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Natural Amino Acid Derived Iron (Iii) Catalysts For Green Oxidation Chemistry Applications, Karie Sanford

Theses and Dissertations

Tetraamido macrocyclic ligand activators are a group of catalysts that have been developed to perform green oxidation chemistries. In this thesis, the traditional synthesis of these catalysts was successfully altered to begin with natural amino acids, rather than the conventionally used synthetic derivatives of amino acids, which has never been shown in previous research. This was confirmed using a variety of characterization techniques including electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. One of these catalysts was utilized in several dye degradation studies, where it was determined that the catalyst can remove about 98% of methylene blue and indigo carmine pollutants from water within 45 …

Ramie (Boehmeria Nivea): An Underutilized Plant For A Multipurpose Industrial Application; A Perennial Plant With Protein Identification Using Maldi-Ms, A Biosorbent For Hg (Ii) Removal From Water And As A Bast Fiber Production Via Enzymatic Degumming, Abdul Rashid Issifu

Master's Theses

Identifying plant species that can offer life support to humans and animals without damaging the environment is quite challenging. Ramie, one of the oldest fiber crops was studied due to its nutritional value as fodder and other multipurpose applications in, e.g., medicinal, environmental, and textile industrial fields.

With a brief discussion of background in Chapter I, Chapter II focused on using a proteomic method to investigate unknown proteins in the leaves of ramie and to study their benefits to the biological system. PPiase and RuBisCO with molecular weight 15 and 52 KDa were identified as the proteins after peptide mass …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Peroxisome Biogenesis Initiated By Protein Phase Separation, Zhenghao Zhang, Lydia Kisley

Faculty Scholarship

Peroxisomes are organelles that carry out β-oxidation of fatty acids and amino acids. Both rare and prevalent diseases are caused by their dysfunction. Among disease-causing variant genes are those required for protein transport into peroxisomes. The peroxisomal protein import machinery, which also shares similarities with chloroplasts, is unique in transporting folded and large, up to 10 nm in diameter, protein complexes into peroxisomes. Current models postulate a large pore formed by transmembrane proteins; however, so far, no pore structure has been observed. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the minimum transport machinery includes the membrane proteins Pex13 and Pex14 and …

Optimizing Photosystem I And Plastocyanin Isolation To Develop A Photosystem I-Catalyst System For Photochemical Hydrogen Production, Angelina Vuong

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Over the course of many years, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) have formed in large amounts in the atmosphere, which has contributed to global warming. Global warming can lead to extreme weather conditions or have an impact on living organisms, for example, wildfires, droughts, limited amount of food sources, and respiratory issues from pollution. This is mainly due to the use of burning fossil fuel as an energy source, which emits greenhouse gases into the air and traps heat into the atmosphere. Thus, the aim of this study is to assemble and characterize a system …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Ionic Liquid Solvents As Potential Therapeutic Agents To Help Alleviate Disease Caused By The Formation Of Insoluble Plaque Or Depositions, Sundus Alchaar

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Many diseases are caused or worsened by the formation of insoluble aggregates inside the human body, most of which are currently treated by maintenance medication or surgery. Biocompatible Ionic Liquids (ILs) have been explored for use as therapeutic agents, and are also excellent solvents, due to their versatile physical and chemical properties. The aim of this project was to conduct a preliminary exploration of the use of ILs to dissolve different types of depositions, such as kidney stones and crystal-induced arthropathies, and plaques. An imidazolium-based IL and four biocompatible choline amino acid-based ILs ([Ch][AA]-ILs) were synthesized, which are 1-methyl-3-butyl-methylimidazolium iodide …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Small Community Water Systems Have The Highest Prevalence Of Mn In Drinking Water In California, Usa, Miranda Aiken, Samantha C. Ying

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Manganese (Mn) is currently regulated as a secondary contaminant in California, USA; however, recent revisions of the World Health Organization drinking water guidelines have increased regulatory attention of Mn in drinking water due to increasing reports of neurotoxic effects in infants and children. In this study, Mn concentrations reported to California’s Safe Drinking Water Information System were used to estimate the potentially exposed population within California based on system size. We estimate that between 2011 and 2021, over 525,000 users in areas with reported Mn data are potentially exposed to Mn concentrations exceeding the WHO health-based guideline (80 μg L …

