Chemistry Commons^™

Limited Sequence Diversity Within A Population Supports Prebiotic Rna Reproduction, Ryo Mizuuchi, Niles Lehman

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The origins of life require the emergence of informational polymers capable of reproduction. In the RNA world on the primordial Earth, reproducible RNA molecules would have arisen from a mixture of compositionally biased, poorly available, short RNA sequences in prebiotic environments. However, it remains unclear what level of sequence diversity within a small subset of population is required to initiate RNA reproduction by prebiotic mechanisms. Here, using a simulation for template-directed recombination and ligation, we explore the effect of sequence diversity in a given population for the onset of RNA reproduction. We show that RNA reproduction is improbable in low …

Avoiding Adverse Effects: New Ideas In Drug Discovery For Targeting Pparγ, Trey M. Patton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) has been a drug target to treat type 2 diabetes for the last 20 years when rosiglitazone and pioglitazone were approved by the FDA in 1999. While effective at increasing insulin sensitivity, these drugs cause serious adverse effects due to their full agonist characteristics. For that reason, drug discovery efforts have attempted to reduce or prevent the amount of agonist character of new PPARγ targeting ligands. Unfortunately, there have been no new FDA approved drugs for the receptor. There is a need for new ideas to produce better quality pharmaceuticals that lessen the impact of …

Tumor-Targeted Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles With Encapsulated Iron And Its Biomedical Application For In Vitro Killing Of Melanoma Cell Lines Through Ferroptosis Assisted Chemodynamic Therapy (Cdt), Khalaf Jasim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Melanoma represents one of the most aggressive and lethal forms of skin cancer, with annually rising incidences throughout the world. Although chemotherapy modalities remain the mainstay of treatment, the therapeutic potential of chemotherapy typically is hampered by multidrug resistance (MDR) and nonspecific drug distribution that causes side-effects. To surmount such limitations, novel nanoformulations of low band-gap poly ({4,8-bis [(2-ethylhexyl) oxy] benzo [1,2-b:4,5-b?] dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl) carbonyl] thieno [3,4-b] thiophenediyl}) (PTB7) and poly [2,1,3-benzothiadiazole- 4,7- diyl [4,4-bis (2-ethylhexyl)- 4H-cyclopenta [2,1-b:3,4-b'] dithiophene-2,6-diyl]] (PCPDTBT) were fabricated by a reprecipitation method. These conjugated polymer nanoparticles were functionalized with the polypeptide endothelin-3 (EDN3-CPNPs) to target melanoma. The …

Investigation Of Amyloid Β Oligomer Dissociation Mechanisms By Single Molecule Fluorescence Techniques, Hope Cook Abdalla

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is currently considered the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease and places a large financial burden on society as healthcare resources are limited and the disease does not have a cure. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the presence of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles; however current literature suggests Aβ oligomers are the main aggregating species leading to AD symptoms. Therefore, the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s, accumulation of amyloid beta, is currently being studied in hopes of developing treatment options. Our research aims at determining the mechanism and kinetics of Aβ oligomer dissociation into non-toxic monomers in the …

Evaluating Methods Of Obtaining Male Pheromone From Hymenochirus Sp. Using Analytical Chemistry, Vincent Wing-Kun Leung

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Male Hymenochirus sp. frogs are known to release pheromone that attracts females of the same species. Four methods for collecting secretions containing pheromone in Hymenochirus sp. were tested: norepinephrine injection, gonadotropin-releasing hormone injection, homogenization of gland tissue, and electrostimulation of the skin over the breeding gland area. The samples collected were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry. The HPLC chromatograph for the male norepinephrine sample contained a peak at 6.4 min that was not in the female norepinephrine sample HPLC chromatograph. The male norepinephrine sample mass spectrum had a peak of m/z 292.0 not in the female …

Characterization Of The Microbial Phosphonate-Activating Pntc Enzymes, Kyle Rice

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

New strategies are urgently needed to combat infectious diseases in an era of rising antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, an emerging appreciation for the human microbiome’s role in maintaining health motivates discovery of species-specific antibiotics that minimally disrupt our native bacterial communities. Small molecule modifications to bacterial cell surfaces represent a potentially rich source of new targets for next generation antibiotics, as these molecules mediate virulence and evasion of the host immune response. Phosphocholine (PCho) is a rare cell surface modification that contributes to virulence, and modifications with phosphonates like 2-aminoethylphosphonate (AEP) are even more unusual and therefore provide opportunities for species- …

