Digital Commons Network^™

Il-6 Regulation On Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Remodeling During Cancer Cachexia In The ApcMin/+ Mouse, James P. White, Melissa J. Puppa, Shuichi Sato, Song Gao, Robert L. Price, John W. Baynes, Matthew C. Kostek, Lydia E. Matesic, James A. Carson

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Muscle protein turnover regulation during cancer cachexia is being rapidly defined, and skeletal muscle mitochondria function appears coupled to processes regulating muscle wasting. Skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and the expression of proteins regulating mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics are disrupted in severely cachectic Apc^Min/+ mice. It has not been determined if these changes occur at the onset of cachexia and are necessary for the progression of muscle wasting. Exercise and anti-cytokine therapies have proven effective in preventing cachexia development in tumor bearing mice, while their effect on mitochondrial content, biogenesis and dynamics is not well understood. The purposes of …

Inhibition Of Pokeweed Antiviral Protein (Pap) By Turnip Mosaic Virus Genome-Linked Protein (Vpg), Artem V. Domashevskiy, Hiroshi Miyoshi, Dixie J. Goss

Publications and Research

Pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) from Phytolacca americana is a ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) and an RNA N-glycosidase that removes specific purine residues from the sarcin/ricin loop of large rRNA, arresting protein synthesis at the translocation step. PAP is also a cap-binding protein and is a potent antiviral agent against many plant, animal, and human viruses. To elucidate the mechanism of RNA depurination, and to understand how PAP recognizes and targets various RNAs, the interactions between PAP and turnip mosaic virus genomelinked protein (VPg) were investigated. VPg can function as a cap analog in cap-independent translation and potentially target PAP to uncapped …

Development Of Novel Organocatalytic Cascade Reactions And Application In Organic Systheses, Xixi Song

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

The development of new catalytic reactions, particularly synthetically efficient cascade processes for the facile preparation of important molecular architectures, which otherwise are difficult to access via traditional methods, is of considerable significance. Toward this end, my Ph.D. work focuses on developing new organocatalytic reactions and their applications in organic syntheses. A novel direct organocatalytic stereoselective α-arylation methodology has been discovered. The cross-coupling-like products are assembled using simple enals and various brominated aromatic systems, such as p-bromophenols, bromonaphthols and 3-bromoindoles. The products have been applied in the concise photo-syntheses of [α]-annulated carbazoles. Moreover, an unexpected reaction has been identified with aliphatic …

A Proposed Palladium-Catalyzed Cycle For The Epoxidation Of Alkenes, Marie Vernell Parkes

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Epoxides are an important chemical functional group, used in a wide variety of processes, from the small-scale production of pharmaceuticals to the large-scale production of propylene oxide. Current methods for production of epoxides require costly multi-step syntheses that use toxic or explosive reagents, result in low yields, and produce co-products that must be removed and often disposed. The development of an atom-efficient general method, preferably catalytic, for converting alkenes to epoxides using safe, cheap, and readily available molecular oxygen as the stoichiometric oxidant would be a great advance in both industrial and academic chemistry. Presented here is a proposed catalytic …

The Synthesis And Structural Characterization Of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Having Catalytic Applications, Stacey Janel Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Nanotechnology is blossoming into one of the premiere technologies of this century, but the key to its progress lies in developing more efficient nanosynthesis methods. Variations in synthetic technique, however, can cause variations in size, structure, and surface characteristics, thereby altering the physical properties and functionality of the particles. Careful structural characterizations are thus essential for understanding the properties and appropriate applications for particles produced by new synthetic techniques.In this work, a new ‘solvent-deficient’ method is presented for the synthesis of an unprecedentedly wide range of metal oxide nanomaterials including at least one metal oxide from each group in Groups …

Production Of Bioactive Secondary Metabolites By Florida Harmful Bloom Dinoflagellates Karenia Brevis And Pyrodinium Bahamense, Cheska Burleson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the critical role algae serve as primary producers, increases or accumulation of certain algae may result in Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Algal toxins from these blooms contribute significantly to incidences of food borne illness, and evidence suggests HABs are expanding in frequency and distribution. Mitigation of these HABs without knowledge of the ecological purpose and biochemical regulation of their toxins is highly unlikely. The production, function, and potential of secondary metabolites produced by the dinoflagellates Karenia brevis and Pyrodinium bahamense, were investigated.