Structure-Guided Mutagenesis Reveals The Catalytic Residue That Controls The Regiospecificity Of C6-Indole Prenyltransferases, Ahmed R. Aoun, Nagaraju Mupparapu, Diem N. Nguyen, Tae Ho Kim, Christopher M. Nguyen, Zhengfeiyue Pan, Sherif I. Elshahawi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Indole is a significant structural moiety and functionalization of the C−H bond in indole-containing molecules expands their chemical space, and modifies their properties and/or activities. Indole prenyltransferases (IPTs) catalyze the direct regiospecific installation of prenyl moieties on indole-derived compounds. IPTs have shown relaxed substrate flexibility enabling them to be used as tools for indole functionalization. However, the mechanism by which certain IPTs target a specific carbon position is not fully understood. Herein, we use structure-guided site-directed mutagenesis, in vitro enzymatic reactions, kinetics and structural-elucidation of analogs to verify the key catalytic residues that control the regiospecificity of all characterized regiospecific …

Improvements To Isru For Rocket Fuel Generation, Justin Sharp

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The development of efficient in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies is crucial for the establishment of an extraterrestrial, self-sustaining colony. The generation of rocket fuel at potential colony locations is necessary to provide the transportation of people and cargo to and from these locations.Three processes are discussed for the improvement of ISRU methods to generate rocket fuel: electrolysis and electrochemical improvements to the process of crude fuel production, physical and chemical methods for separation of gaseous H2 and O2, and materials and cryogenics engineering for storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX). Storage and transportation of cryogenics …

Assessing The Possibility And Properties Of Types I And Ii Chalcogen Bonds, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Type I and II halogen bonds are well-recognized motifs that commonly occur within crystals. Quantum calculations are applied to examine whether such geometries might occur in their closely related chalcogen bond cousins. Homodimers are constructed of the R1R2C=Y and R1R2Y monomers, wherein Y represents a chalcogen atom, S, Se, or Te; R1 and R2 refer to either H or F. A Type II (T2) geometry wherein the lone pair of one Y is closely aligned with a σ-hole of its partner represents a stable arrangement for all except YH2, although not all such structures are true minima. The symmetric T1 …

Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Multiplexing Detection Of Proteins In Solutions, Hallie Feldman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Influenza virus infected over 36 million people in 2019, whereas the COVID-19
virus caused a deadly pandemic that has infected over 700 million people to date. Both viruses share a magnitude of similar symptoms, which presents a key challenge for the need of a highly sensitive and selective biosensors that can simultaneously detect the specific biomarkers for each of these viruses. This work focuses on developing a Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based biosensor for detecting protein biomarkers related to the two viruses such as H1N1 and S- protein. Gold nanoparticles are used for SERS signal amplification. The objective of …

Photodynamic Therapy Agents: The Power Of Mjöllnir To Eradicate Cancer, Sidney M. Hopper

Honors College Theses

After its discovery back in the 1900s, photosensitizers became a critical study for potential treatments and cures for medical issues, including cancer. It was discovered that porphyrins appeared to target and accumulate in proliferating cells, and to reach the cells, a certain wavelength of light with maximum absorbance associated with the porphyrin was necessary to achieve cell death. Photodynamic therapy involves making use of porphyrins or metalloporphyrins as activators when exposed to such light. When activated, these compounds generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as HO- or O2-, which can react with nucleic acids found in DNA and RNA. In …

Functionalized Nanoprobes For Multiplexed Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Detection Of Cancer Biomarkers, Sydney D. Hakimi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cancer has a huge impact on people across the world. In 2020, there were about 19.3 million cancer cases and approximately 10 million deaths globally. Early detection and diagnosis of cancer results in a higher rate of survival of the disease. A key challenge is the need for a highly sensitive technique for early cancer detection. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and scattering (SERS) is a technique that can address the challenge by detecting biomarkers such as Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and Neuron-specific enolase (NSE), which provide diagnostic information for assessing cancer detection. This work focuses on the use of gold nanoprobes conjugated …

