบางพระ (BB, n = 17) จังหวัดชลบุรี ผลการศึกษาพบว่าไพรเมอร์ทั้ง 28 คู่สามารถเพิ่มปริมาณไมโครแซทเทลไลท์ดีเอ็นเอของนกกระเรียนพันธุ์ไทยได้ แต่มีเพียง 22 คู่ที่แสดงความเป็น polymorphism และมีตำแหน่งไมโครแซทเทลไลท์ที่ปรากฏค่า linkage disequilibrium 8 ตำแหน่ง การเบี่ยงเบนออกจากสมดุล Hardy-Weinberg พบที่โลคัส Gram8 และ Gpa38 ซึ่งเป็นผลมาจาก null allele และการเพิ่มขึ้นของอัลลีลแบบ heterozygous ตามลำดับ จากการวิเคราะห์ค่าความหลากหลายทางพันธุกรรมพบว่า ค่าเฉลี่ยของ expected และ observed heterozygosity มีค่าเท่ากับ 0.63 และ 0.69 ค่า inbreeding coefficient มีค่าเท่ากับ -0.100 ซึ่งแสดงว่านกกระเรียนมีความหลากหลายทางพันธุกรรมค่อนข้างสูง และเกิด inbreeding น้อย นอกจากนี้ยังพบว่านกกระเรียนจาก KKOZ และ BB มีความแตกต่างทางพันธุกรรมต่ำ (FST = 0.035) และไม่มีการแยกออกเป็นกลุ่มประชากรย่อย (K = 1) จากผลการศึกษาครั้งนี้บ่งบอกได้ว่านกกระเรียนพันธุ์ไทยจาก 2 พื้นที่การศึกษาน่าจะเหมาะสมที่จะใช้เป็นพ่อแม่พันธุ์เพื่อเพิ่มจำนวนประชากรในกรงเลี้ยงให้มากขึ้น และสามารถนำไปปล่อยคืนสู่พื้นที่ชุ่มน้ำตามธรรมชาติในอนาคตได้

Differential Precipitation And Solubilisation Of Proteins, Barry J. Ryan, Gemma K. Kinsella

Books/Book Chapters/ Proceedings

Differential protein precipitation is a rapid and economical step in protein purification and is based on exploiting the inherent physicochemical properties of the polypeptide. Precipitation of recombinant proteins, lysed from the host cell, is commonly used to concentrate the protein of choice before further polishing steps with more selective purification columns (e.g., His-Tag, Size Exclusion, etc.). Recombinant proteins can also precipitate naturally as inclusion bodies due to various influences during overexpression in the host cell. Although this phenomenon permits easier initial separation from native proteins, these inclusion bodies must carefully be differentially solubilized so as to reform functional, correctly folded …

Biochemical And Molecular Assessment Of Toxicity Of Primaquine Metabolites On Erythrocytes, Jagrati Jain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 8-aminoquinoline (8AQ) antimalarial drug primaquine (PQ) is the only drug for prevention of malaria relapse. Moreover, PQ also has gametocytocidal activity against Plasmodium falciparum. However, clinical use of PQ has been limited due to its hemolytic toxicity, especially in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient (G6PDd) individuals. Phenolic and quinone metabolites generated via cytochrome P450-dependent pathways appear to be responsible for hemolytic effects of PQ. However, the mechanism for the hemolytic toxicity of PQ is still poorly understood. To explore the mechanism, targets, and pathways for toxicity of PQ, normal and G6PDd human erythrocytes were treated with the potential hemotoxic metabolites of …

Nucleic Acid Clamp-Mediated Transcriptional And Translational Modulation Of Oncogenes Via The Stabilization Of G-Quadruplexes, Taisen Hao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are non-canonical secondary nucleic acid structures that exit in various biologically important regions within a cell, such as the promoters of DNA, 5’-Untranslated regions (UTR) of mRNA and telomeres. These secondary structures tend to cluster around 1 kb from transcriptional start sites across all human chromosomes in addition to at telomeric regions. Extensive efforts from many research groups have been dedicated to targeting G4s in oncogenic promoters, telomeres, and 5’-UTRs with traditional small molecules. However, most small molecules recognizing multiple G4s raising potential issues in terms of utilizing these small molecules clinically. Therefore, we developed a novel nucleic …