The Catalytic Mechanism Of Electron-Bifurcating Electron Transfer Flavoproteins (Etfs) Involves An Intermediary Complex With Nad+, Gerrit J. Schut, Nishya Mohamed-Raseek, Monika Tokmina-Lukaszewska, David W. Mulder, Diep M. N. Nguyen, Gina L. Lipscomb, John Patrick Hoben, Angela Patterson, Carolyn E. Lubner, Paul W. King, John W. Peters, Brian Bothner, Anne-Frances Miller, Michael W. W. Adams

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Electron bifurcation plays a key role in anaerobic energy metabolism, but it is a relatively new discovery, and only limited mechanistic information is available on the diverse enzymes that employ it. Herein, we focused on the bifurcating electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum. The EtfABCX enzyme complex couples NADH oxidation to the endergonic reduction of ferredoxin and exergonic reduction of menaquinone. We developed a model for the enzyme structure by using nondenaturing MS, cross-linking, and homology modeling in which EtfA, -B, and -C each contained FAD, whereas EtfX contained two [4Fe-4S] clusters. On the basis …

Kcnq1/Kcne1 Interaction In The Cardiac Iks Channel And Its Physiological Consequences, Jiajing Xu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Dynamic conformational changes of ion channel proteins during activation gating determine their function as carriers of current. The relationship between these molecular movements and channel function over the physiological timescale of the action potential (AP) has not been fully established due to limitations of existing techniques. We constructed a library of possible cardiac IKs protein conformations and applied a combination of protein segmentation and energy linearization to study this relationship computationally. Simulations reproduced the effects of the beta-subunit (KCNE1) on the alpha-subunit (KCNQ1) dynamics and function, observed in experiments. Mechanistically, KCNE1 increased the probability of “visiting” conducting pore conformations on …

Carbene Triel Bonds Between Trr3 (Tr=B, Al) And N-Heterocyclic Carbenes, Zongqing Chi, Wenbo Dong, Qingzhong Li, Xin Yang, Steve Scheiner, Shufeng Liu

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The carbene triel bond is predicted and characterized by theoretical calculations. The C lone pair of N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) is allowed to interact with the central triel atom of TrR₃ (Tr = B and Al; R = H, F, Cl, and Br). The ensuing bond is very strong, with an interaction energy of nearly 90 kcal/mol. Replacement of the C lone pair by that of either N or Si weakens the binding. The bond is strengthened by electron‐withdrawing substituents on the triel atom, and the reverse occurs with substitution on the NHC. However, these effects do not strictly follow …

Solvent Stable Microbial Lipases: Current Understanding And Biotechnological Applications, Barry Ryan, Priyanka Priyanka, Yeqi Tan, Gemma K Kinsella, Gary T. Henehan

Articles

Objective: This review examines on our current understanding of microbial lipase solvent tolerance, with a specific focus on the molecular strategies employed to improve lipase stability in a non-aqueous environment.

Results: It provides an overview of known solvent tolerant lipases and of approaches to improving solvent stability such as; enhancing stabilising interactions, modification of residue flexibility and surface charge alteration. It shows that judicious selection of lipase source supplemented by appropriate enzyme stabilisation, can lead to a wide application spectrum for lipases.

Conclusion: Organic solvent stable lipases are, and will continue to be, versatile and adaptable biocatalytic workhorses commonly employed …

Chemical Analysis Of Aerosol Particle Surfaces, Hillary Woolf

Fall Student Research Symposium 2018

Aerosol particles are thought to impact climate properties. The ability to probe aerosols to understand their chemical properties has been difficult due to a lack of appropriate analytical techniques. Here we present interface-specific SHS techniques to allow for in situ analysis of aerosol particles. Transportation of aerosols from their collection site to the laboratory disturbs their chemical and physical properties thus making it difficult to take accurate measurements of aerosol particles. We show that using a CCD detector is a more effective option for producing more sensitive results and can greatly reduce sampling time and could possibly detect measurements from …

