Chemistry Commons^™

Design, Synthesis, Biological And Computational Studies Of Flavonoid Acetamide Derivatives, Daniel Kasungi Isika

Dissertations

Flavonoid compounds (FC) have extensive biological applications through potent antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, and antioxidant properties. These applications are nevertheless limited by low bioavailability, poor aqueous solubility, enzymatic degradation, rapid metabolism, and fast body clearance. FC show unique structure-activity relationships (SARs) essential in assessing and mitigating the prevalent challenges impeding their applications. These challenges can be addressed by structural modification of the FC through functionalization of the phenolic rings, modification of the ketone group, and modification of the phenolic hydroxyl groups with bioisosteres.

The objectives of this work are to (i) design and synthesize novel flavonoid acetamide derivatives (FADs) and …

Biopolymer-Coated Magnetite Nanoparticles For The Removal Of Emerging Contaminants From Aqueous Solutions, Hebatullah Farghal

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Biopolymers are gaining interest as promising materials for water purification due to their functionality, biodegradability, abundance, and safe use. In this work, three biopolymer-based systems were developed as adsorbents for removing emerging contaminants from water. The first system of biopolymeric nanocomposites was synthesized by coating chitosan/xylan biopolymeric nanocomposites on magnetite nanoparticles (CsXM) to facilitate their separation from water via a magnetic field. The prepared mesoporous CsXM nanocomposite was thermally stable and possessed a particle size of 11 nm and a neutral to slightly negative charge over the studied pH range of about 3 to 10. The nanocomposite efficiently removed …

Advances In Structure Elucidation Of Small Molecules And Peptides By Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy And Mass Spectrometry, Ryan D. Cohen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This dissertation reports on improvements in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) structure determination methods of organic compounds, with particular focus on challenging cyclic peptides. A recent and important innovation in NMR spectroscopy is the combination of theoretical property predictions, such as chemical shifts, using density functional theory (DFT) to aid in challenging NMR structure assignments, such as determination of regio- and stereo-configurations. In the first part of this thesis, a comprehensive benchmark study of DFT chemical shift prediction methods was performed using experimental NMR data collected from 50 well curated compounds, which was referred to as the …

Developing A Sample-Efficient Analytical Pathway For A Qualitative Chemical Investigation Of Ancestral Chilkat Dyeing And Weaving Practices, Dario Gerlando Durastanti

Dissertations and Theses

The project goal is to identify the dyestuffs used in hand-woven Chilkat blankets from the collection of the Alaska State Museum and the Sheldon Jackson Museum. Chilkat weaving is practiced by Northwest coastal clans, particularly in Southeast Alaska since at least the early 19th century. Through this collaboration, 117 wool fibers from 23 Chilkat textiles, and 193 reference samples consisting of dyed fibers using both natural and synthetic dye sources, raw dye material, and dye bath aliquots were provided to the lab for reference characterization and identification. In these analyses, dyes were classified as being either natural or synthetic, subdivided …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Porphyrin-Encapsulated Nanoparticles: Investigations With Scanning Probe Microscopy, Olajumoke Helen Olubowale

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) encompasses a family of surface measurements that use a sharp probe to “feel” a surface. The tip is scanned point-by-point to build a map of the sample topography, which can be correlated with local measurements of surface properties. This dissertation outlines the history of SPM and describes techniques, operational modes, and applications. A review of force volume mapping (FVM), a 3D characterization mode of SPM used to map material properties detailed. Force volume mapping can be achieved by measuring multiple force measurements point-by-point in a grid pattern. Local properties such as chemical forces, dielectric properties, nanomechanical …

Investigating Reactivity Of Artificial Copper Peptides With Small Molecules, Allyson Bryant

Honors Theses

The design of artificial enzymes has been a topic of significant interest in the field of biochemistry, as they can provide new opportunities for catalytic processes and drug development. De novo protein design has emerged as a promising approach to create such enzymes, and the study of metalloproteins, particularly copper-binding peptides, has become a focus of this research. This thesis investigates the reactivity of a mutated copper-binding peptide, I5A-3SCC, with oxygen and its implications in the development of artificial enzymes.