Brevetoxins were demonstrated by two different methods to localize within the cytosol of Karenia brevis. …

Interaction Of Human Telomeric Dna With N-Methyl Mesoporphyrin Ix, John Michael Nicoludis , '12, Steven Paul Barrett , '13, J.-L. Mergny, Liliya A. Yatsunyk

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

The remarkable selectivity of N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM) for G-quadruplexes (GQs) is long known, however its ability to stabilize and bind GQs has not been investigated in detail. Through the use of circular dichroism, UV-visible spectroscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) melting assay we have shown that NMM stabilizes human telomeric DNA dAG(3)(TTAG(3))(3) (Tel22) and is selective for its parallel conformation to which it binds in 1:1 stoichiometry with a binding constant of similar to 1.0 x 10(5) M-1. NMM does not interact with an antiparallel conformation of Tel22 in sodium buffer and is the second example in the …

Halogen Activation Via Interactions With Environmental Ice And Snow In The Polar Lower Troposphere And Other Regions, J. P. D. Abbatt, J. L. Thomas, K. Abrahamsson, Chris Boxe, A. Granfors, A. E. Jones, M. D. King, A. Saiz-Lopez, P. B. Shepson, J. Sodeau, D. W. Toohey, C. Toubin, R. Von Glasow, S. N. Wren, X. Yang

Publications and Research

The role of ice in the formation of chemically active halogens in the environment requires a full understanding because of its role in atmospheric chemistry, including controlling the regional atmospheric oxidizing capacity in specific situations. In particular, ice and snow are important for facilitating multiphase oxidative chemistry and as media upon which marine algae live. This paper reviews the nature of environmental ice substrates that participate in halogen chemistry, describes the reactions that occur on such substrates, presents the field evidence for ice-mediated halogen activation, summarizes our best understanding of ice-halogen activation mechanisms, and describes the current state of modeling …

Recovery Of Sensitive Watersheds In The Northeastern United States From Chronic Acidification: The Role Of Soil Chemistry, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Understanding How The Platinum Anticancer Drug Carboplatin Works: From The Bottle To The Cell, Anthony J. Di Pasqua, Jerry Goodisman, James C. Dabrowiak

Chemistry - All Scholarship

Carboplatin, a platinum anticancer drug used to treat many types of human cancer, contains a bidentate dicarboxylate chelate leaving ligand, a structural feature that makes it much less chemically reactive than the first-generation platinum anticancer drug cisplatin, which contains two monodentate chloride leaving ligands. In water, carboplatin exists in a monomer-dimer equilibrium with an association constant of K (M ^-1) ≈ 391, a property that accounts for the long-term stability of its ready-to-use infusion solution. When administered in the clinic, carboplatin is believed to exert its biological effects by interacting with genomic DNA and proteins. The slower substitution kinetics …

Understanding How The Platinum Anticancer Drug Carboplatin Works: From The Bottle To The Cell, Jerry Goodisman, James C. Dabrowiak, Anthony J. Di Pasqua

Chemistry - All Scholarship

Carboplatin, a platinum anticancer drug used to treat many types of human cancer, contains a bidentate dicarboxylate chelate leaving ligand, a structural feature that makes it much less chemically reactive than the first-generation platinum anticancer drug cisplatin, which contains two monodentate chloride leaving ligands. In water, carboplatin exists in a monomer–dimer equilibrium with an association constant of K (M⁻¹) ≈ 391, a property that accounts for the long-term stability of its ready-to-use infusion solution. When administered in the clinic, carboplatin is believed to exert its biological effects by interacting with genomic DNA and proteins. The slower substitution kinetics …

6-Hydroximino-4-Aza-A-Homo-Cholest-3-One And Related Analogue As A Potent Inducer Of Apoptosis In Cancer Cells, Yanmin Huang, Jianguo Cui, Qiaoxia Zheng, Chun Zeng, Quan Chen, Aimin Zhou

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Here we report that 6-hydroximino-4-aza-A-homo-cholest-3-one and 6-hydroxyl-4-aza-A-homo-cholest-3-one, new steroidal lactams were synthesized recently, displayed antiproliferative activity against some cancer cells through inducing cancer cell apoptosis by activation of the intrinsic pathway. The apoptotic function of the compounds was demonstrated by release of cytochrome C, activation of caspase 3 and annexin V labeling. Furthermore, the compound was able to inhibit tumor growth in an athymic mouse model.

