Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 31 - 34 of 34

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Characterization Of Stabilized Palladium Nanocatalysts, Meghann Broderick Jun 2010

Characterization Of Stabilized Palladium Nanocatalysts, Meghann Broderick

Theses and Dissertations

Metal nanoparticles have received much interest for their application in catalysis due to high surface-to-volume ratios resulting in more available active sites. Ideally these catalysts are heterogeneous and allow for facile separation from the catalytic reaction mixture making them ideal for industrial application. Dispersed metal nanoparticles are explored due to their high reactivity in solution and are stabilized by surfactants and polymers. However, it is difficult to determine whether or not a catalyst is truly heterogeneous as a certain degree of leaching from the metal nanoparticle is inevitable. Determining the mechanisms involved in nanocatalysis is also a challenge. In this …


Dna-Templated Nanomaterials, Hector Alejandro Becerril-Garcia Apr 2007

Dna-Templated Nanomaterials, Hector Alejandro Becerril-Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Nanomaterials display interesting physical and chemical properties depending on their shape, size and composition. Self assembly is an intriguing route to producing nanomaterials with controllable compositions and morphologies. DNA has been used to guide the self assembly of materials, resulting in: (1) metal nanowires; (2) metal or semiconductor nanorods; (3) carbon nanotubes; and (4) semiconductor, metal or biological nanoparticles. My work expands the range of DNA templated nanomaterials and develops novel ways of using DNA to pattern nanostructures on surfaces. I have performed the first synthesis of silver nanorods on single stranded DNA, an attractive material for localizing DNA coupled …


Structure-Activity Studies Of Glycosphingolipids As Antigens Of Natural Killer T Cells, Randal Donald Goff Jul 2006

Structure-Activity Studies Of Glycosphingolipids As Antigens Of Natural Killer T Cells, Randal Donald Goff

Theses and Dissertations

Glycosphingolipids (GSLs), composed of a polar saccharide head and a lipophilic ceramide tail, are ubiquitous components of the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells. They serve in many regulatory capacities and have antigenic properties towards natural killer T (NKT) cells of the innate immune system. Critical to the recognition of glycosylceramides by NKT cells are antigen presenting cells (APC), such as dendritic cells, which are responsible for binding, processing, and delivery of ligands to these lymphocytes. This event is mediated by CD1d, a major histocompatibility complex-like protein expressed on the surface of APCs, which binds GSL antigens by the ceramide moiety …


Synthesis Of Novel Antimycobacterials And A Fluorescent Sensor For Simple Carbohydrates, Brian Thomas Walker Jan 2006

Synthesis Of Novel Antimycobacterials And A Fluorescent Sensor For Simple Carbohydrates, Brian Thomas Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Cell surface carbohydrates play an important role in a wide variety of biological processes such as inflammation, tumor metastasis, and viral and bacterial infection. The goal of our research has been two-fold. The first objective was the synthesis of antimycobacterial compounds. A mannose containing tetrasaccharide from the mannan core of lipoarabinomannan (LAM) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been synthesized using α-D-methylmannopyranoside as starting material and Koeings-Knorr reactions to couple saccharides. The synthesis was completed in nine steps and in 14% total yield. This compound should be useful in competitive inhibition studies with macrophages or as an immunological marker. We have successfully …