Contribution Of Specific Amino Acids To Calcium-Dependent Dimerization Of Epithelial Cadherin, Xiaoyun Z. Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cadherins are calcium-dependent molecules that play essential roles in embryonic development, tissue morphogenesis, and cancer progression. Epithelial (E-) cadherin is present at adherens junctions, structures that are important for maintaining tissue integrity. At adherens junctions, cell–cell adhesion complexes are formed as clusters of cadherin dimers through strand-swapped dimerization between two interacting protomers from adherent cells. Recently, a number of studies of dimer formation of E-cadherin supported a two-step adhesive binding model. First, an inter-molecular initial encounter complex (X-dimer) forms at the linker region of the first two extracellular domains, EC1 and EC2. Next, strand-swap dimerization occurs via exchange or ''swap'' …

The Maculoprotective Effect Of A Thiol Antioxidant In Retinal Degeneration Models, Hsiu-Jen Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness among adults, age 60 and older, in developed countries. While oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of AMD, clinical studies have shown that dietary antioxidants can delay progression of AMD. Currently, there is no FDA-approved treatment for AMD. Therefore, we hypothesized that N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA), a thiol antioxidant, would protect retinal pigment epithelium and impede the progression of retinal degeneration. The goal of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of NACA in preventing retinal pigment epithelial cell and photoreceptor death in AMD models. To achieve this, we …

Biochemical, Structural, And Drug Design Studies Of Norovirus And Zika Virus Proteases, Ben Kuiper

Wayne State University Dissertations

Noroviruses, which are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis, cause an estimated 677 million infections and 213,000 deaths each year worldwide. Noroviruses are classified into seven genogroups (GI-GVII); GI, GII, and GIV have been shown to be infectious in humans. However, GII noroviruses cause the majority of outbreaks (89%). No pharmacologic treatment or vaccine currently exists to treat or prevent norovirus infections.

Recently, the development of a norovirus replicon system, a murine model of norovirus infection, and the development of a biochemical protease assay have allowed for the design and development of norovirus inhibitors. However, the replicon and biochemical assay …

Patholigical And Prognostic Role Of Mdig In Pancreatic Cancer, Srinivas Ashok Kumar

Wayne State University Theses

Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignant disease having very limited therapeutic options that ultimately results in its poor prognosis. It is still elusive on the etiology and tumorigenic mechanisms of pancreatic cancer. In the present report, we provide evidence showing involvement of the mineral dust-induced gene (mdig) in the pathogenesis and prognosis of the pancreatic cancer. Using immunohistochemistry approach on human pancreatic cancer tissue microarray, we found differential expression of mdig in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and normal pancreas. Based on the staining intensities of mdig in these tissue samples, we found that 12% of the cancer tissues were strongly positive …

The Effect Of Acetylation Of Cytochrome C On Its Functions In Prostate Cancer, Viktoriia Bazylianska

Wayne State University Theses

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in America. The progression of cancer goes along with the Warburg effect, a metabolic switch from depending primarily on mitochondrial respiration to glycolysis. In addition, cancer cells manage to evade apoptosis. Cell signaling, via posttranslational modifications (PTMs), is one of the most important means of regulation, and most commonly dysregulated in cancer. In prostate cancer, androgen signaling plays a crucial role in driving cell proliferation.

Mammalian Cytochrome c (Cytc) is a multifunctional protein involved in cellular life and death decision. It is an essential component of the electron …

Fam129b, A Novel Adherent Junction Protein, Forms A Complex With Keap1, Fatme Ali Hachem

Wayne State University Theses

FAM129B/Minerva, a protein implicated in melanoma cell invasion, has been shown to suppress TNFα induced apoptosis in cancer cells (Song, Evans & Evans (2010), JBC 286, 10201-09), thus contributing to the survival of metastatic cells. KEAP1, a substrate recognition molecule for the CUL3 E3 ubiquitin ligase, plays a central role in the activation of the TNFα pathway. We wish to test the hypothesis that the up-regulation of FAM129B in cancer cells suppresses apoptosis by sequestering KEAP1, thus preventing its participation in the apoptotic pathway. The first step is to demonstrate that FAM129B and KEAP1 form a complex. We have cloned …