The parent peptide, 3SCC, was mutated by replacing Isoleucine residues with smaller Alanine side chains, which was hypothesized to enhance …

Ramie (Boehmeria Nivea): An Underutilized Plant For A Multipurpose Industrial Application; A Perennial Plant With Protein Identification Using Maldi-Ms, A Biosorbent For Hg (Ii) Removal From Water And As A Bast Fiber Production Via Enzymatic Degumming, Abdul Rashid Issifu

Master's Theses

Identifying plant species that can offer life support to humans and animals without damaging the environment is quite challenging. Ramie, one of the oldest fiber crops was studied due to its nutritional value as fodder and other multipurpose applications in, e.g., medicinal, environmental, and textile industrial fields.

With a brief discussion of background in Chapter I, Chapter II focused on using a proteomic method to investigate unknown proteins in the leaves of ramie and to study their benefits to the biological system. PPiase and RuBisCO with molecular weight 15 and 52 KDa were identified as the proteins after peptide mass …

Low-Cost Microstereolithography 3d Printing With Microfluidic Microsampling Applications, Lauren Twombly

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

The growing field of stereolithography 3D printing has welcomed a new age ofmicrofluidic device fabrication techniques. When compared to previous planar fabrication techniques such as soft-lithography, stereolithography 3D printing offers highly automated procedures, reduced fabrication times, and greater complexity of device features. To date, the greatest tradeoff for 3D printing in microfluidic device fabrication is poorer resolution when compared to soft-lithography which can produce feature sizes on the nanometer scale. The poorer resolution of 3D printing limits the feasible size of features. While highly sophisticated 3D printers are capable of achieving sub 10 μm resolution, these instruments are incredibly expensive …

Detection Of Nitrogen Dioxide Via Graphene-Enhanced Raman Scattering, Spencer Hazeslip

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper presents the development of a nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sensor that utilizes the phenomenon of graphene-enhanced Raman scattering (GERS). The sensor consists of monolayer graphene on a silicon wafer, functionalized noncovalently with Copper(II) 2,9,16,23-tetra-tert-butyl-29H,31H-phthalocyanine (CuTTPc) via the solution soaking method. A custom sensing chamber was constructed to enable Raman spectra to be collected during NO₂ exposure. The response of the sensor was found to be linear between 10 and 100 ppm NO₂, indicating that it could be used for both detection and quantification. Furthermore, the sensor was shown to be reusable after …

Synthesis Of A Phenyl Substituted Zinc Dipyrrin Complex For The Purpose Of Analyzing Aromatic Substitutions On The Characteristics Of Compounds Of This Class, Kole Owen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The field of photochemistry is as innovative in development as it is broad in application. However, utilization of energy from the sun’s electromagnetic radiation remains secondary to the combustion of fossil fuels for the global energy consumption. This is neither a sustainable nor renewable system, and it has contributed to a major decline in the health of our global environment as the greenhouse gases emission has led to an incline in global temperatures and ocean acidity. To develop effective ways to utilize solar energy, experimental effort is being directed towards the understanding of photosensitizers, molecules which absorb solar radiation and …

Repeated Low-Level Blast Exposure Alters Urinary And Serum Metabolites, Austin Sigler, Jiandong Wu, Annalise Pfaff, Olajide Adetunji, Paul Ki-Souk Nam, Donald James, Casey Burton, Honglan Shi

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Repeated exposure to low-level blast overpressures can produce biological changes and clinical sequelae that resemble mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). While recent efforts have revealed several protein biomarkers for axonal injury during repetitive blast exposure, this study aims to explore potential small molecule biomarkers of brain injury during repeated blast exposure. This study evaluated a panel of ten small molecule metabolites involved in neurotransmission, oxidative stress, and energy metabolism in the urine and serum of military personnel (n = 27) conducting breacher training with repeated exposure to low-level blasts. The metabolites were analyzed using HPLC—tandem mass spectrometry, and the Wilcoxon …

Molecular Evidence For The Export Of Terrigenous Organic Matter To The North Gulf Of Mexico By Solid-State 13C Nmr And Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry Of Humic Acids, Sarah Ann Ware

