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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry

Polymeric Monolithic Stationary Phases For Capillary Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography Of Small Molecules, Kun Liu Jan 2014

Polymeric Monolithic Stationary Phases For Capillary Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography Of Small Molecules, Kun Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Highly cross-linked monoliths prepared from single cross-linking monomers were found to increase surface area and stability. Therefore, seven cross-linking monomers, i.e., 1,3-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,3-BDDMA), 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,4-BDDMA), neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate (NPGDMA), 1,5-pentanediol dimethacrylate (1,5-PDDMA), 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate (1,6-HDDMA), 1,10-decanediol dimethacrylate (1,10-DDDMA), and 1,12-dodecanediol dimethacrylate (1,12-DoDDMA), were used to synthesize highly cross-linked monolithic columns in 75-µm i.d. capillaries by one-step UV-initiated polymerization using dodecanol and methanol as porogens for reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) of small molecules. Selection of porogen type and concentration was investigated in detail. Isocratic elution of alkylbenzenes at a flow rate of 300 nL/min was conducted for all of …


Collisional Dynamic Elements Of The Pyrazine - N2o System:Middle And Low J States, La Moyne Tyler Mix Jan 2014

Collisional Dynamic Elements Of The Pyrazine - N2o System:Middle And Low J States, La Moyne Tyler Mix

Theses and Dissertations

Unimolecular reactions based on the Lindemann - Hinchelwood mechanism are important to understanding combustion and atmospheric processes. The main feature of this mechanism is the energy transfer probability distribution function, P(E',E). We have chosen to study P(E',E) through gas phase collisional dynamics probed with IR transient absorption spectroscopy. Post-collision absorption line widths for the pyrazine-N2O system are used to calculate lab frame translational temperatures. The translational temperatures reveal that collisions with large rotational energy transfer also transfer large amounts of translational energy. For J states >47 the relationship is linear indicating a constant impact parameter. Line widths for J=47 through …


Group Via Calcium-Independent Phospholipase A2 Regulates Bcl-Xl Protein Levels In Mice Lung, Sang-Jin Nam Jan 2014

Group Via Calcium-Independent Phospholipase A2 Regulates Bcl-Xl Protein Levels In Mice Lung, Sang-Jin Nam

Theses and Dissertations

With previous indication of the Group VIA phospholipase A2 (iPLA2β) enzyme regulating ER-stress induced apoptosis in β-cells by regulating the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL via alternative splicing, our lab postulated iPLA2β to be utilizing a similar mechanism to regulate apoptosis in mice lung. Our previous lab work has shown implications of lung function compromise in iPLA2β-/- mice, and we speculated the cause to be due altered lung architecture stemming from the attenuation of apoptosis. The western blot analysis in this study suggested that iPLA2β is involved in the regulation of Bcl-xL, but the mRNA ratios of the splice variants suggested that …


Atm, Brca1, And Aurora A: Mechanisms Of G2/M Checkpoint Control In Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Jason Beckta Jan 2014

Atm, Brca1, And Aurora A: Mechanisms Of G2/M Checkpoint Control In Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Jason Beckta

Theses and Dissertations

When cultured in vitro, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) acquire genetic abnormalities that have slowed their therapeutic use. As hESCs have a “leaky” G1/S boundary, the pressure of ensuring genetic integrity falls on the G2/M checkpoint, which can be activated by failed chromosomal decatenation (among other stimuli). It is hypothesized that hESCs have a deficient decatenation checkpoint, but little data supports this. Evidence suggests that the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase controls the G2/M decatenation and DNA damage checkpoints, though previous reports are conflicting on this point. My work demonstrates that inhibition of decatenation activates ATM and arrests hESCs in …


The Cytotoxic Effect Of The Bcl-2 Family Of Proteins In Breast Cancer Cells, Yamileth Chin Jan 2014

The Cytotoxic Effect Of The Bcl-2 Family Of Proteins In Breast Cancer Cells, Yamileth Chin

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death amongst women ages 20 to 59. Despite advancements in cancer therapies, more research is necessary to improve the diagnoses and treatment of several types of breast cancer. Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a commonly utilized anti-cancer drug for various types of solid tumors. However, the molecular mechanism utilized by paclitaxel to induce cell death is still elusive. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that the pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein, BAK (BCL-2 homologous antagonist/killer) plays an important role in paclitaxel-induced cell death. In untreated breast cancer cells, BAK is associated with the anti-apoptotic …