Development Of Student Data Visualization Tool, Adaption Of Clostridium Difficile Toxin A Into Protein Delivery Vehicle, And Elucidation Of Tcdc Mechanism Of Toxin Control, Adam Boyden

Wayne State University Theses

Advancing student success in higher education is of paramount importance, and is in need for a tool that visualizes student data in a longitudinal manner. Student Circos plots achieve this by plotting student data in circular plots, depicting the timeline and grades for students selected by demographic or performance information. Cellular delivery of exogenous proteins is a bountiful area of research. However, most current systems have limited in vivo applications and most lack cellular specificity. By adapting Toxin A from Clostridium difficile, the goal was to create a cell specific protein delivery vehicle that would be robust in vivo. However, …

Human Cytomegalovirus Cytoplasmic Virion Assembly Complex: Structure In Vivo And Role Of Pul103 In Its Biogenesis, Ma Christina Raye Lim

Wayne State University Theses

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a linear, double stranded DNA virus that causes severe disease in the immunocompromised, and is one of the common cause of congenital disease. Antivirals that are currently available for treatment target the DNA replication of the virus cycle, and are highly toxic. Finding new drug targets, such as proteins responsible for virion assembly and egress, would help to alleviate the disease burden.

HCMV remodels the host cell to form a structure called the cytoplasmic virion assembly complex (cVAC), a site of virion maturation and egress. The first objective of this work is to study the structure …

Determination Of The Direct Protein-Protein Interactions In The Drosophila Sin3a Complex, Ian Moore

Wayne State University Theses

The proteins that comprise the Drosophila SIN3 220 and SIN3 187 complexes are currently known. Limited information with regard to interacting complex member proteins has been described. Much of these data are results of high-throughput investigations, and there have been no studies done to reconstitute all direct interactions within the complex. The unique C-terminal region of the SIN3 220 isoform was used to test for interactions with other complex proteins using the bacterial expression system. Additionally, the region of Caf1-55 necessary for interaction with SIN3 in vivo was identified using a truncation mutant. The results of this work identified novel …

Differential Activation Of Dead Box Rna Helicases Rhlb And Rhle By Hfq/Srnas And Their Target Mrnas, Amit Kumar

Wayne State University Theses

Number of small RNA (sRNA) gene regulators have mounted in E. coli over the years whereas the number of validated protein partners has not changed considerably. Hfq has remained the only well studied global regulatory partner of sRNAs in E. coli. However, direct or indirect involvement of other protein partners has always been speculated. Study from Blasi lab has shown that CsdA, one of the five DEAD-box RNA helicases of E. coli, is required for the DsrA mediated upregulation of rpoS under cold stress condition. Previous study from our lab has identified two other DEAD-box RNA helicases, RhlB and RhlE, …

Fam129b Phosphorylation And Its Effect On Membrane Localization In Confluent Hela Cells, Lakshmi Thompil Somasekharan

Wayne State University Theses

Phosphorylation and de-phosphorylation of many proteins is a key regulator of cellular life. It maintains cellular activity through an array of signaling pathways like cell division, proliferation and growth. However, Overexpression or mutations by the constitutive activation of phosphorylation machinery disrupt the balance in the cell, driving the inappropriate activation or deactivation of the cellular processes it controls. FAM129B is a protein whose activity is partly maintained by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation at the six serine residues at the C-terminal. FAM129B is expressed highly in many forms of cancer and its main function is to suppress apoptosis and enhances cancer cell …

Design, Synthesis And Analysis Of Potential Photo-Activatable Cathepsin K Inhibitors, Khalin Evania Nisbett