Canvass: A Crowd-Sourced, Natural-Product Screening Library For Exploring Biological Space, Sara E. Kearney, Gergely ZahoráNszky-KőHalmi, Kyle R. Brimacombe, Mark J. Henderson, Caitlin Lynch, Tongan Zhao, Kanny K. Wan, Zina Itkin, Christopher Dillon, Min Shen, Dorian M. Cheff, Tobie D. Lee, Danielle Bougie, Ken Cheng, Nathan P. Coussens, Dorjbal Dorjsuren, Richard T. Eastman, Ruili Huang, Michael J. Iannotti, Surendra Karavadhi, Carleen Klumpp-Thomas, Jacob S. Roth, Srilatha Sakamuru, Wei Sun, Steven A. Titus, Adam Yasgar, Ya-Qin Zhang, Jinghua Zhao, Rodrigo B. Andrade, M. Kevin Brown, Robert B. Grossman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Natural products and their derivatives continue to be wellsprings of nascent therapeutic potential. However, many laboratories have limited resources for biological evaluation, leaving their previously isolated or synthesized compounds largely or completely untested. To address this issue, the Canvass library of natural products was assembled, in collaboration with academic and industry researchers, for quantitative high-throughput screening (qHTS) across a diverse set of cell-based and biochemical assays. Characterization of the library in terms of physicochemical properties, structural diversity, and similarity to compounds in publicly available libraries indicates that the Canvass library contains many structural elements in common with approved drugs. The …

Generating High-Order Optical And Spin Harmonics From Ferromagnetic Monolayers, G.P. Zhang, M.S. Si, M. Murakami, Y.H. Bai, Thomas George

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in solids has entered a new phase of intensive research, with envisioned band-structure mapping on an ultrashort time scale. This partly benefits from a flurry of new HHG materials discovered, but so far has missed an important group. HHG in magnetic materials should have profound impact on future magnetic storage technology advances. Here we introduce and demonstrate HHG in ferromagnetic monolayers. We find that HHG carries spin information and sensitively depends on the relativistic spin–orbit coupling; and if they are dispersed into the crystal momentum k space, harmonics originating from real transitions can be k-resolved and …

Investigation Of Electrolytic Flocculation For Microalga Scenedesmus Sp Using Aluminum And Graphite Electrodes, Shihong Liu, Husam A. Abu Hajar, Guy Riefler, Ben J. Stuart

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Electrolytic flocculation using non-sacrificial electrodes with flocculants added was studied on harvesting Scenedesmus sp. In order to optimize the operating conditions of the electrolytic flocculation process and to quantify the amount of flocculants added, aluminum electrodes were first used in the process. It was found that under optimal conditions, the microalgae removal efficiency using aluminum electrodes could reach 98.5%, while 34.2 mg L^-1 of aluminum ions were released during the process. Different metal electrodes were also studied, but high microalgae removal efficiency was witnessed only using aluminum electrodes, indicating the influence of the aluminum ion in flocculation. When non-sacrificial …

Heteroleptic Nickel Complexes Of A Bulky Bis(Carbene)Borate Ligand, Jorge L. Martinez, Wei-Tsung Less, Maren Pink, Chun-Hsing Chen, Jeremy M. Smith

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Bis(carbene)borate ligand transfer to the nickel nitrosyl synthon Ni(NO)(PPh3)2Br provides the new nickel nitrosyl complex Ph2B(t BuIm)2Ni(NO)(PPh3). The solid state structure reveals a trigonal pyramidal nickel ion with a very long bond to the apical PPh3 ligand. The complex reversibly dissociates PPh3 in solution to afford three‐coordinate Ph2B(t BuIm)2Ni(NO), with NMR data providing evidence for PPh3 binding at low temperatures. Ligand transfer to Ni(PMe3)2Cl2 provides the square planar complex, Ph2B(t BuIm)2Ni(PMe3)Cl, which shows no evidence for rearranging to the form a homoleptic complex with two bis(carbene)borate ligands. This complex is a suitable synthon for the [Ph2B(t BuIm)2Ni]+ fragment, as demonstrated …