Folate Conjugated Dendrimers For Targeted Anticancer Therapy, Shannon Andrews Jan 2014

Folate Conjugated Dendrimers For Targeted Anticancer Therapy, Shannon Andrews

Theses and Dissertations

Anticancer therapeutics are often limited to suboptimal doses due to their lack of selectivity for tumor cells and resultant damage to healthy tissue. These limitations motivated researchers to develop tumor-specific delivery systems for improved therapeutic efficacy and reduced unintended cytotoxicity. Polyamidoamine dendrimers offer an ideal platform for designing targeted therapeutics with tunable characteristics that optimize pharmacokinetic behavior and targeting specificity. Ligand conjugation to dendrimer provides the biochemical interaction necessary to activate tumor-specific receptors for receptor-mediated endocytosis and effective internalization of polyplexes. Tumor-specific receptors overexpressed in carcinomas, like folate receptor-alpha (FOLRα), are targeted by ligand-conjugated dendrimer to allow enhanced internalization of …


Evolution And Divergence Of The Structural And Physical Properties Of Dna Binding By Methyl-Cytosine Binding Domain Family Members 2 And 3, Jason Cramer Jan 2014

Evolution And Divergence Of The Structural And Physical Properties Of Dna Binding By Methyl-Cytosine Binding Domain Family Members 2 And 3, Jason Cramer

Theses and Dissertations

The studies presented in this dissertation, Evolution And Divergence Of The Structural And Physical Properties Of DNA Binding By Methyl-Cytosine Binding Domain Family Members 2 And 3, pertain primarily to two key epigenetic regulators involved with the biological interpretation of methylated DNA marks. We provide insights into the emergence and evolution of the MBD2 and MBD3 and how those molecular entities influence heritable changes in gene activity. We further provide details regarding the mystery surrounding MBD3 function and the MBD2-mediated capacity of primitive animals to carry out methylation-specific epigenetic mechanisms. In chapter two, we describe the DNA binding properties of …


Synthesis, Characterization, And Application Of High Surface Area, Mesoporous, Stabilized Anatase Tio2 Catalyst Supports, Rebecca Elizabeth Olsen Dec 2013

Synthesis, Characterization, And Application Of High Surface Area, Mesoporous, Stabilized Anatase Tio2 Catalyst Supports, Rebecca Elizabeth Olsen

Theses and Dissertations

Nanomaterials have attracted substantial attention in the area of catalysis due to the unique properties they exhibit such as high surface areas, intricate pore networks and unique morphologies. TiO2 has attracted attention as a catalyst since the discovery of its high photocatalytic activity by Fuishima and Honda in 1972. Given its high thermal stability, low cost, low environmental impact, and versatility, TiO2 is a widely used commercial catalyst and catalyst support. TiO2 is used in many applications such as photocatalysis is also an excellent support material for noble metals in a number of oxidative synthesis and pollution-control reactions. Though TiO2 …


Nonlinear Spectroscopic Investigation Of Adsorption To C-18 Model Stationary Phase, Anthony D. Peterson Dec 2013

Nonlinear Spectroscopic Investigation Of Adsorption To C-18 Model Stationary Phase, Anthony D. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) is a commonly used separation technique in chemistry. Nevertheless, the mechanistic interactions at the molecular level among the eluent, analyte, and the stationary phase are not fully understood. Because of this limited understanding, optimization of the separation must be done experimentally. Learning more about molecular interactions should aid in improving separations. We are currently using second-harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy to investigate how analytes adsorb to the surface. SHG is a spectroscopic technique that produces signal only at places of non-isotropic symmetry; this typically occurs at surfaces. SHG can be used to produce surface isotherms of test …


Formation And Analysis Of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles And Zinc Oxide Hexagonal Prisms And Optical Analysis Of Cadmium Selenide Nanoparticles, Jared M. Hancock Dec 2013

Formation And Analysis Of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles And Zinc Oxide Hexagonal Prisms And Optical Analysis Of Cadmium Selenide Nanoparticles, Jared M. Hancock