Wayne State University Theses

Abstract

DESIGN, SYNTHESIS AND ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL PHOTO-ACTIVATABLE CATHEPSIN K INHIBITORS

by

KHALIN NISBETT

May 2017

Advisor: Dr. Jeremy Kodanko

Major: Chemistry

Degree: Master of Science

Tightly regulated cysteine CA proteases play a major role in maintaining the homeostasis within cells. Subsequently, when these proteases are dysregulated and mislocalized they disrupt healthy cell dynamics and contribute to many life-threatening pathologies such arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis and cancer. As such many pharmaceutical companies and research teams are highly interested in these proteases as targets. One emergent strategy is the spatiotemporal control of biological processes. In relation to this, a series of spatiotemporally controlled …

Elucidating Structure, Function, And Small Molecular Interactions Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Chikungunya Virus, Kristin Nicole Slater

Wayne State University Theses

Abstract HIV-1:

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is a widespread, incurable retrovirus known to cause

immunodeficiency and a shortened life span. Despite successful treatment methods, HIV-1

frequently mutates, resulting in antiviral resistance. Many therapies target the HIV-1 protease

(PR), which is responsible for cleaving the viral polyprotein essential for its life cycle. HIV-1 PR

often evades treatment by way of mutations and less commonly through residue insertions. We

have identified a clinical isolate with a five residue insertion between residues 28 and 29.

Through molecular dynamics simulations we analyzed the protease protein structure and

determined that the residue insertion created a …

Primate Proteomic Composition Of Seminal Plasma And Prostate-Specific Transglutaminase Activity In Relation To Sexual Selection., Amanda M.C. Zielen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humans (Homo sapiens), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) have diverse mating systems with varying levels of sperm competition. Several seminal plasma genes have been claimed to evolve under positive selection, while others are altered or lost. This study aims to identify biologically relevant differences among seminal plasma proteomes of primates in relation to mating systems and previous genomic studies. Seminal plasma from three individuals of each species were run in triplicate in shotgun liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and confirmed with Western blots. Over 7,000 peptides were identified across all …

Modeling The Binding Of Neurotransmitter Transporter Inhibitors With Molecular Dynamics And Free Energy Calculations, Bernandie Jean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The monoamine transporter (MAT) proteins responsible for the reuptake of the neurotransmitter substrates, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, are drug targets for the treatment of psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Small molecules that inhibit these proteins can serve as useful therapeutic agents. However, some dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitors, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, are highly addictive and abusable. Efforts have been made to develop small molecules that will inhibit the transporters and elucidate specific binding site interactions. This work provides knowledge of molecular interactions associated with MAT inhibitors by offering an atomistic perspective that can guide …

Molecular Modeling Of Novel Tryptamine Analogs With Antibiotic Potential Through Their Inhibition Of Tryptophan Synthase, Jared Schattenkerk

CMC Senior Theses

The growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a global health crisis that threatens the effectiveness of antibiotics in medical treatment. Increases in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and a drop in the pharmaceutical development of novel antibiotics have combined to form a situation that is rapidly increasing the likelihood of a post-antibiotic era. The development of antibiotics with novel enzymatic targets is critical to stall this growing crisis. In silico methods of molecular modeling and drug design were utilized in the development of novel tryptamine analogs as potential antibiotics through their inhibition of the bacterial enzyme tryptophan synthase. Following the …

Transcriptional Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Atrophy-Induced Gene Expression By Muscle Ring Finger-1 And Myogenic Regulatory Factors, Karina Marie Kakareka

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Skeletal muscle wasting occurs as a corollary of numerous physiological conditions, including denervation, immobilization, and aging. The E3 ubiquitin ligases MuRF1 and MAFbx are induced under nearly all atrophy conditions and are believed to play a key role in protein degradation. Data in this thesis provides interesting new evidence that MuRF1 may also act as a transcriptional modulator of atrophy-induced genes or atrogenes. The transcriptional regulation of MuRF1 and MAFbx were characterized using a reporter gene system and exhibited repressed activity in C₂C₁₂ cells overexpressing MuRF1. Furthermore, ectopic expression of the myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs), MyoD and …

Toward Biochemical Conversion Of Lignocellulose On-Farm: Pretreatment And Hydrolysis Of Corn Stover In Situ, Alicia A. Modenbach, Sue E. Nokes, Michael D. Montross, Barbara L. Knutson