Data On Spectrum-Based Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Measurement Of E. Coli Multidrug Transporter Acrb, Yuguang Cai, Thomas E. Wilkop, Yinan Wei

Chemistry Faculty Publications

This paper presented the dataset of correction parameters used in the determination of the energy transfer efficiencies from the spectrum-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurement in a trimeric membrane protein AcrB. The cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) and yellow fluorescent protein (YPet) were used as the donor and acceptor, respectively. Two AcrB fusion proteins were constructed, AcrB-CFP and AcrB-YPet. The proteins were co-expressed in Escherichia coli cells, and energy transfer efficiency were determined in live cells. To obtain reliable energy transfer data, a complete set of correction parameters need to be first determined to accommodate for factors such as background …

A Gcn5-Related N-Acetyltransferase (Gnat) Capable Of Acetylating Polymyxin B And Colistin Antibiotics In Vitro, Mateusz P. Czub, Brian Zhang, M. Paul Chiarelli, Karolina A. Majorek, Layton Joe, Pryemyslaw J. Prebski, Alina Revilla, Weiming Wu, Daniel P. Becker, Wladek Minor, Misty L. Kuhn

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Deeper exploration of uncharacterized Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferases has the potential to expand our knowledge of the types of molecules that can be acylated by this important superfamily of enzymes and may offer new opportunities for biotechnological applications. While determining native or biologically relevant in vivo functions of uncharacterized proteins is ideal, their alternative or promiscuous in vitro capabilities provide insight into key active site interactions. Additionally, this knowledge can be exploited to selectively modify complex molecules and reduce byproducts when synthetic routes become challenging. During our exploration of uncharacterized Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferases from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we identified such an …

Molecular Fossils From Phytoplankton Reveal Secular Pco2 Trend Over The Phanerozoic, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Johan W. H. Weijers, Brian S. Blais, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Past changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (PCO2) have had a major impact on earth system dynamics; yet, reconstructing secular trends of past PCO2 remains a prevalent challenge in paleoclimate studies. The current long-term PCO2reconstructions rely largely on the compilation of many different proxies, often with discrepancies among proxies, particularly for periods older than 100 million years (Ma). Here, we reconstructed Phanerozoic PCO2 from a single proxy: the stable carbon isotopic fractionation associated with photosynthesis (Ɛp) that increases as PCO2 increases. This concept has been widely applied to alkenones, but here, we …

Decreasing Phosphatidylcholine On The Surface Of The Lipid Droplet Correlates With Altered Protein Binding And Steatosis, Laura Listenberger, Elizabeth Townsend, Cassandra Rickertsen, Anastasia Hains, Elizabeth Brown, Emily G. Inwards, Angela K. Stoeckman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) is characterized by an abnormal accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs) in the liver. Here, we explore the composition of hepatic LDs in a rat model of AFLD. Five to seven weeks of alcohol consumption led to significant increases in hepatic triglyceride mass, along with increases in LD number and size. Additionally, hepatic LDs from rats with early alcoholic liver injury show a decreased ratio of surface phosphatidylcholine (PC) to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). This occurred in parallel with an increase in the LD association of perilipin 2, a prominent LD protein. To determine if changes to the …

Crystallographic And Computational Characterization Of Methyl Tetrel Bonding In S-Adenosylmethionine-Dependent Methyltransferases, Raymond C. Trievel, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Tetrel bonds represent a category of non-bonding interaction wherein an electronegative atom donates a lone pair of electrons into the sigma antibonding orbital of an atom in the carbon group of the periodic table. Prior computational studies have implicated tetrel bonding in the stabilization of a preliminary state that precedes the transition state in S_N2 reactions, including methyl transfer. Notably, the angles between the tetrel bond donor and acceptor atoms coincide with the prerequisite geometry for the S_N2 reaction. Prompted by these findings, we surveyed crystal structures of methyltransferases in the Protein Data Bank and discovered …

Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Phaeosphaeride A Derivatives As Antitumor Agents, Victoria Abzianidze, Petr Beltyukov, Sofya Zakharenkova, Natalia Moiseeva, Jennifer Mejia, Alvin Holder, Yuri Trishin, Alexander Berestetskiy, Victor Kuznetsov

