Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Paradigms For Creating Activities That Integrate Mathematics And Science Topics, Janet Bowers, Kathy Williams, Antoni Luque, Devon Quick, Mary Beisiegel, Jody Sorensen, Joan Kunz, Diane Smith, Lori Kayes

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Research has shown that undergraduate students benefit from seeing examples of mathematics applied to real-world situations. This article describes three different paradigms for how math and discipline partner faculty worked together to create mathematical activities that illustrate applications of the topics being studied in precalculus and calculus. All three examples are discussed within the framework of PDSA cycles to describe the process by which the teams collaborated to plan, enact, study, and refine their lessons. Findings discuss both the difficulties of creating integrated activities (differences in terms and definitions between math and science faculty, different foregrounding of math versus science …

Identification Of “Kratom” (Mitragyna Speciosa) Alkaloids In Commercially Available Products, Julia Grzymkowski, Michelle R. Peace, Justin Poklis

Undergraduate Research Posters

“Kratom” is the common name for the botanical mitragyna speciosa. It is a tree native to Southeast Asia in which leaves contain the psychoactive alkaloids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Kratom is often ingested as teas, chewed, or smoked. It acts as a stimulant in small doses and as an opioid in large doses. Overdoses can result in vomiting, seizures, and death. Recently the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) placed Kratom on Schedule 1, but, due to public outcry, it was almost immediately removed.

Eleven kratom based products were obtained from various tobacco shops, “headshops” and via the internet including: Choice brand …

Improving Binding Affinity Through Cyclization, Kaylee M. Newcomb, Nicolas Abrigo

Undergraduate Research Posters

Cancer chemotherapy results in systematic damage as the drugs used are also toxic to benign tissue. Sensitizing a cancer cell to therapy by interfering with the DNA repair mechanisms would decrease overall toxicity, as the necessary dosage of chemotherapy drugs would be lowered. The Hartman lab developed a peptide (8.6) that binds with a KD of 1 μM to the C-terminal domain of breast cancer associated protein (BRCA1), blocking homologous recombination. The crystal structure of the peptide shows the tyrosine and threonine residues are close together, suggesting that by cyclizing these positions, the peptide may already be constrained into its …

Interactions Of The Naphthalene Radical Cation With Polar And Unsaturated Molecules In The Gas Phase, Sean P. Platt

Theses and Dissertations

Characterizing the interactions of solvent molecules with ions is fundamental in understanding the thermodynamics of solution chemistry. These interactions are difficult to observe directly in solution because the number of solvent molecules far exceed that of ions. This lend the gas phase to be the ideal medium in the study ion-solvent interactions on a molecular level. Ionized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules can readily form hydrogen bonds with neutral solvent molecules in aqueous and interstellar medium. Previous research has been done for stepwise solvation of small molecules such as benzene⁺, pyridine, and phenylacetylene. The similarity in these results …

Forensic Chemical Analysis Of Synthetic Cathinones Using Portable Mass Spectrometric Instrumentation, Caitlin N. Cain

Undergraduate Research Posters

Forensic laboratories face issues with large backlogs on evidence needing to be analyzed is due to two reasons: budgeting issues and the emergence of designer drugs. Currently, forensic laboratory directors cite that there are a shortage of scientists to deal with the yearly increase in caseloads. Additionally, designer drugs like synthetic cathinones, commonly known as “bath salts,” have increased the backlog due to the changing chemical compositions and misidentification as other compounds. Therefore, the use of a portable mass spectrometer for on-site forensic chemical analysis of synthetic cathinones would reduce the backlog of suspected controlled substances in forensic chemistry laboratories. …

Physicochemical And Structural Analysis Of Polymers As Putative Drugs, Meghan L. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Sulfated low molecular weight lignins (LMWLs) have shown good activity as anticoagulants by allosterically inhibiting thrombin, as well as promising agents for treating emphysema through inhibition of elastolysis, oxidation, and inflammation. Sulfated LMWLs are chemo-enzymatically synthesized from starting monomers caffeic, ferulic, and sinapic acid into sulfated dehydropolymers known as CDS, FDS, and SDS. To further the LMWLs’ development as drugs, their structural composition and physicochemical characteristics were defined in this work. The molecular weight distribution profile of the sulfated LMWLs from size exclusion chromatography performed on a high pressure liquid chromatography system (SEC-HPLC) changed from bimodal when no surfactant is …