Characterization Of Polymeric Phthalocyanine Nanoparticles Using Dynamic Light Scattering Laser, Satish Kumar Murarishetty

All Capstone Projects

The objective of this study is to use DLS (Dynamic Light Scattering) to analyze polymeric copper phthalocyanine nanoparticles (CuPcNPs). CuPcNPs are synthesized in order to facilitate drug penetration of bacterial biofilms for the treatment of chronic wounds. Microorganisms that reside inside the biofilms of chronic wounds are very resistant to any kind of treatment, even to the host’s own immune system. Therefore we have proposed an alternative method to destroy the microorganisms existing within the biofilms. Photodynamic anti-bacterial chemotherapy (PACT) has received much attention for the past decade due to the multi-drug resistant strands. PACT uses photons, a photosensitizer, and …

Nano Encapsulated Drug Delivery For Biofilms, Arunakanth Chavala

All Capstone Projects

Biofilms are now considered ubiquitous in the natural world. Bacterial biofilms have been observed to be extremely heterogeneous, both structurally and with regard to the physiology of the bacterial cells within them. The prevailing conceptual model depicts bacterial biofilms as being made up of microcolonies, which serve as the basic unit of the greater biofilm structure. A major concern with this approach is the frequently observed development of resistance to antimicrobial compounds. A number of elements in the process of biofilm formation have been studied as targets for novel drug delivery technologies. The present study aimed to penetrate biofilm by …

Nanoparticlated Drug Delivery System For Vitreous Humor, Kartheek K. Suragoni

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to develop a unique nanoparticulated system that has the capability of providing sustained drug delivery into the eyes. In ophthalmic preparations, poor ocular drug delivery of ocular dosage form is due to the production of tears and impermeability through corneal epithelium. The usage of liposomes in ophthalmic disorders shows promising results in ocular drug delivery. Liposomes are bilayered, microscopic vesicles surrounded by the aqueous compartments. Liposomes have the ability to encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. This unique property of liposomes helps in delivering the drug at specific site. This invention involves three major …

Nih Shift Literature Search, Nicole Owens

All Capstone Projects

The NIH shift is a chemical shift of substituents in aromatic hydroxylation reactions. The substituents that undergo this shift are hydrogen, halogens, acyl and alkyl groups. It is an important aspect that is a requirement in the hydroxylation of aromatic compounds by monooxygenase enzymes.

The NIH shift or the National Institute of health shift gets its name from the founders of this mechanism. The National Institute of Health was the first to observe this phenomenon in there studies and are the first to report this chemical shift.

Directed Catalytic Asymmetric Hydroboration Of 1,1-Disubstituted Alkenes, Mohammad Odeh Bani Khaled

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Since the beginning of catalytic asymmetric hydroboration (CAHB) in 1989, many new approaches have been developed. Developing an efficient method of catalytic asymmetric hydroboration to produce useful chiral organoboranes is still a challenge due to limited success with a small range of substrates. Typically, effective CAHB requires the presence of vinylarene moiety or a particular substitution pattern around the alkene. One area of research in the Takacs group has been to expand this substrate scope by incorporating two-point binding to direct the reaction to one regioisomer selectively. CAHB of two-point binding substrates in the presence of simple chiral monophosphite and …

Multidentate Resorcinarene Surfactants For The Phase Transfer Of Metal Nanoparticles And Nanodiamonds: Applications In Catalysis And Diamond Film Growth, Vara Prasad Sheela