Utilization Of Cellulose Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria And Yeast (Scoby) With Sweet Tea Media As Methylene Blue And Brilliant Green Biosorbent Material, Leonard Mateus Sigiro, Ahmad Maksum, Donanta Dhaneswara

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

The cellulose from Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) can be used as a biosorbent for dye adsorption, such as Methylene Blue and Brilliant Green. This study used sweet tea with a 6% of sugar concentration and 14 days of fermentation time to synthesize biosorbent material from SCOBY. The results from this synthesis are then characterized using FTIR, SEM, and BET. From the result of characterization, it was found that SCOBY has pores formed from cellulose. The results of the average pore size are 1.5976nm with a pore volume of 0.229cc/g, while the specific surface area is 143.244m2/g. The …

Enhancing Compatibility And Mechanical Properties Of Natural Rubber Composites, Krisma Yessi Sianturi, Adam Febriyanto Nugraha, Belle Kristaura, Mochamad Chalid

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Pure natural rubber (NR) exhibits low mechanical properties, necessitating the incorporation of additives like vulcanizing agents and fillers. Carbon black and silica, conventional fillers, are relatively expensive and not environmentally friendly. This study explores using Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) fiber as an affordable, abundant, and biodegradable alternative filler for NR. However, compatibility issues arise between the nonpolar NR and the polar OPEFB fiber. A latex-starch hybrid coupling agent (CA (NR-St)) was added to the composite formulation to address this. NR, OPEFB fiber, and the coupling agent were mixed using an open roll mill with a 10 phr OPEFB …

Crystal Chemistry, Optic And Magnetic Characterizations Of A New Copper Based Material Templated By Hexahydrodiazepine, Mansoura Bourwina, Rawia Msalmi, Sandra Walha, Mark M. Turnbull, Thierry Roisnel, Ahlem Guesmi, Ammar Houas, Naoufel Ben Hamadi, Houcine Naïli

Chemistry

Crystals of the new organic-inorganic material (DAP-H2)[CuBr₄] (1); (DAP = hexahydrodiazepine (C₅H₁₄N₂)) were successfully synthesized by slow evaporation and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, UV-Vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and magnetic measurements. X-ray investigation demonstrates that 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c. The supramolecular crystal structure of 1 is guided by several types of hydrogen bonding which connect anions and cations together into a three-dimensional network. The optical band gap was determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to be 1.78 eV for a direct allowed transition, implying that …

Excitation Power Dependence Of Blinking In Copper-Indium-Sulfide Quantum Dots, Nicholas Chambers

Physics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Under continuous excitation, quantum dots exhibit random transitions between fluorescent ON states and non-fluorescent OFF states --- a phenomenon known as blinking. A physical description of the mechanism responsible for blinking that applies broadly to many types of quantum dots remains under debate. We study the blinking behavior of the non-toxic CuInS2 quantum dot, a system that has seen little investigation at the single-particle level. In particular, the optical properties of CuInS2 quantum are often improved by adding ZnS to the nanoparticles, but this addition leads to complex structural-optical property relationships that are even less understood. To probe the relationship …

Fragment Based Drug Development Based On 6,7-Dimethoxyquinazoline As A Core Scaffold, Cody M. Orahoske

ETD Archive

The work entitled “Fragment Based Drug Design based on 6,7- Dimethoxyquinazoline core structure” presents a unique approach to drug discovery, specifically focusing on the pharmacophore 6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline. This study explores the structural diversity of 6,7-Dimethoxyquinazoline derivatives to identify other pharmacologically relevant targets, with evidence indicating that this core structure possesses intrinsic properties that make it suitable as a base structure of small molecule drugs. Furthermore, this pharmacophore has been observed in various approved therapeutics or drug candidates under investigation, highlighting its importance in drug discovery. My research showcases of 6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline core structure been derivatized to generate an anti-trypanosomiasis drug candidates and …