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, methods to synthesize ZnO are reported. First, zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized with small amounts of transition metal ions to create materials called dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS). We employed a low temperature sol-gel method that produces ZnO nanoparticles of reproducible size and incorporates cobalt, nickel, and manganese ions into the nanoparticles. Conditions were controlled such that a range of amounts of Co, Ni, and Mn were incorporated. The incorporation was tracked by color changes in the white ZnO powder to blue for Co, green for Ni and yellow for Mn. XRD measurements showed the nanoparticles were on …


Ferritin-Based Photo-Oxidation Of Biomass For Nanoparticle Synthesis, Bioremediation, And Hydrogen Evolution, Oscar Petrucci Dec 2013

Ferritin-Based Photo-Oxidation Of Biomass For Nanoparticle Synthesis, Bioremediation, And Hydrogen Evolution, Oscar Petrucci

Theses and Dissertations

The cell is the basic unit of all living organisms. It is an amazing machine capable of self-replicating, growing, and synthesizing and shuttling thousands of compounds. To perform all of these activities the cell needs energy. The original source of energy for all living beings is the Sun. The energy of the sun is collected by the autotrophs (mostly plants) through photosynthesis and stored in the chemical bonds of carbohydrates and lipids through carboxylic acid intermediates; animals use these compounds to obtain the energy for their cells. Most of the energy extracted by the cell comes from the citric acid …


Obstacles And Solutions To Studying Functional Adhesives Using Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy, Angela Renee Andersen Dec 2013

Obstacles And Solutions To Studying Functional Adhesives Using Vibrational Sum-Frequency Generation Spectroscopy, Angela Renee Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Important aspects of adhesion occur at interfaces, including structures that may be different from those in the bulk materials. However, probing the orientation of molecules in functional adhesives poses a significant challenge because adhesive molecules are always located at a buried interface. The limited penetration depth of surface-specific analysis prohibits the study of buried interfaces using those techniques. The large quantity of bulk molecules relative to the adhesive molecules interacting at the interface results in the bulk signal swamping out adhesive signal in bulk analysis techniques. An interface-specific technique is required to study functional adhesives. One such technique that has …


Investigation Into The Effects Of Pegylation On The Thermodynamic Stability Of The Ww Domain, Sam S. Matthews Dec 2013

Investigation Into The Effects Of Pegylation On The Thermodynamic Stability Of The Ww Domain, Sam S. Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

The covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to a protein surface (known as PEGylation), has been demonstrated to increase the serum half-life of therapeutic proteins by reducing kidney clearance and immunogenicity and by protecting against proteolysis. Theses beneficial effects could be further enhanced if PEGylation consistently increased protein conformational stability (i.e. the difference in free energy between the folded and unfolded states). However, the effects of PEGylation on protein conformational stability are unpredictable; PEGylation has been reported to increase, decrease, or have no effect on the conformational stability of medicinal proteins.This thesis details the results of two studies aimed at …


Size-Based Separation Of Bioparticles Using Planar Nanofluidic Devices, Jie Xuan Sep 2013

Size-Based Separation Of Bioparticles Using Planar Nanofluidic Devices, Jie Xuan

Theses and Dissertations

Nanofluidic devices are structures having at least one dimension in the submicron range, which is of the same order of magnitude as the sizes of biomolecules and bioparticles such as proteins and viruses. As a result, size-selective separations are important applications for nanofluidics. Well-defined micro or nano device structures fabricated via micromachining have greatly reduced sample consumption and enabled separations in a parallel fashion, promising significant speed and resolution advantages over conventional size separation techniques, such as gel electrophoresis and size exclusion chromatography. In collaboration with others, I have developed a size separation method using nanofluidic devices consisting of an …


Formation, Functionalization, Characterization, And Applications Of A Mixed-Mode, Carbon/Diamond-Based, Core-Shell Phase For High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Landon A. Wiest Sep 2013

Formation, Functionalization, Characterization, And Applications Of A Mixed-Mode, Carbon/Diamond-Based, Core-Shell Phase For High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Landon A. Wiest

Theses and Dissertations

My work has focused on a variety of different types of diamond-based, core-shell particles. These particles are formed with inert cores and poly(allylamine)/nanodiamond shells. Their intended purpose is to form an LC stationary phase that is stable from pH 1 – 14 and at elevated temperatures. At the beginning of my studies, the particles that had been made in the Linford laboratory were pH stable, but irregular and had poor mechanical stability. Since that time, I have worked to improve the particles by using more spherical zirconia and carbon cores, and I have improved their mechanical stability via chemical crosslinking …