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

One main objective of the present work is to functionalize cuboctahedral platinum nanoparticles with various multidentate resorcinarene surfactants and study their influence in determining their catalytic activity. We hypothesized that catalytically active and recyclable catalysts can be achieved by incomplete yet strong passivation of the nanoparticle surfaces by using multidentate resorcinarene surfactants. We have developed phase transfer protocols for functionalizing cuboctahedral platinum nanoparticles with resorcinarene thiol or amine. Fluorescence assay confirmed that both these nanoparticles contained almost comparable unpassivated metal area. The activity of such phase transferred nanoparticles was tested in the catalytic hydrogenation of allyl alcohol. The conversion of …

Identification Of Persistent Long Range Interactions In GA95 And GB95 Through Thermal Unfolding Simulations, Milen Redai Tesfamariam

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

For over five decades, different experiments have been performed to research how proteins attain their native three dimensional structures. However, the folding problem continues to be a puzzle in modern science. The design of two proteins that have maximal sequence identity but different folds and functions is one method that is being used to study the relationship between protein structure and amino acid sequence. In particular, mutant proteins of Streptococcus protein G, G_A and G_B, have 95% sequence identity and a 3a helix fold and β4/a fold, respectively. Molecular dynamics simulations of G_A95 …

Hrc Enews — 2012 Summer, Megan M. Iudice

Publications (HRC)

This issue contains staff accomplishments and announcements, event listings, and a "new faces" listing for new staff, affiliates, and researchers.

Novel Methods For The Synthesis Of Septanose Sugars/Extended Ring Systems From Hexose Sugars, Nada Khan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Spectroscopic Characterization Of Dissolved Organic Matter: Insights Into Composition, Photochemical Transformation And Carbon Cycling, John Robert Helms

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores processes affecting the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and how DOM composition changes in sunlit surface waters and in the dark interior ocean. Simulated solar irradiations were used to investigate the impact of photochemistry on terrestrial waters and deep ocean DOM. The photochemically mediated processes observed in Dismal Swamp samples included (i) light induced flocculation of up to 12% of the organic matter and 84% of the dissolved iron originally present; (ii) 74-88% mineralization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and 95-99% bleaching of chromophoric DOM (CDOM) during 110 days of irradiation; and (iii) nearly complete loss …

Anti-Neoplastic Activity Of Two Flavone Isomers Derived From Gnaphalium Elegans And Achyrocline Bogotensis, Christan M. Thomas, Robert C. Wood Iii, Jarrett E. Wyatt, Morgan H. Pendleton, Ruben D. Torrenegra, Oscar E. Rodriguez, Sam Harirforoosh, Maria Ballester, Janet Lightner, Koyamangalath Krishnan, Victoria P. Ramsauer

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Over 4000 flavonoids have been identified so far and among these, many are known to have antitumor activities. The basis of the relationships between chemical structures, type and position of substituent groups and the effects these compounds exert specifically on cancer cells are not completely elucidated. Here we report the differential cytotoxic effects of two flavone isomers on human cancer cells from breast (MCF7, SK-BR-3), colon (Caco-2, HCT116), pancreas (MIA PaCa, Panc 28), and prostate (PC3, LNCaP) that vary in differentiation status and tumorigenic potential. These flavones are derived from plants of the family Asteraceae, genera Gnaphalium and Achyrocline …

Preparation And Characterization Of Prussian Blue Modified Nanoelectrode, Wei Wang, Bao-Fa Su, Dong-Ping Zhan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Pt nanoelectrodes were fabricated by using a laser-based pipet puller and the recessed nanoelectrodes were prepared by etching of disk Pt nanoelectrodes wtih high frequency ac voltage. Prussian blue microcrystal was synthesized electrochemically on the both disk and recessed Pt nanoelectrodes. The strength of mechanical adhesion for the Prussian blue microcrystal on the nanoelectrode was enhanced. A novel method for the controllable synthesis of single particle is proposed, which has potential applications in modified electrodes and single particle electrocatalysis.

