Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hydrogen-Bonding-Directed Ordered Assembly Of Carboxylated Poly(3-Alkylthiophene)S, David W. Bilger, Jose A. Figueroa, Neil D. Redeker, Amrita Sarkar, Morgan Stefik, Shanjuu Zhang

Faculty Publications

Hydrogen-bonding-induced ordered assembly of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s derivatives bearing carboxylic acid groups has been investigated from diluted and concentrated solutions to solid films using ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, polarized optical microscopy, and four-point probe conductivity measurements. In dilute solutions, the polymer undergoes a spontaneous structural transition from disordered coil-like to ordered rodlike conformations, which is evidenced by time-dependent chromism. Many factors such as alkyl-chain length, types of solvents, and temperature are studied to understand the assembly behavior. Transition kinetics of the assembly process reveals a universal second-order rate law, indicating an intermolecular origin due to hydrogen bonding. When more concentrated, hydrogen bonding drives …

Blockade Of Cb1 Cannabinoid Receptor Alters Gut Microbiota And Attenuates Inflammation And Diet-Induced Obesity, Pegah Mehrpouya-Bahrami, Kumaraswamy Naidu Chitrala, Mitra S. Ganewatta, Chuanbing Tang, E Angela Murphy, Reilly Enos, Kandy T. Velazquez, Jamie Mccellan, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti

Faculty Publications

Obesity is characterized by chronic low-grade, systemic inflammation, altered gut microbiota, and gut barrier disruption. Additionally, obesity is associated with increased activity of endocannabinoid system (eCB). However, the clear connection between gut microbiota and the eCB system in the regulation of energy homeostasis and adipose tissue inflammation and metabolism, remains to be established. We investigated the effect of treatment of mice with a cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) antagonist on Diet-Induced Obesity (DIO), specifically whether such a treatment that blocks endocannabinoid activity can induce changes in gut microbiota and anti-inflammatory state in adipose tissue. Blockade of CB1 attenuated DIO, inflammatory cytokines …

The Effects Of Tension, Curvature, And Lipid Diffusion On The Enrichment Of Ras Proteins In Model Membranes, Nina Daneshvar

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

An intriguing aspect of the cell membrane that provokes study is lipid-anchor enrichment of lipidated proteins on the cell membrane. Specifically, recent in vitro studies involving the enrichment of Ras proteins were done to see how enrichment was affected by changes in membrane curvature. These studies demonstrated the Ras protein’s inclination to the expanded, or outer, leaflet of highly curved membranes. Other research done in vivo, however, provoked further inquiry into Ras protein behavior, since when highly curved protrusions were created in living cells, Ras proteins showed affinity for the inner leaflet. This inspired research to determine the exact mechanism …

The Effect Of Different Heavy Metal Acetate Solutions On The Inhibition Of Catalase Enzyme, Athreya Murali, Sonali Patel

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of different aqueous solutions of ionic compounds on the rate of reaction of the enzyme catalase. The hypothesis states that zinc and cadmium acetate solutions will significantly inhibit catalase and its ability to produce oxygen. In the experiment, there were five trials performed with the lead acetate, zinc acetate, acetic acid, cadmium acetate, and distilled water (the last being the control group). In order to calculate the results, the ANOVA single factor test was used, comparing each solution to water. From results of the ANOVA test, it was found that …

The Effect Of Temperature On Zinc Leaching From Rubber Tire Mulch, Elizabeth Dillon

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Scrap tires are being recycled into many products in order to bypass slow degradation in landfills. Recycled rubber tire mulch contains zinc oxide used in tire formation that can be released through the creation of leachates. This study examines the relationship between temperature environment and leachate zinc concentration. After observing rubber mulch surface temperatures in conjunction with other factors, it was hypothesized that higher temperatures would lead to increased zinc release by rubber mulch and higher leachate zinc concentrations. Leachates were created by mixing 10 grams of mulch and 200 mL distilled water and placing in 5ºC, 29ºC, and 71ºC …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Sports Related Head Impact On Balance And Neurocognitive Functions, Shaquanda D. Ross-Simmons, Michelle L. Vieyra, Abhishek Jain, Keri Weed