Characterizing Metabolic Activity Of Fish Liver Microsomes Towards Fluoxetine In Four Fish Species Using Michaelis-Menten Enzyme Kinetics, Morgan Steiner

Honors College Theses

Discharge of pharmaceuticals into the environment is of emergent concern due to the unknown long-term effects on aquatic organisms. Wastewater treatment plants are not effective in completely removing pharmaceuticals, allowing them to be discharged into aquatic systems. To investigate the potential effects of fluoxetine, a common antidepressant, on aquatic species, the potential of four freshwater fish species to metabolize this drug was investigated. Livers from redbreast sunfish, bluegill, striped jumprock and bluehead chub were collected, homogenized, and centrifuged to collect the microsomes. These microsomes were used in an assay to determine the in vitro hepatic metabolism of fluoxetine by cytochrome …

Mechanisms Of Formation Of Novel Guanine-Guanine Cross-Links As Major End Products During One-Electron Oxidation Of Guanine Derivatives, Evan Dunn

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Guanine (G), as the most oxidizable base in DNA, is the major focus of studies of oxidation damage to DNA. The present thesis reports the first detailed characterization of G dimerization products potentially resulting from recombination of neutral G• radicals. Previous research has discovered a novel type of products of G• dimerization, D1 and D2, formed from one-electron oxidation of G derivatives. However, the mechanism of this dimerization remains elusive. While there appears to be a tautomeric equilibrium between two forms of G•, G(N₁-H)• or G(N₂-H)•, it remains unclear which intermediate participates in the formation of …

Combining Chiral Chromatographic Stationary Phases And N-Derivatization Strategies For The Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of D-Amino Acids, D-Amino Acid Containing Peptides And D-Amino Acid Related Secondary Metabolites Using Liquid Chromatography, Sam Sung

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Amino acids are essential building blocks in all life on Earth. It was first mistakenly believed that only L-amino acids were of biological relevance in higher organisms, and D-amino acids were laboratory artifacts or biologically irrelevant. It is well accepted today that various D-amino acids exist in different organisms, including humans, and some even play critical roles in biological pathways and processes. In addition, aberrant levels of certain D-amino acids have been reported in patients with varying diseases. It has been proposed that the aberrant variations in the levels of D-amino acids in biological fluids may serve as biomarkers for …

Analysis Of Isotopic Isomers By Gas Chromatography And Molecular Rotational Resonance Spectroscopy And Enantioselective Method Development By Liquid Chromatography, Saba Aslani

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation focuses on developing improved methods and a better understanding of gas and liquid chromatographic separation of isotopic isomers and enantiomers. The second and third chapters of this thesis discuss analytical determination of isotopic isomers using gas chromatography. Deuterated compounds have found applications in many fields. They are used in drug discovery due to increased stability and bioavailability and reduced toxicity of the deuterated drug molecules. Also, deuterated compounds are used to investigate reaction mechanisms and rate determining steps. One of the methods of synthesizing deuterated compounds is starting from lower molecular weight deuterated building blocks. Therefore, analysis and …

Epimeric Peptides In Alzheimer’S Disease: Implications For Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry And Immunotherapies, Elizabeth Readel

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

Evidence has shown that the extracellular deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide is a contributing factor of Alzheimer’s disease. Further, modifications to Aβ peptides may enhance the deposition of Aβ plaques and/or contribute to the neurodegeneration in AD patients. These aberrations include the isomerization and epimerization of L-Asp and D-Ser residues to form D-Asp, L/D-iso-Asp, and D-Ser residues, respectively. Therefore, considerable effort has been expended to create effective methods to distinguish such aberrant Aβ peptides from wild type. A useful technique to extract aberrant Aβ peptides in AD patients is by immunotherapies, or antibodies. A few immunotherapies are thought to provide …

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Acute Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis, Annette Bellar, Nicole Welch, Jaividhya Dasarathy, Amy Attaway, Ryan Musich, Avinash Kumar, Jinendiran Sekar, Saurabh Mishra, Yana I. Sandlers, Et. Al