Self-Assembled Dna Origami Templates For The Fabrication Of Electronic Nanostructures, Elisabeth Pound Gates Sep 2013

Self-Assembled Dna Origami Templates For The Fabrication Of Electronic Nanostructures, Elisabeth Pound Gates

Theses and Dissertations

An important goal of nanoscience is the self-assembly of nanoscale building blocks into complex nanostructures. DNA is an important and versatile building block for nanostructures because of its small size, predictable base pairing, and numerous sequence possibilities. I use DNA origami to design and fold DNA into predesigned shapes, to assemble thin, branched DNA nanostructures as templates for nanoscale metal features. Using a PCR-based scaffold strand generation procedure, several wire-like nanostructures with varying scaffold lengths were assembled. In addition, more complex prototype circuit element structures were designed and assembled, demonstrating the utility of this technique in creating complex templates. My …


Studies Toward The Synthesis Of Lyconadin A And Cranomycin, Brad M. Loertscher Jul 2013

Studies Toward The Synthesis Of Lyconadin A And Cranomycin, Brad M. Loertscher

Theses and Dissertations

Lyconadin A is a pentacyclic Lycopodium alkaloid isolated from the club moss Lycopodium companatum with anticancer activity. Our approach sought to incorporate a 7-exo–6-exo acyl radical cyclization cascade to access the bicyclo[5.4.0]undecane framework of lyconadin A. Our studies created methodology for the synthesis of 5-alkyl and 3,5-dialkyl-6-carbomethoxy-2-pyridones and sterically demanding epoxide substrates. These epoxide substrates underwent an unanticipated Payne rearrangement.Cranomycin is a potent antibiotic with antiprotozoal activity. Structurally it is a cyclopentane ring system with substitution at each carbon in the ring. Another interesting structural aspect is the existence of three contiguous quaternary stereocenters including two tertiary alcohols and a …


Developmental Signaling Requires Inwardly Rectifying K+ Channels In Drosophila Melanogaster, Giri Raj Dahal Jul 2013

Developmental Signaling Requires Inwardly Rectifying K+ Channels In Drosophila Melanogaster, Giri Raj Dahal

Theses and Dissertations

Inwardly rectifying potassium (IRK/Kir) channels regulate intracellular K+ concentrations and membrane potential. Disruption of Kir2.1 causes dominantly inherited Andersen Tawil Syndrome (ATS). ATS patients suffer from cardiac arrhythmias, periodic paralysis, and cognitive impairment. These symptoms are consistent with current understanding of the role of ion channels in muscle cells and neurons. However, ATS symptoms also include craniofacial and digital deformities such as cleft palate, dental defects, wide set eyes, low set ears, and crooked or fused digits. These developmental defects were not consistent with current understanding of developmental signaling or previously described roles for ion channels. We found that phenotypes …


The Role Of Smpb In Licensing Tmrna Entry Into Stalled Ribosomes, Mickey R. Miller Jul 2013

The Role Of Smpb In Licensing Tmrna Entry Into Stalled Ribosomes, Mickey R. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Ribosomes translate the genetic information contained in mRNAs into protein by linking together amino acids with the help of aminoacyl-tRNAs. In bacteria, protein synthesis stalls when the ribosome reaches the 3'-end of truncated mRNA transcripts lacking a stop codon. Trans-translation is a conserved bacterial quality control process that rescues stalled ribosomes. Transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) and its protein partner SmpB mimic a tRNA by entering the A site of the ribosome and accepting the growing peptide chain. The ribosome releases the truncated mRNA and resumes translation on the tmRNA template. The open reading frame found on tmRNA encodes a peptide tag …


Investigation Of Water-Molecule Complexes And Their Catalytic Effect On Important Atmospheric Reactions, Taylor Scott Cline Jun 2013

Investigation Of Water-Molecule Complexes And Their Catalytic Effect On Important Atmospheric Reactions, Taylor Scott Cline