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of sports-related head injury on balance, attention, and memory. Reliable differences have been found using measures that directly tap into brain functioning, such as the auditory oddball task combined with EEG recording. We hypothesized that athletes reporting a diagnosed concussion or participation in high-risk sports would have compromised balance and neurocognitive functioning compared to athletes in low risk sports. Forty-five undergraduate participants were identified as either concussed, non-concussed in high-risk sports, or non-concussed in low-risk sports using a survey of athletic history, head trauma and demographics. The Biopac MP36 system, …

Progress Toward Phidianidine Analogues Containing A 1,2,3-Triazole Ring, David Laws Iii, Dillon King, Bryan H. Wakefield

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Phidianidines are a class of compound that has been extracted from the sea mollusk Phidianis militaris. These compounds have been shown to exhibit a variety of useful properties such as antihistamine effects, anti-cancer activity, agonism of the µ-opioid receptor and neuroprotection. The biological activities are thought to be caused by the 1,2,4- oxadiazole ring found within the molecule. The goal of this project is to synthesize analogues of phidianidine that contain a 1,2,3-triazole instead of the 1,2,4 oxadiazole ring using a method that will allow for other regions of the molecule to be changed. This will help to elucidate …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Corannulene-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks, Marygrace H. Rainsford

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Due to the great demands within the energy community, the need to develop materials that can significantly alter the vitality of different substances is one of the top priorities of researchers. In recent years, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been synthesized to potentially be used as these advances. The objective of this project is to specifically alter the synthetic route of corannulene-based MOFs to create a new anode for a Li-ion battery used in hybrid cars. Due to the crystalline materials porosity and high surface area, the rate performance of this battery can effectively be improved. To do this, a three …

Rapid Reversible Borane To Boryl Hydride Exchange By Metal Shuttling On The Carborane Cluster Surface, Bennett J. Eleazer, Mark D. Smith, Alexey A. Popov, Dmitry V. Peryshkov

Faculty Publications

In this work, we introduce a novel concept of a borane group vicinal to a metal boryl bond acting as a supporting hemilabile ligand in exohedrally metalated three-dimensional carborane clusters. The (POBOP)Ru(Cl)(PPh3) pincer complex (POBOP ¼ 1,7-OP(i-Pr)2-m-2-carboranyl) features extreme distortion of the two-center-two-electron Ru–B bond due to the presence of a strong three-centertwo-electron B–H/Ru vicinal interaction. Replacement of the chloride ligand with a hydride afforded the (POBOP)Ru(H)(PPh3) pincer complex, which possesses B–Ru, B–H/Ru, and Ru–H bonds. This complex was found to exhibit a rapid exchange between hydrogen atoms of the borane and the terminal hydride through metal center shuttling between …

A Perspective On How To Improve Undergraduate Research Education In The Physical Sciences At Usc, Michael Caleb Bagley

Senior Theses

My years at the University of South Carolina have been some of the most challenging and edifying periods of my life. I have been blessed by having a great professional and chemistry mentor in Dr. John L. Ferry who has helped me engage in scientific research in a meaningful way. As I watched other chemistry students, in particular, struggle with understanding what research really was and even how to understand the results and methodologies of it I felt that this was a huge issue that could be rather simply fixed. I have been privileged to apply for and receive a …

Advances In Chemistry, Part I: Noise, Calibration, And Educational Advances In Analytical Chemistry. Part Ii: Safety Oversight In Chemical Journals, Lauren E. Grabowski

Theses and Dissertations

Part I:

The accuracy and precision of the results of any chemical analysis depends on the calibration graph and its associated systematic and random errors. Least squares regression generally treats all data with equal weights. A weighted least-squares fit is an improvement but requires knowledge of the imprecision in each point of the calibration graph. The imprecision is not easy to estimate with high confidence because of the large number of replicates needed.

The imprecision depends on the types and magnitudes of the sources of noise. We characterized the noise sources in ICP-OES and UV/Vis and developed a model that …

Antimicrobial Biomaterials And Sustainable Polymers From Renewable Biomass, Mitra Shiran Ganewatta

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, development of antimicrobial biomaterials and sustainable polymers from renewable biomass is described. In Chapter 1, an overview and recent development about sustainable polymers from renewable biomass, antimicrobial biomaterials and polymerization methods are given. Afterwards, the major research objectives of this doctoral research work are described.