On The Molecular Mechanism Of Electron Transfer Of Cytochrome C Modulated By Gold Nanoparticles In Nano-Sandwich Architecture, Shou-Rui Lin, Li-Xu Wang, Xiu-E Jiang, Li-Ping Guo

Journal of Electrochemistry

The effects of adsorbed gold nanoparticles on the surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) difference spectra of redox-induced cytochrome (Cyt) c in AuNPs/Cyt c/Au sandwich architecture were monitored by SEIRA spectroscopy. The results indicated that the intensity of SEIRA difference spectrum for the vibration of the heme was significantly increased due to the adsorption of gold nanoparticles on the Cyt c. This was induced by the electron transfer between the heme and the gold nanoparticles, which also promoted electron transfer of adsorbed protein. This study suggested a new technique for optimizing the electrochemical property of adsorbed protein.

Protonization Of Amino Functional Groups Confined In Nanochannels, Hong-Li Gao, Kai-Lin Zhou, Chen Wang, Su-Juan Li, Hui Zhang, Xing-Hua Xia

Journal of Electrochemistry

Protonization process is the key step of acid-base reaction and occurs in many biological processes. Study of the protonization process of molecules and/or functional groups in confined conditions would assist understanding in the acid-base theory and confinement effect of biomolecules. In this paper, we developed a novel approach to study protonization of functional groups in porous anodic alumina array nanochannels by measuring the flux of electrochemical active probes using an Au film electrochemical detector sputtered at the end of the nanochannels. The protonization status of the surface functional groups in nanochannels can change the surface charges and further modulate the …

An Overview Of Electrode Materials In Microbial Fuel Cells, Su-Qin Ci, Na Wu, Zhen-Hai Wen, Jing-Hong Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are devices that can directly convert organic chemical energy into electrical energy with microbial as catalysts. MFCs are a promising bio-electrochemical system with the potential to degrade organic sewage and produce electricity. This article supplies a critical and comprehensive review for the electrode materials concerning about anode and cathode in MFCs, including the fabrications, functional modifications and surface constructions of electrode materials, as well as their applications in MFCs. Additionally, the existing problems of electrode materials in current MFCs have been demonstrated in order to provide the guideline for exploring the next-generation electrode materials for MFCs.

Unleashing A “True” Pser-Mimic In The Cell, Kaushik Panigrahi, David L. Nelson, David B. Berkowitz

David Berkowitz Publications

In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Arrendale and coworkers demonstrate a new prodrug strategy for intracellular delivery of an α, α-(difluoromethylene)phosphonate phosphoserine mimic. The deprotected pseudo-phosphopeptide releases the pro-apoptotic FOXO3a-transcription factor from its 14-3-3-adaptor protein complex, resulting in leukemic cell death.

Microwave-Assisted Polystyrene Sulfonatecatalyzed Synthesis Of Novel Pyrroles, Rosario Astrid Vargas Cardenas, Blanca Olinda Quintanilla Leal, Ashwini Reddy, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Bimal K. Banik

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Background: Pyrroles are widely distributed in nature and important biologically active molecules. The reaction of amines with 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran is a promising pathway for the synthesis of pharmacologically active pyrroles under microwave irradiation.

Results: Microwave-induced polystyrenesulfonate-catalyzed synthesis of pyrroles from amines and 2,5- diemthoxytetrahydrofuran has been accomplished with excellent yield. This method produces pyrroles with polyaromatic amines.

Conclusion: The present procedure for the synthesis of N-aromatic substituted pyrroles will find useful application in the area of pharmacologically active molecules.

Design And Synthesis Of Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitor Scaffolds, David B. Badger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many currently relevant diseases such as cancer arise from altered biological pathways that rely on protein-protein interactions. The proteins involved in these interactions contain certain functional domains that are responsible for the protein's biological activities. These domains consist of secondary structural elements such as α-helices and Β-sheets which are at the heart of the protein's biological activity. Therefore, designing drugs that inhibit protein-protein interactions by binding to these key secondary structural elements should provide an effective treatment for many diseases. Presented in this dissertation are the designs, syntheses, and biological evaluations for both novel α-helix and novel Β-sheet mimics.

The …