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

High-solids lignocellulosic pretreatment using NaOH followed by high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis was evaluated for an on-farm biochemical conversion process. Increasing the solids loadings for these processes has the potential for increasing glucose concentrations and downstream ethanol production; however, sequential processing at high-solids loading similar to an on-farm cellulose conversion system has not been studied. This research quantified the effects of high-solids pretreatment with NaOH and subsequent high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis on cellulose conversion. As expected, conversion efficiency was reduced; however, the highest glucose concentration (40.2 g L^-1), and therefore the highest potential ethanol concentration, resulted from the high-solids combined pretreatment …

Sex Differences In The Subjective Effects Of Oral Δ9-Thc In Cannabis Users, Jessica S. Fogel, Thomas H. Kelly, Philip M. Westgate, Joshua A. Lile

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Previous studies suggest that there are sex differences in endocannabinoid function and the response to exogenous cannabinoids, though data from clinical studies comparing acute cannabinoid effects in men and women under controlled laboratory conditions are limited. To further explore these potential differences, data from 30 cannabis users (N=18 M, 12 F) who completed previous Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) discrimination studies were combined for this retrospective analysis. In each study, subjects learned to discriminate between oral Δ⁹-THC and placebo and then received a range of Δ⁹-THC doses (0, 5, 15 and a “high” dose of …

Metabolic Reprogramming Of Human Lung Cancer Cells And Ex Vivo Tissues Revealed By Uhr-Ftms Analysis Of Small Amino And Carboxyl Metabolites, Ye Yang

Theses and Dissertations--Toxicology and Cancer Biology

Studies were carried out to understand how human lung cancer cells and human ex vivo lung cancer tissues that are metabolically reprogramed compared with analogous non-cancer cells or non-cancer tissues. A Stable isotope resolved metabolomics (SIRM) approach was used to fulfill this aim by employing ¹³C, ²H or ¹⁵N labeled metabolic precursors like ¹³C₆-Glc, ¹³C₂-Gly, ²H₂-Gly, ²H₃-Ser, ¹³C₅, ¹⁵N₂-Gln to trace the flow of the labeled atoms into the down stream metabolic network. NMR and mass spectrometry are two …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Amide Linked Triazolyl Glycolipids As Molecular Hydrogelators And Organogelators, Guijun Wang, Anji Chen, Hari P. R. Mangunuru, Jayasudhan Reddy Yerabolu

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Carbohydrate based small molecular gelators are important classes of compounds which can form useful soft materials with many practical applications. Although many different types of effective gelators have been reported, the rational design of a molecular hydrogelator is still challenging. In this research, we combined the structural features of two classes of monosaccharide based molecular gelators and obtained a new class of glycolipids that can function as molecular gelators. These new compounds were synthesized by introducing a triazole functional group to a protected 2-glucosamine through Cu(i) catalyzed azide/alkyne cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC). A series of eighteen new glycolipids containing 4,6-O …

Using Low-Coherence Interferometry To Monitor Cell Invasion In An In-Vitro Model System, Behnaz Davoudi Nasab

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In an optically random system, such as naturally occurring and man-made media, light undergoes pronounced multiple scattering. This phenomenon has shown a remarkable potential in characterizing complex materials. In this regime, scattering occurs from each individual center of the scattering and independent scattering events lead to multiple light scattering. This phenomenon is often described as a random walk of photons and can be modeled in terms of a diffusion equation based on the radiative transfer theory. In this thesis, we used optical path-length spectroscopy (OPS), which is an experimental method to obtain the path-length probability density of the propagating light …

Micro-Spectroscopy Of Bio-Assemblies At The Single Cell Level, Jeslin Kera

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this thesis, we investigate biological molecules on a micron scale in the ultraviolet spectral region through the non-destructive confocal absorption microscopy. The setup involves a combination of confocal microscope with a UV light excitation beam to measure the optical absorption spectra with spatial resolution of 1.4 μm in the lateral and 3.6 μm in the axial direction. Confocal absorption microscopy has the benefits of requiring no labels and only low light intensity for excitation while providing a strong signal from the contrast generated by the attenuation of propagating light due to absorption. This enables spatially resolved measurements of single …