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

New derivatives of phaeosphaeride A (PPA) were synthesized and characterized. Anti-tumor activity studies were carried out on the HCT-116, PC3, MCF-7, A549, К562, NCI-Н929, Jurkat, THP-1, RPMI8228 tumor cell lines, and on the HEF cell line. All of the compounds synthesized were found to have better efficacy than PPA towards the tumor cell lines mentioned. Compound 6 was potent against six cancer cell lines, HCT-116, PC-3, K562, NCI-H929, Jurkat, and RPMI8226, showing a 47, 13.5, 16, 4, 1.5, and 7-fold increase in anticancer activity comparative to those of etoposide, respectively. Compound 1 possessed selectivity toward the NCI-H929 cell line (IC …

Dependence Of Nmr Chemical Shifts Upon Ch Bond Lengths Of A Methyl Group Involved In A Tetrel Bond, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Four different Lewis acids that might participate in a tetrel bond with a nucleophile (SEt₂Me⁺, NMe₄⁺, SMe₂, NMe₃) are examined. The NMR chemical shifts of the methyl C and H atoms are calculated as the CH bond lengths are systematically stretched and contracted, in the absence of a base. The C shielding diminishes by roughly 2 ppm for a stretch of 0.01 Å, while that of H drops by only 0.3 ppm. The deshieldings caused purely by the bond length changes are far too small to account for the …

Acidity And Antioxidant Activity Of Cold Brew Coffee., Niny Z. Rao, Megan Fuller

College of Life Sciences Faculty Papers

The acidity and antioxidant activity of cold brew coffee were investigated using light roast coffees from Brazil, two regions of Ethiopia, Columbia, Myanmar, and Mexico. The concentrations of three caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) isomers were also determined. Cold brew coffee chemistry was compared to that of hot brew coffee prepared with the same grind-to-coffee ratio. The pH values of the cold and hot brew samples were found to be comparable, ranging from 4.85 to 5.13. The hot brew coffees were found to have higher concentrations of total titratable acids, as well as higher antioxidant activity, than that of their cold brew …

Resurrecting The Regulatory Properties Of The Ostreococcus Tauri Adp-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Large Subunit, Carlos M. Figueroa, Misty L. Kuhn, Benjamin L. Hill, Alberto A. Iglesias, Miguel A. Ballicora

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADP-Glc PPase) catalyzes the first committed step for the synthesis of glycogen in cyanobacteria and starch in green algae and plants. The enzyme from cyanobacteria is homotetrameric (α4), while that from green algae and plants is heterotetrameric (α2β2). These ADP-Glc PPases are allosterically regulated by 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA, activator) and inorganic orthophosphate (Pi, inhibitor). Previous studies on the cyanobacterial and plant enzymes showed that 3PGA binds to two highly conserved Lys residues located in the C-terminal domain. We observed that both Lys residues are present in the small (α) subunit of the Ostreococcus tauri enzyme; however, one of these …

Primary Emissions Of Glyoxal And Methylglyoxal From Laboratory Measurements Of Open Biomass Burning, Kyle J. Zarzana, Vanessa Selimovic, Abigail R. Koss, Kanako Sekimoto, Matthew M. Coggon, Bin Yuan, William P. Dubé, Robert J. Yokelson, Carsten Warneke, Joost A. De Gouw, James M. Roberts, Steven S. Brown

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We report the emissions of glyoxal and methylglyoxal from the open burning of biomass during the NOAA-led 2016 FIREX intensive at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, MT. Both compounds were measured using cavity-enhanced spectroscopy, which is both more sensitive and more selective than methods previously used to determine emissions of these two compounds. A total of 75 burns were conducted, using 33 different fuels in 8 different categories, providing a far more comprehensive dataset for emissions than was previously available. Measurements of methylglyoxal using our instrument suffer from spectral interferences from several other species, and the values reported here …

Starch Synthesis In Ostreococcus Tauri: The Starch-Binding Domains Of Starch Synthase Iii-B Are Essential For Catalytic Activity, Julieta Barchiesi, Maria Belen Velazquez, Nicolas Palopoli, Alberto A. Iglesias, Diego F. Gomez-Casati, Miguel A. Ballicora, Maria Victoria Busi