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Marine organic matter is mainly believed to originate from autochthonous organic matter, while terrigenous organic matter is assumed to be largely degraded prior to reaching the open ocean or more recently replaced by marine organic matter via a stripping process. Sediment samples along a transect extending from the Mississippi River Birdsfoot Delta to the Mississippi Canyon on the Louisiana continental shelf were examined by advanced analytical techniques, electrospray ionization coupled to a 12T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (ESI-FTICR-MS) and quantitative solid-state multiple cross polarization magic angle spinning (multi-CPMAS) ¹³C NMR in an effort to understand the …

Quantitative Analysis Of The Proteomic Selectivity Of Acidic Reductive Alkylation Of Peptides, Connor Jewell

Honors Scholar Theses

Proteome quantification is a complicated process which takes on many methods, usually involving peptide derivatization and complex mass spectral analysis. Scores of techniques have been utilized to address issues of incomplete quantification. The implementation of IPTL labeling, or isobaric peptide terminal labeling, is a recent addition to the literature, which exploits the supposedly selective labeling of N-termini of tryptic peptides from the C-termini of lysine residues due to differences in basicity. This method has been shown to improve quantitation by reducing spectral complexity and provide more accurate and reproducible results on peptide abundance. Investigations into the selectivity of terminal derivatization …

Modeling Accuracy Matters: Aligning Molecular Dynamics With 2d Nmr Derived Noe Restraints, Milan Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Among structural biology techniques, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) provides a holistic view of structure that is close to protein structure in situ. Namely, NMR imaging allows for the solution state of the protein to be observed, derived from Nuclear Overhauser Effect restraints (NOEs). NOEs are a distance range in which hydrogen pairs are observed to stay within range of, and therefore experimental data which computational models can be compared against. To that end, we investigated the effects of adding the NOE restraints as distance restraints in Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations on the 24 residue HP24stab derived villin headpiece subdomain to …

Structural, Magnetic, Electrical, Pseudocapacitive, And Electrocatalytic Properties Of Bilayered Ruddlesden-Popper Oxides., Chandana Kananke-Gamage

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ruddlesden Popper (RP) oxides are perovskite-derived functional materials with the general formula An-1Aʹ2BnO3n+1, where A/Aʹ is often a lanthanide or alkaline earth metal, and B is usually a transition metal. These materials contain perovskite-like connectivity, where BO6 units share apexes to form layers that are stacked above each other. The number of layers in each stack is represented by n in the above formula. The spaces between stacks are often occupied by lanthanide or alkaline-earth metals (Aʹ-site metals), which also reside in intra-stack spaces (A-site) between the octahedra. Oxide materials derived from perovskites have been studied for a wide range …

Non-Destructive Imaging Of Phytosulfokine Trafficking In Plants Using Fiber-Optic Fluorescence Microscopy, Bernard Abakah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plants secrete peptide ligands and use receptor signaling to respond to stress and control development. Understanding these phenomena is key to improving plant health and productivity for food, fiber, and energy applications. Phytosulfokine (PSK), a sulfated peptide hormone, regulates plant cell division, growth, and stress tolerance via specific phytosulfokine receptors (PSKRs). This study uses fiber-optic fluorescence microscopy to elucidate trafficking of PSK in live plants. The microscope features two-color optics and an objective lens connected to a 1-m coherent imaging fiber mounted on either a conventional upright microscope body or 5-axis positioning system (X–Y–Z plus pitch and yaw). PSK and …

Toward The Design, Synthesis, And Characterization Of Abiotic Coiled-Coil Peptides Via Solid-Phase Copper-Catalyzed Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition (Sp-Cuaac) Click Reaction For The Preparation Of Controlled Self-Assembly Molecular Building Block, Liaquat Ali

Chemistry Theses

The production of cutting-edge materials, the development of novel medications, drug delivery systems, technological advancements, and biosynthesizing all depend on molecular building blocks. Proteins are required for the creation of intricate, well-organized structures, and coiled-coil protein domains are vital subunits for the oligomerization of protein complexes, gene expression, and the structural components of biological materials. The numerous interactions between a wide variety of amino acids make it difficult to assemble protein complexes with a particular shape. In the current study, we successfully designed and synthesized four different 32-residue peptides, each of which had two modified amino azide residues. These peptides …