Innovative cationic polymers containing pine resin sourced abietic acid is discussed in Chapter 2. The preparation of cationic compounds is conversed via a combination of Diels-Alder, catalytic esterification, quaternization and subsequent decoration of polycaprolactone that was prepared via ring-opening polymerization (ROP). Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity against a range of bacteria, biocompatibility with …

Shaping Metallic Nanoparticles Toward Integrated Plasmonics And Catalysis, Qingfeng Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Noble metal nanoparticles have been of tremendous interest because of their intriguing size- and shape-dependent plasmonic and catalytic properties. The combination of tunable plasmon resonances with superior catalytic activities on the same nanoparticle, however, has long been challenging because plasmonics and catalysis require nanoparticles in two drastically different size regimes. Tunable plasmon resonances is a unique feature of sub-wavelength metallic nanoparticles, whereas heterogeneous catalysis requires the use of sub-5 nm nanoparticles as the catalysts. In this dissertation, I firstly found a unique way to bridge this size gap between nanoplasmonics and nanocatalysis. I demonstrated that desired plasmonic and catalytic properties …

Characterization Of Sufs And Sufe Of Suf Pathway For Fe-S Cluster Assembly In Escherichia Coli, Guangchao Dong

Theses and Dissertations

Fe-S clusters are one major type of the sulfur-containing cofactors, which conduct essential functions in organisms. The Suf pathway is one of the three main pathways for the biosynthesis of Fe-S clusters. In E. coli, the Suf pathway is utilized under iron limitation and oxidative stress. This ability is important for pathogens to survive. Also, the Suf pathway is found to be exclusive in bacteria, so it is a good target for novel antibiotic design. SufS is a cysteine desulfurase in the Suf pathway to extract sulfur from L-cysteine. It needs the enhancement of SufE. To better understand the catalytic …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Where Do New Materials Come From? Neither The Stork Nor The Birds And The Bees! In Search Of The Next “First Material”, Gregory Morrison, Dileka Abeysinghe, Justin B. Felder, Shani Egodawatte, Timothy Ferreira, Hans Conrad Zur Loye

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Materials discovery and optimization has driven the rapid technological advancements that have been observed in our lifetimes. For this advancement to continue, solid-state chemists must continue to develop new materials. Where do these new materials come from? In this review, we discuss the approaches used by the zur Loye group to discover the next “First Material”, a new material exhibiting a desired or not previously observed property that can be optimized for use in the technologies of tomorrow. Specifically, we discuss several crystal growth techniques that we have used with great success to synthesize new materials: the flux growth method, …

Using Polymerization, Glass Structure, And Quasicrystalline Theory To Produce High Level Radioactive Borosilicate Glass Remotely: A 20+ Year Legacy, Carol M. Jantzen

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Vitrification is currently the most widely used technology for the treatment of high level radioactive wastes (HLW) throughout the world. Most of the nations that have generated HLW are immobilizing in borosilicate glass. One of the primary reasons that glass has become the most widely used immobilization media is the relative simplicity of the vitrification process, e.g. melt a highly variable waste with some glass forming additives such as SiO₂ and B₂O₃ in the form of a premelted frit and pour the molten mixture into a stainless steel canister. Seal the canister before moisture can enter …

Antitumor Activity Of Selected Derivatives Of Pyrazole- Benzenesulfonamides From Dilithiated C(Α), N-Phenylhydrazones And Lithiated Methyl 2-(Aminosulfonyl)Benzoate, N. Dwight Camper [Deceased], James M. Gum, Darby E. Lyles, William T. Pennington, Charles F. Beam, Clyde R. Metz

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Several pyrazole-benzenesulfonamides were subjected to biological evaluation involving tumor formation on potato discs caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. This assay led to some excellent and promising initial results with three of the pyrazole compounds showing increased tumor inhibition when compared to a recognized standard, camptothecin. The select pyrazole-benzenesulfonamides were prepared by condensation-cyclization of several dilithiated C(α),N-phenylhydrazones with lithiated methyl 2-aminosulfonyl-benzoate.