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a collection of works that investigates issues related to environmental chemistry. The first portion of this research explores the role of water vapor on the kinetics of important atmospheric reactions. Work is presented on the self-reaction of β-hydroxyethyl peroxy radical (β-HEP) and the catalytic increase in reaction rate by water vapor. β-HEP serves as a model system for investigating the possible role of water vapor in perturbing the kinetics and product branching ratio of atmospheric reactions of other alkyl peroxy radicals. The self-reaction rate coefficient of β-HEP was investigated between 276-296 K with 1.0 × 10^15 to …


Miniaturized Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap Mass Analyzer, Junting Wang Jun 2013

Miniaturized Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap Mass Analyzer, Junting Wang

Theses and Dissertations

The electrostatic ion beam trap (EIBT) was designed by D. Zajfman during the previous decade. This ion trap combines many properties of the Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass analyzer and time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzer. There are several advantages for the electrostatic ion beam trap. First, large mass-to-charge particles in an electrostatic field could be easier to analyze. Second, there is a folded flight path, which could make the mass analyzer smaller compared to conventional TOF mass analyzer. This principle of operation of this ion trap is analogous to an optical resonator. The ions are trapped in a voltage valley …


Identification And Differentiation Of Tier 1 Bacterial Agents Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Dan Li Jun 2013

Identification And Differentiation Of Tier 1 Bacterial Agents Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Dan Li

Theses and Dissertations

A simple method was developed for detection and differentiation of five Tier 1 bacterial agents, including Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei as well as their closely related near neighbors by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Generally, different classes of compounds can be used as biomarkers for biowarfare agent detection, including nucleic acids (i.e., DNA or RNA), proteins (i.e., antibodies), carbohydrates (i.e., sugars), lipopolysaccharides, lipids (i.e., fatty acids) and small molecules. One-step thermochemolysis (TCM) was developed to provide GC-MS detectable biomarker signatures, including sugars, fatty acids and small molecules. Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) was used for …


Bacterial Spores Remain Viable After Electrospray Charging And Desolvation, Sara Nielson Pratt Jun 2013

Bacterial Spores Remain Viable After Electrospray Charging And Desolvation, Sara Nielson Pratt

Theses and Dissertations

The electrospray survivability of B. subtilis spores and E. coli was tested in atmospheric mobility experiments. E. coli did not survive electrospray charging and desolvation, but B. subtilis did. Experimental conditions ensured that any surviving bacteria were charged, desolvated, and de-agglomerated. B. subtilis was also found to survive both positive and negative electrospray and subsequent introduction into vacuum conditions. Attempts were made to measure the charge distribution of viable B. subtilis spores using electrostatic deflection. From those experiments, it was found that either the spores do not become highly charged under the electrospray conditions used or only spores in a …


Isolation, Characterization And Synthesis Of Asthma Inducing Fungal Glycolipid And Analytical Method Development For Novel Antimicrobial Peptide Mimics, Vinod Chaudhary May 2013

Isolation, Characterization And Synthesis Of Asthma Inducing Fungal Glycolipid And Analytical Method Development For Novel Antimicrobial Peptide Mimics, Vinod Chaudhary

Theses and Dissertations

NKT cells are an important part of human immune system and recognize a specific set of antigens called glycolipids. Only a handful of "natural" NKT cell antigens are known till date. Although NKT cells play a protective role against pathogenic organisms, imbalances in NKT cell functions are implicated in many diseases including asthma. Allergic asthma, a Th2 driven inflammation of airways, is primarily caused by inhalation of environmental allergens. In the last decade, inhaled allergen Aspergillus fumigatus has been under scrutiny for the presence of NKT cell antigens that might trigger asthma. We successfully isolated, characterized and synthesized a "natural" …


Synthesis And Immunological Evaluation Of Type I, Type Ii, And Gamma Delta Nkt Cell Antigens, Brian L. Anderson May 2013

Synthesis And Immunological Evaluation Of Type I, Type Ii, And Gamma Delta Nkt Cell Antigens, Brian L. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the immune system is to protect our bodies from infection. One way it accomplishes this task is through the presentation of foreign pathogens to NKT cells. After an antigen is presented to the T cell receptor, activated NKT cells quickly release soluble chemical signals, termed chemokines and cytokines, that modulate the response of the immune system. Due to the immunological relevance of NKT cell activation, we developed and synthesised non-natural analogs of immunostimulatory type I, II, and gamma delta NKT cell antigens. The immunological evaluations of these analogs resulted in identification of sulfatide as a gamma delta …