A Continuous Process Towards The Synthesis Of Quinolones, Stevara N. Clinton

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The development of quinolones is described from the first quinolone to the latest fluoroquinolones. Quinolones have generated considerable interest since their discovery because of their antibacterial capabilities. Analogs incorporating the 4-quinolone ring system comprise a largely expanding group of synthetic compounds. The development of antibacterial resistance has created the need for an efficient synthesis of quinolones that can be easily adapted toward the assembly of quinolone based antibacterial drugs.

There are several reported approaches to the 4-quinolone ring system. Many of these methods use expensive starting materials, require the removal of high boiling solvents, or use high temperature conditions …

Icp-Oes Analysis Of The Chemical Composition Of Hypergolic Mixtures, Monique Jones

Undergraduate Research Posters

Hypergolic mixtures involve a chemical reaction between an oxidant and a fuel source. These reactions are self-igniting and can be performed using common household materials. The ease of access to the reactants, and delayed ignition have increased the occurrence of hypergolic mixtures in arson-related crimes and incendiary devices. Currently, few chemical signatures exist to link hypergolic residues to a perpetrator. This makes it difficult to obtain forensically relevant information from evidence during an investigation. A hypergolic reaction of interest to forensic laboratories involves combustion between a glycol-based fuel source and potassium permanganate. Past studies have determined that one can distinguish …

Development Of Nano-Scale Featured Materials For Electrode Modification And Solid Supports., Amy Rue

Theses and Dissertations

This work utilized the sol-gel process in two ways. First, macroporous silica thin films were developed using a combination of casting techniques and templating. Macroporsity was introduced to the silica thin films by either doping the silica sol before casting or by ordering the template on a substrate and then casting a sol over it. These techniques were first used to create silica thin films with long microchannel pores (200 nm x 60 µm) from a doped sol with the bacteria, B. Megaterium, as the template for nanomaterial formation. To enable the formation long microchannels, the flexible bacteria chains were …

Drug Design, Biological Activity, And Metabolic Consequences Of Cytotoxic Platinum Compounds: Utilizing Fluorescent Tagging To Understand Drug Action And Metabolism, Brad Benedetti

Theses and Dissertations

Platinum drugs are among the most commonly used chemotherapeutics for the treatment of testicular, head and neck, ovarian, small cell lung, and colorectal carcinomas. Although the current set of platinum chemotherapeutics has proven somewhat successful, the overall success of platinum based drugs is limited due to acquired drug resistance and a limited range of tumor types that are treatable with the current regime. The development of novel cytotoxic platinum based compounds, both trans- and polynuclear, provides for the promising treatment of clinical platinum drug resistant tumors. While the cytotoxic activity of platinum drugs provides for a hopeful outlook, the ultimate …

Synthesis, Functionalization And Characterization Of Dual Mode Nanoparticles For Biomedical Applications, Farah Radwan

Theses and Dissertations

Three different approaches were used to prepare dual mode nanoparticles using a previously described reverse micelle technique. Superparamagnetic Fe@FeOx core shell nanoparticles were chosen to be the magnetic component for all three dual mode systems. In the first type of particles, 2- amino-1,3- propane diol (APD) was used as a functionalization ligand to stabilize the surface of the particles and its functional amino group also provided a binding site for the attachment of a fluorescent probe. The TEM analysis showed that the APD coated particles have a size range of 8-13 nm while XPS and MALDI measurements confirmed the presence …

Electrodeposited Silica Thin Films, Debbie Campbell-Rance

Theses and Dissertations

Sol-gel derived silica thin film synthesis has gained prominence because of the mild processing conditions and widespread understanding of the chemistry of the process. Traditionally, silicate films are prepared by spin- and dip-coating but these materials lack the desired porosity for sensing, separations and catalysis applications. Electrochemical deposition was proposed to improve the porosity of silicate films. The main aims of this work were threefold. First we wanted to elucidate what parameters influenced film formation during electrodeposition. Then we wanted to understand how these parameters affected the morphology of the materials prepared. These films were characterized by profilometry, AFM, and …