Differential Response Of Coral Symbiotic Dinoflagellates To Bacterial Toxins That Produce Bleaching In Stony Corals, Diego L. Gil-Agudelo, Yael Ban-Haim, Eugene Rosenberg, Garriet W. Smith

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Bleaching of corals and other organisms with symbiotic zooxanthellae is a worldwide phenomenon with increasing importance due to global warming scenarios. Bleaching has been historically related to changes in the environment, especially water temperature increase, that stress corals and provoke the release of zooxanthellae. The discovery of Vibrio shilonii, a bacterium causing bleaching under thermal stress in corals of the Mediterranean Sea has changed our thinking about the cause (or explanation) for bleaching of corals worldwide. During this study, we evaluated the effect of a proline rich toxin, extracted from Vibrio shilonii, on zooxanthellae obtained from: Oculina patagonica from the …

Emerging Antimicrobial Research Against Superbugs: Perspectives From A Polymer Laboratory, Mitra S. Ganewatta, Md Anisur Rahman, Chuanbing Tang

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Infectious diseases caused by drug-resistant microorganisms have become a major contributor for human morbidity and mortality. To overcome such threats, we have developed various antimicrobial agents using natural product derivatives and metallopolymers. Abundant biomass such as resin acids can be utilized to prepare cationic polymers for inhibiting a variety of bacteria. These polymers have been used in solution as well as surfaces as antimicrobial materials with low cytotoxicity. In addition, a class of charged metallopolymers have been developed to kill superbugs such as MRSA.

Hierarchical Corannulene-Based Materials: Energy Transfer And Solid-State Photophysics, Allison M. Rice, W. Brett Fellows, Ekaterina A. Dolgopolova, Andrew B. Greytak, Aaron K. Vannucci, Mark D. Smith, Stavros G. Karakalos, Jeanette A. Krause, Stanislav M. Avdoshenko, Alexey A. Popov, Natalia B. Shustova Prof. Dr.

Faculty Publications

We report the first example of a donor–acceptor corannulene-containing hybrid material with rapid ligand-to-ligand energy transfer (ET). Additionally, we provide the first time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) data for any corannulene-based compounds in the solid state. Comprehensive analysis of PL data in combination with theoretical calculations of donor–acceptor exciton coupling was employed to estimate ET rate and efficiency in the prepared material. The ligand-to-ligand ET rate calculated using two models is comparable with that observed in fullerene-containing materials, which are generally considered for molecular electronics development. Thus, the presented studies not only demonstrate the possibility of merging the intrinsic properties of π-bowls, …

Assessing Aberrant Glycosylation With Synthetic Lectins To Detect And Stage Prostate Cancer, Anna Veldkamp

Theses and Dissertations

Aberrant glycosylation takes place during the onset of cancer and throughout the progression of the disease allowing certain glycans to serve as biomarkers1. Boronic acid functionalized synthetic lectins (SLs) have been shown to bind selectively and crossreactively to certain glycoproteins through covalent yet reversible interactions between the boronic acids and 1,2- or 1,3-diols found on saccharides2. This project focuses on 1) data acquisition optimization of an existing SL array; 2) the identification, isolation, and characterization of new SLs that interact with proteins and glycoproteins targeting the prostate and prostate cancer; and 3) the utilization of new SLs in cross-reactive sensor …

Chemical Sensing In Harsh Environments By Multivariate Optical Computing, Christopher Michael Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Multivariate optical computing (MOC) is a compressive sensing technique for which an analyte concentration is detected in an interfering mixture by direct detector output. The detector measures the dot product of a linear regression vector with a sample spectrum, as an analog optical computation. The computation is accomplished with the multivariate optical element (MOE), to which the optical regression vector is encoded as a transmission pattern. As a spectrum of light emanates from a sample and passes through the MOE, the dot product naturally occurs when light strikes the detector. The MOC platform allows a simple, robust, and direct measurement …