Kinetics Of Atmospheric Reactions Of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds: Measurement Of The Rate Constant Ofthujone + Cl· At 296 K And Calculation Ofthe Equilibrium Constant For The Ho2ch2ch2o2· H2o Complex, Marie Coy Killian Apr 2013

Kinetics Of Atmospheric Reactions Of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds: Measurement Of The Rate Constant Ofthujone + Cl· At 296 K And Calculation Ofthe Equilibrium Constant For The Ho2ch2ch2o2· H2o Complex, Marie Coy Killian

Theses and Dissertations

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react with Cl and OH radicals and the resulting radicals combine with oxygen to form peroxy radicals RO2. Organic peroxy radicals can then react with NO to form NO2, a precursor of tropospheric ozone. The work presented here explored the initial reaction between Cl and thujone, a VOC emitted by Great Basin sagebrush. The rate constant for the reaction of thujone + Cl at 296 K was measured with the method of relative rates with FTIR for detection of reactants. LEDs were used to photolyze Cl2 to generate Cl in the reaction cell. Thujone was …


Facile Synthesis And Improved Pore Structure Characterization Of Mesoporous Γ-Alumina Catalyst Supports With Tunable Pore Size, Baiyu Huang Mar 2013

Facile Synthesis And Improved Pore Structure Characterization Of Mesoporous Γ-Alumina Catalyst Supports With Tunable Pore Size, Baiyu Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Mesoporous γ-alumina is the most extensively used catalysts support in a wide range of catalytic processes. The usefulness of γ-alumina relies on its favorable combination of physical, textural, thermal, and chemical properties. Pore structure properties are among the most important properties, since high surface area and large pore volume enable higher loading of active catalytic phases, while design of pore size and pore size distribution is critical to optimize pore diffusional transport and product selectivity. In addition, accurate determination of surface area (SA), pore volume (PV) and pore size distribution (PSD) of porous supports, catalysts, and nanomaterials is vital to …


Studies On Dna Mismatch Repair Proteins As Biomarkers For Heriditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer, Samar Hassen Mar 2013

Studies On Dna Mismatch Repair Proteins As Biomarkers For Heriditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer, Samar Hassen

Theses and Dissertations

Colorectal cancer is the second most leading cause of cancer related deaths in the Western countries. Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC), also known as "Lynch Syndrome", is a genetic disorder that accounts for 5-10 % of all diagnosed colorectal cancers. It is caused by genetic defects in DNA mismatch repair proteins including MLH1 and MSH2. The aim of this PhD dissertation research was to develop a sensitive and reliable diagnostic method to screen patients with this syndrome before they develop colorectal cancer. The current methods to screen HNPCC patients are expensive, time consuming and insensitive. The new method would address …


Resorcinarene-Based Cavitands: From Structural Design And Synthesis To Separations Applications, Na Li Mar 2013

Resorcinarene-Based Cavitands: From Structural Design And Synthesis To Separations Applications, Na Li

Theses and Dissertations

Resorcinarenes are cyclic tetramers that are synthesized by the condensation of resorcinol and various aldehydes. The upper and lower rims can be modified with substituents that provide specific selectivity and other chemical features. In this work, resorcinarene-based macrocyclic ligands with specific selectivities have been designed, synthesized and applied to chiral amine discrimination and transition metal ion separations.These resorcinarenes fall into two categories. In the first type, the upper rims of resorcinarenes were modified with amino acid groups, including chiral alanine groups. The lower rims were modified with --CH3, or --C11H23 groups. The structures were studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), …


Metallization Of Dna And Dna Origami Using A Pd Seeding Method, Yanli Geng Jan 2013

Metallization Of Dna And Dna Origami Using A Pd Seeding Method, Yanli Geng

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I developed a Pd seeding method in association with electroless plating, to successfully metallize both lambda DNA and DNA origami templates on different surfaces. On mica surfaces, this method offered a fast, simple process, and the ability to obtain a relatively high yield of metallized DNA nanostructures. When using lambda DNA as the templates, I studied the effect of Pd(II) activation time on the seed height and density, and an optimal activation time between 10 and 30 min was obtained. Based on the Pd seeds formed on DNA, as well as a Pd electroless plating solution, continuous …