Surface Characterization Of Mixed-Mode Adsorbents Using Bet C-Constant Energy Scale, Dinah C. Lee

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Mixed-mode chromatography is a chromatographic method in which solutes interact with stationary phase through more than one interaction mode or mechanism. It is because of these multiple complex interactions, which makes it difficult to predict chromatographic behavior of analytes on Mixed-mode columns. In order to fully understand the retention mechanisms on Mixed-mode columns, the packing material properties must be well characterized since each characteristic may contribute to the overall chromatographic performance of the column. Many non-chromatographic and chromatographic techniques are available to characterize and compare Mixed-mode columns in terms of their interaction abilities, retentivity, surface chemistry, chemical properties and geometry. …

New Alkyd Resins From Underutilized Indigenous Seed Oils: Synthesis And Characterization, Aliru O. Mustapha, Hakeem B. Ayoku, Halimah A. Amao

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The underutilization of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), sweet almond (Prunus amygdalus), and jatropha (Jatropha curcas) seeds indicates a significant resource waste. Nine different varieties of 25% (short), 40% (medium), and 60% (long) alkyd resins were produced from the cross-section of drying, semi-drying, and non-drying oils. A large amount of conversion occurred, with the extent of the reaction (Pav) decreasing as time progressed and the corresponding increase in alkyds' average degree of polymerization (Dp) showing synthesized alkyds. Surface drying from the set-to-dry and dry-through periods climaxed at 2 hours for all the alkyds. Except for alkali, synthesized alkyd resins demonstrated outstanding …

Mapping Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In South Carolina Surface Waters: Are There Hotspots?, Thomas C. Geiger

Senior Theses

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals used in consumer products for their unique chemical properties. PFAS compounds are resistant to water, oil, heat, and grease, making them useful for a wide variety of everyday items such as non-stick cooking pans, food packaging, electronics, carpets, upholstery, paints, adhesives, and personal care products.¹ The resilient nature of PFAS has made these compounds immensely popular with consumers but has since been considered a potential environmental and public health hazard for their ability to bioaccumulate and for their stability in the environment. More than 6000 PFAS have been discovered in the …

Quantitation Of Female Newt Tetrodotoxin Concentrations And Their Impact In The Newt-Garter Snake Evolutionary Arms Race, Anna Frey, David Green Dr., Lee Kats Dr., Gary Bucciarelli Dr.

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

As this work is not yet published, the authors have requested the removal of the abstract.

The Concentration Of Heavy Metals In Lincoln Nebraska's Tap Water, Evan Neuhaus

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Heavy metals are commonplace in nature, and are typically found in scarce quantities in all drinking sources. However, in high enough concentrations, they can have a myriad of negative health effects. This study seeks to find the concentrations of such metals in the Lincoln water supply utilizing the resources of the Water Center at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. To test for discrete concentrations of trace elements, a method of using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was implemented. ICP-MS uses plasma to ionize and atomize a sample which is then filtered into a series of cones into a …

Investigation Of Unexpected Purple Substance Extracted From Newsprint Paper [Poster], Raquel Wilhelm, Shoshanna Coon, Kirk Manfredi

Research in the Capitol

In an attempt to extract a green dye from newsprint advertisements, it was serendipitously discovered that a purple substance can be extracted from newsprint paper using methanol or acetic acid. Further investigations involving blank newsprint paper showed that the purple substance was a part of the paper itself rather than a component of the ink in the advertisements. Soxhlet extraction was used on the blank newspaper print to obtain the compound. Using different analytical instruments, characteristics of the compound can be determined such as the elemental composition, molar mass, and structure. The ultimate goal is to determine the compound and …

Development Of An Lcms Method To Detect And Quantify Curcumin In A Novel Oral Formulation Of Turmeric, Brandon Renninger

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Preparation And Characterization Of Salvia Triloba Extract And Evaluation Of Its Cytotoxic Effect On Bone Cancer Cell Line, Basma Hossam Abdelmonem

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Osteosarcoma is a tumor of mesenchymal origin characterized by uncontrolled production of immature osteoid tissue. It is more common in children and adults over the age of 65. Many studies reported the cytotoxic effect of many plant extracts, including Salvia triloba, on different cancer cell lines when used alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents.