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Starch is the major energy storage carbohydrate in photosynthetic eukaryotes. Several enzymes are involved in building highly organized semi-crystalline starch granules, including starch-synthase III (SSIII), which is widely conserved in photosynthetic organisms. This enzyme catalyzes the extension of the α-1,4 glucan chain and plays a regulatory role in the synthesis of starch. Interestingly, unlike most plants, the unicellular green alga Ostreococcus tauri has three SSIII isoforms. In the present study, we describe the structure and function of OsttaSSIII-B, which has a similar modular organization to SSIII in higher plants, comprising three putative starch-binding domains (SBDs) at the N-terminal region and …

Metallo-Polyelectrolytes As A Class Of Ionic Macromolecules For Functional Materials, Tianyu Zhu, Ye Sha, Jing Yan, Parasmani Pageni, Md Anisur Rahman, Yi Yan, Chuanbing Tang

Faculty Publications

The fields of soft polymers and macromolecular sciences have enjoyed a unique combination of metals and organic frameworks in the name of metallopolymers or organometallic polymers. When metallopolymers carry charged groups, they form a class of metal-containing polyelectrolytes or metallo-polyelectrolytes. This review identifies the unique properties and functions of metallo-polyelectrolytes compared with conventional organo-polyelectrolytes, in the hope of shedding light on the formation of functional materials with intriguing applications and potential benefits. It concludes with a critical perspective on the challenges and hurdles for metallo-polyelectrolytes, especially experimental quantitative analysis and theoretical modeling of ionic binding.

On The Roles Of Wheat Endosperm Adp-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Subunits, Danisa M. L. Ferrero, Matias D. Asencion Diez, Misty L. Kuhn, Christine A. Falaschetti, Claudia V. Piattoni, Alberto A. Iglesias, Miguel A. Ballicora

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from wheat endosperm controls starch synthesis in seeds and has unique regulatory properties compared to others from this family. It comprises two types of subunits, but despite its importance little is known about their roles. Here, we synthesized de novo the wheat endosperm ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase small (S) and large (L) subunit genes, heterologously expressed them in Escherichia coli, and kinetically characterized the recombinant proteins. To understand their distinct roles, we co-expressed them with well characterized subunits from the potato tuber enzyme to obtain hybrids with one S subunit from one source and an L subunit from …

Speciated Online Pm1 From South Asian Combustion Sources-Part 1: Fuel-Based Emission Factors And Size Distributions, J. Douglas Goetz, Michael R. Giordano, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Ted J. Christian, Rashmi Maharjan, Sagar Adhikari, Prakash V. Bhave, Puppala S. Praveen, Arnico K. Panday, Thilina Jayarathne, Elizabeth A. Stone, Robert J. Yokelson, Peter F. Decarlo

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Combustion of biomass, garbage, and fossil fuels in South Asia has led to poor air quality in the region and has uncertain climate forcing impacts. Online measurements of submicron aerosol (PM1) emissions were conducted as part of the Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE) to investigate and report emission factors (EFs) and vacuum aerodynamic diameter (dva) size distributions from prevalent but poorly characterized combustion sources. The online aerosol instrumentation included a qmini aerosol mass spectrometer (mAMS) and a dual-spot eight-channel aethalometer (AE33). The mAMS measured non-refractory PM1 mass, composition, and size. The AE33-measured black carbon (BC) mass and …

Adapting Cell-Free Protein Synthesis As A Platform Technology For Education, Grace W. Chu, Max Z. Levine, Nicole E. Gregorio, Javin P. Oza

STAR Program Research Presentations

Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) has emerged as an enabling biotechnology for research and biomanufacturing as it allows for the production of protein without the need for a living cell. Applications of CFPS include the construction of libraries for functional genomics and structural biology, the production of personalized medicine, and the expression of virus-like particles. The absence of a cell wall provides an open platform for direct manipulation of the reaction conditions and biological machinery. This project focuses on adapting the CFPS biotechnology to the classroom, making a hands-on bioengineering approach to learning protein synthesis accessible to students grades K-16 through …