Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Characterization Of Γ-Butyrolactone Rings: A Computational And Toxicological Study, Donald C. Kidd

Masters Theses

Given the declining state of the natural environment, identifying green methodologies in synthetic chemistry is becoming paramount. An under explored area of green chemistry, is the use of catalytic systems in green solvents. One interesting concept in green chemistry is the use of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHCs) as organocatalysts.

Thiamine or vitamin B1 was one of the first NHCs recognized. Thiamine is required for carbohydrate metabolism and helps the cell produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Over the last 20 years NHCs have been found to be efficient catalysts in carbon-carbon bond forming reactions.

But to date, little research has been done exploring …

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 …

Improved Characterization And Analysis Strategies For Uv-Lif Bioaerosol Instrumentation: Lab And Field Application, Nicole Justine Savage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric particles of biological origin, also referred to as bioaerosols or primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP), are important to various human health and environmental systems. There has been a recent steep increase in the frequency of published studies utilizing commercial instrumentation based on ultraviolet laser/light-induced fluorescence (UV-LIF), such as the WIBS (wideband integrated bioaerosol sensor), for bioaerosol detection both outdoors and in the built environment. Significant work over several decades supported the development of these technologies, but efforts to systematically characterize the operation of new commercial sensors has remained lacking. Specifically, there are gaps in the understanding of how different …

Materials Discovery Of Reduced Early Transition Metal Compounds: Crystal Growth And Characterization, Dileka Abeysinghe

Theses and Dissertations

Materials discovery via crystal growth is an active area of research that has led to the preparation of many novel materials along with the determination of their crystal structures. One sub-category in this diverse field of materials is the preparation of early transition metal reduced oxides. These reduced oxides often exhibit unusual electronic and magnetic properties. Due to the synthetic challenges associated with early transition metal reduction, new and facile methods to prepare reduced oxides is of great interest. These limitations can be overcome by using a carefully selected redox neutral flux, a vacuum sealed fused silica tube, and metal …

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 …

Deep Eutectic Solvents Synthesis, Characterization And Applications In Pretreatment Of Lignocellulosic Biomass, Ganesh Degam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been an increased interest in green solvents and biofuels with the growing environmental awareness across the globe. Conventional methods of biofuel production involve the use of large quantities of molecular solvents and ionic liquids (ILs), but they have the drawbacks of high vapor pressure (organic solvents), toxicity, and recyclability in terms of a sustainability point of view. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have recently emerged as green alternatives to molecular solvents and ionic liquids (ILs). They are defined as eutectic mixtures formed between quaternary ammonium, phosphonium or sulfonium salts and hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) with the freezing temperature lower …