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Background: Patients with acute alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) have immune dysfunction. Mitochondrial function is critical for immune cell responses and regulates senescence. Clinical translational studies using complementary bioinformatics-experimental validation of mitochondrial responses were performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with AH, healthy controls (HC), and heavy drinkers without evidence of liver disease (HD).
Methods: Feature extraction for differentially expressed genes (DEG) in mitochondrial components and telomere regulatory pathways from single-cell RNAseq (scRNAseq) and integrated 'pseudobulk' transcriptomics from PBMC from AH and HC (n = 4 each) were performed. After optimising isolation and processing protocols for functional studies in …

Developing Chemo-Proteomics Methods For Tyrosine Conjugation And Studies Of Organometallic Complexes Of Gold., Adway Ouseph Zacharias

Chemistry & Biochemistry Dissertations - Archive

The incredible changes in MS instrumentation since the late 1980s with the advent of electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) has revolutionized protein chemistry. Mass spectrometry coupled with chemical crosslinking is a powerful tool to decipher protein structure and protein-protein interactions. A majority of commercially available crosslinkers target only few amino acid residues such as lysine, arginine and cysteine, thereby limiting the utility of this technology. The prospect of using chemical reagents to target amino acids is challenging since covalent labeling experiments are performed under physiological aqueous conditions that may be detrimental to the stability of these reagents. …

Development Of Nonorthogonal Wavefunction Theories And Application To Multistate Reaction Processes., Emily Kempfer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many prominent areas of technological development rely on exploiting the photochemical response of molecules. An application of particular interest is the control of molecular switches through a combination of different external stimuli. However, despite significant advances in theoretical approaches and numerous cases of successful application of theory, simulating photochemical reactions remains a computational challenge. Theoretical methods for describing excited states can be broadly divided into single-reference response methods and multireference methods. Single reference methods provide reliable semiquantitative results for single excitations. However, these methods cannot describe double-excited states, systems with strongly correlated ground states, or regions of degeneracy on the …

An Investigation Of Peak Shape Models In Chiral Separations, Ryan Jacob Burk

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses - Archive

The use of superficially porous particles in chromatography has led to significant improvements in separation efficiency. However, peak asymmetry in enantiomeric separations causes performance comparisons across particle types a challenge. In this study, we screened 28 pharmaceutically relevant compounds and developed practical methods to reduce peak asymmetry in normal phase chiral chromatography. The use of additives was found to be effective in reducing peak tailing for all compounds, including neutrals. Additionally, we observed that solvent mismatch with the eluent can cause system peak interference, which can be managed by reducing injection volumes. To more accurately assess the performance of the …

Detection Of Acetaminophen In Groundwater By Laccase-Based Amperometric Biosensors Using Mos2 Modified Carbon Paper Electrodes, Marcela Herrera-Domínguez, Koun Lim, Iris Aguilar-Hernández, Alejandra García-García, Shelley D. Minteer, Nancy Ornelas-Soto, Raúl Garcia-Morales

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The use of enzyme-Based biosensors for the detection and quantification of analytes of interest such as contaminants of emerging concern, including over-the-counter medication, provides an attractive alternative compared to more established techniques. However, their direct application to real environmental matrices is still under investigation due to the various drawbacks in their implementation. Here, we report the development of bioelectrodes using laccase enzymes immobilized onto carbon paper electrodes modified with nanostructured molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). the laccase enzymes were two isoforms (LacI and LacII) produced and purified from the fungus Pycnoporus sanguineus CS43 that is native to Mexico. a commercial purified enzyme …

Studies Of The Reaction Of Rongalite With Epoxides, Anuj Aryal

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Reactions between Rongalite (Na⁺O^-SOCH₂OH) and epoxides were studied with the aim of developing new synthetic routes for the procurement of sulfone diols. This class of compounds contains essential building blocks in the construction of sulfur heterocycles, which have been implied in the development of several medicinal compounds. Thus far, the desired diols have not been isolated. During control experiments with bromo alcohols, an unknown product was isolated but remains to be identified.