Methods: In our study, the methanolic extract obtained from the air-dried leaves of Salvia triloba leaves from Palestine was screened for its total phenolic and flavonoid contents. The major components of phenolics and flavonoids were detected using LC-QToF-MS technique. The two phenolics …

Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Embedded In Alginate/Polyethyleneimine Hydrogel As A New Platform To Explore No-Driven Modulation Of Biological Function, Shaimaa Maher, Lauren A. Smith, Celine A. El-Khoury, Haitham F. Kalil, Khalid Sossey-Alaoui, Mekki Bayachou

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Nitric oxide (NO), a small free radical molecule, turned out to be pervasive in biology and was shown to have a substantial influence on a range of biological activities, including cell growth and apoptosis. This molecule is involved in signaling and affects a number of physiologic functions. In recent decades, several processes related to cancer, such as angiogenesis, programmed cell death, infiltration, cell cycle progression, and metastasis, have been linked with nitric oxide. In addition, other parallel work showed that NO also has the potential to operate as an anti-cancer agent. As a result, it has gained attention in cancer-related …

Nanoscale Imaging Of Electrocatalytic Nanomaterials By High-Resolution Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy, Xiang Wang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Numerous insights of the structure–electrochemical activity relationship of nanocatalysts have been obtained by using macroscopic electrochemical measurements over the last several decades. However, signals measured by large electrodes are inevitably averaged out of many nanocatalysts, non-uniformed sizes, uneven morphologies, and multiple crystallographic facets. Over the last ten years, Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM) has advanced electrochemical measurements toward micro- to nanoscale level at a high spatial resolution. The advantages of using nanoelectrode in SECM include fast mass transfer of reactive species, dominated radial diffusion pattern, small double layer capacitance and small RC constant. In this thesis, high-resolution SECM is applied to …

Optimized Peptide Nanomaterials As Delivery Vehicles For Hydrophobic Metal-Based Anticancer Agents, Yaron Marciano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Enzyme-responsive materials have been well explored, particularly as therapeutic and diagnostic agents. In this thesis we demonstrate that anionic self-assembling peptides can be utilized as delivery vehicles for metal-based hydrophobic payloads. The tunability of the system is highlighted as well as the increase in cytotoxicity and selectivity in vitro. The rapid degradation of peptides in cell media may lead to the formation of new peptide-drug bioconjugates with increased activity and selectivity. The physiological stability of these peptide delivery vehicles has been optimized by capping the N-terminus with an acetyl group. This simple backbone modification was shown to not prevent self-assembly, …

Adsorption Of Antibiotics In Wastewater By Stevia Rebaudiana Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles, Hania Guirguis

Theses and Dissertations

Green zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), synthesized using Stevia rebaudiana extract, are investigated as novel adsorbents for the removal of the antibiotics ciprofloxacin (CIP) and tetracycline (TET) from water. The green ZnO NPs were synthesized using a novel, rapid and ecofriendly technique that utilized a natural source with high sugar content as a reducing agent and a less energy intensive approach that did not require annealing or calcination at high temperatures. The particles are mesoporous, with a hexagonal wurtzite structure, a BET surface area of 15.28 m2/g and a size range of 37.36-71.33 nm. At pH 5, the green ZnO …

Ultra-Fast Bioorthogonal Spin-Labeling And Distance Measurements In Mammalian Cells Using Small, Genetically Encoded Tetrazine Amino Acids, Subhashis Jana, Eric G. B. Evans, Hyo Sang Jang, Shuyang Zhang, Hui Zhang, Andrzej Rajca, Sharona E. Gordon, William N. Zagotta, Stefan Stoll, Ryan A. Mehl

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Studying protein structures and dynamics directly in the cellular environments in which they function is essential to fully understand the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular processes. Site-directed spin-labeling (SDSL)—in combination with double electron–electron resonance (DEER) spectroscopy—has emerged as a powerful technique for determining both the structural states and the conformational equilibria of biomacromolecules. In-cell DEER spectroscopy on proteins in mammalian cells has thus far not been possible due to the notable challenges of spin-labeling in live cells. In-cell SDSL requires exquisite biorthogonality, high labeling reaction rates and low background signal from unreacted residual spin label. While the bioorthogonal reaction must be …