Characterization Of The Suf Fe-S Pathway In Escherichia Coli, Naimah Bolaji

Theses and Dissertations

Iron is an essential transition metal required by almost all organisms for use as a cofactor in many metabolic processes such as respiration and photosynthesis. Iron can be combined with elemental sulfur to form an iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster. In bacterial pathogens, Fe-S cluster cofactors carry out critical functions and the Fe-S cluster biogenesis pathway is essential for their survival. In E. coli, the Suf pathway assembles Fe-S clusters under conditions of iron starvation and oxidative stress. While some mechanistic details of the Fe-S cluster biogenesis have been well-characterized, the process of in vivo iron donation remains unclear. Iron storage proteins …

Kinetic-Control Of Block Copolymer Micelles For Tunable Nanomaterials Towards Energy Devices, Hasala Nadeesini Lokupitiya

Theses and Dissertations

Nano-scale inorganic porous materials are crucial for numerous applications ranging from electronics to energy conversion. The ability to control the morphology and the key architectural parameters of nanomaterials largely determines the transport characteristics and performance of such devices. But, there is very little understanding and development to tune these key architectural parameters such as inorganic wall-thickness and pore diameter. Even though there are numerous examples available on the fabrication of porous nanomaterials via block copolymer co-assembly, there is limited understanding on independent control over key architectural parameters. Because of that the major focus of this thesis is to explore and …

Coordination Chemistry Of Carboranes And Furan Ligands On Transition Metal Cluster Complexes, Emmanuel Joseph Kiprotich

Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1 presents the most relevant literature in the field of carborane chemistry. The focus is on icosahedral carboranes and the different methods of boron or carbon atoms substitution and functionalization. The direct addition of transition metal to boron atoms is covered in detail as well as strategies for cage opening of icosahedral carboranes.

Chapter 2 reports the preparation of some of the first polynuclear metal carbonyl cluster complexes where the closo-carborane cage: o-C₂B₁₀H₁₂ serves as a ligand on the face of one (Os₃(CO)₉(µ₃-4,5,9-C₂B₁₀H_{10 …}

Elucidation Of Protein Interactions And The Re-Tuning Of Porphyrin Electronics For Hydroxylases, Steven Charles Ratigan

Theses and Dissertations

Non-Ribosomal Peptide Synthetases (NRPSs) and their exogenous tailoring partners have been heavily studied but not in the context of non-cognate systems. Orf78, a dinuclear iron β-hydroxylase from the lysobacter pathway and homologous to CmlA from the chloramphenicol pathway, is used to test affinities for one native and two non-native T-domains. Results indicate that there is enough difference between Type I and Type II NRPS systems to disfavor common recognition motifs. Additionally, the β-hydroxylase P450sky, from the skyllamycin biosynthetic pathway, is used in conjunction with the NRPS ATdomain NikP1AT from the nikkomycin biosynthetic pathway, in lieu of the homolog P450nikQ. The …

Fast Scan Cyclic Voltammetry For Real-Time Metal Speciation Analysis, Hettige. M. Thushani Siriwardhane

Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemistry is a powerful analytical tool that has been widely used to detect trace metals in natural systems. However, studying the speciation of metals during dynamic events, such as storms and floods, is analytically challenging due to the limited temporal resolution of traditional electrochemical techniques. Additionally, most techniques report the total metal concentration (both complexed and free) that does not reflect the toxicity of these metals, which arise mostly from the free state. To overcome these issues, we previously pioneered the use of fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) to measure free copper (Cu(II)) and lead (Pb(II)) in real-time in laboratory …

Structural And Functional Studies Of Proteins From The Agricultural Pests Tetranychus Urticae And Aspergillus Fumigatus, Caleb Schlachter

Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural pests are a worldwide problem and cause billions of dollars in crop loss. In the United States alone, an estimated $40 billion USD is lost per year due to insecticide resistance [1]. Studied here are proteins (potentially new pesticide targets) from the agricultural pests Tetranychus urticae and Aspergillus fumigatus. T. urticae, or twospotted spidermite, is a polyphagous pest, and three proteins from this pest, a cyanase, a glutathione S-transferase and an intradiol ring-cleavage dioxygenase are described [2]. Cyanase is involved in the conversion of bicarbonate and cyanate, a toxic self-defense metabolite produced by plants, into ammonia and carbon dioxide. …