Chemistry Commons^™

Analysis Of Metallic Components Of Gsr From Various Types Of Ammunition And Firearms Utilizing An Sem-Edx, Jenna A. Campbell

Graduate Student Research Symposium

Gunshot residue (GSR) is a chemical reaction that occurs when a firearm is discharged, which emits a cloud of gases from the barrel of the gun. It consists of both the burned and unburned propellant and primer components. These components are either organic or inorganic in nature, respectively. The organic components are located in the gunpowder part of the bullet, while the inorganic components are located in the primer part of the bullet. The primer consists of lead, barium, and antimony. These elements are considered heavy metals. Additionally, lead, barium, and antimony are the three key elements found in the …

Non-Methane Organic Gas Emissions From Biomass Burning: Identification, Quantification, And Emission Factors From Ptr-Tof During The Firex 2016 Laboratory Experiment, Abigail R. Koss, Kanako Sekimoto, Jessica B. Gilman, Vanessa Selimovic, Matthew M. Coggon, Kyle J. Zarzana, Bin Yuan, Brian M. Lerner, Steven S. Brown, Jose L. Jimenez, Jordan Krechmer, James M. Roberts, Carsten Warneke, Robert J. Yokelson, Joost De Gouw

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Volatile and intermediate-volatility non-methane organic gases (NMOGs) released from biomass burning were measured during laboratory-simulated wildfires by proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF). We identified NMOG contributors to more than 150 PTR ion masses using gas chromatography (GC) pre-separation with electron ionization, H3O+ chemical ionization, and NO+ chemical ionization, an extensive literature review, and time series correlation, providing higher certainty for ion identifications than has been previously available. Our interpretation of the PTR-ToF mass spectrum accounts for nearly 90ĝ€-% of NMOG mass detected by PTR-ToF across all fuel types. The relative contributions of different NMOGs to individual exact ion masses are …

Legacy Contaminants In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Shelf, Jessica N. Landry

LSU Master's Theses

The Mississippi River watershed is the third largest in the world and drains from 31 states in the United States. Due to its route through the U.S., it passes through hundreds of EPA labeled Superfund sites as well as agricultural and suburban watersheds. These sites are known to have historical chemical contamination, and as a result chemicals can be transported by runoff down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico where their ultimate fate is unknown. Organochlorine chemicals are known to be persistent and are found in agricultural land as well as US EPA Superfund sites, especially DDT, PCBs, …

Aerosol Optical Properties And Trace Gas Emissions By Pax And Op-Ftir For Laboratory-Simulated Western Us Wildfires During Firex, Vanessa Selimovic, Robert J. Yokelson, Carsten Warneke, James M. Roberts, Joost De Gouw, James Reardon, David W.T. Griffith

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Western wildfires have a major impact on air quality in the US. In the fall of 2016, 107 test fires were burned in the large-scale combustion facility at the US Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory as part of the Fire Influence on Regional and Global Environments Experiment (FIREX). Canopy, litter, duff, dead wood, and other fuel components were burned in combinations that represented realistic fuel complexes for several important western US coniferous and chaparral ecosystems including ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, chamise, and manzanita. In addition, dung, Indonesian peat, and individual coniferous ecosystem fuel …

In Vitro Label Free Screening Of Chemotherapeutic Drugs Using Raman Micro-Spectroscopy: Towards A New Paradigm Of Spectralomics., Zeineb Farhane, Haq Nawaz, Franck Bonnier, Hugh Byrne

Articles

This overview groups some of the recent studies highlighting the potential application of Raman micro-spectroscopy as an analytical technique in preclinical development to predict drug mechanism of action and in clinical application as a companion diagnostic and in personalised therapy due to its capacity to predict cellular resistance and therefore to optimise chemotherapeutic treatment efficacy.

Notably, the anthracyclines, Doxorubicin and Actinomycin D, elicit similar spectroscopic signatures of subcellular interaction characteristic of the mode of action of intercalation. Although Cisplatin and Vincristine show markedly different signatures, at low exposure doses, their signatures at higher doses show marked similarities to those elicited …

Comparison Of A Simplified Cupric Oxide Oxidation Hplc Method With The Traditional Gc-Ms Method For Characterization Of Lignin Phenolics In Environmental Samples (Vol 13, Pg 1, 2015), Luni Sun, Robert G. M. Spencer, Peter J. Hernes, Rachael Y. Dyda, Kenneth Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

In our article entitled “Comparison of a simplified cupric oxide oxidation HPLC method with the traditional GC-MS method for characterization of lignin phenolics in environmental samples” (Limnol. Oceanogr.: Methods 13, 2015, 1–52), doi: 10.1002/lom3.10001, we would like to correct the errors in Fig. 2 and Table 2 as mentioned below. The label to Fig. 2(a) needs to be transposed as indicated in the corrected Fig. 2 image below.

Contribution Of Bulky <&Alpha>,<&Beta>-Dehydroamino Acids To The Proteolytic Stability Andenhanced Folding Of <&Beta>-Hairpins And Progress Towards The Total Synthesis Of Yaku<'>Amide A, Ankur Jalan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation primarily covers the impact of bulky ,-dehydroamino acids on the proteolytic stability and enhanced folding of -hairpins. It partly describes the progress towards the total synthesis of yakuamide A, a potent anticancer peptide with an IC50 value of 14 ng/mL against leukemia cells. Proteins and peptides are a very attractive source of potential medicinal agents as they can target various protein“protein interactions that are implicated in several diseases and disorders. The global sales of peptide drugs in 2013 were estimated to be about $28 billion and are constantly rising at an appreciable rate. However, peptide drugs have a …

Ferrocenylchalcone-Uracil Conjugates: Synthesis And Cytotoxic Evaluation, Amandeep Singh, Vishu Mehra, Neda Sadeghiani, Saghar Mozaffari, Keykavous Parang, Vipan Kumar

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Huisgen’s azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction was employed to synthesize a series of 1H-1,2,3-triazole-tethered uracil-ferrocenyl chalcone conjugates with the aim of evaluating their in vitro anti-proliferative efficacy on human leukemia (CCRF-CEM) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-468) cell lines. Cytotoxic evaluation studies identified a number of synthesized conjugates that inhibited the proliferation of leukemia cancer cells by ~70% after 72 h. The selected synthesized conjugates were found to be significantly less cytotoxic against normal kidney cell line (LLC-PK1) when compared with CCRF-CEM cancer cells.

Electron Transfer To Nitrogenase In Different Genomic And Metabolic Backgrounds, Saroj Poudel, Daniel R. Colman, Kathryn R. Fixen, Rhesa N. Ledbetter, Yanning Zheng, Natasha Pence, Lance C. Seefeldt, John W. Peters, Caroline S. Harwood, Eric S. Boyd

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Nitrogenase catalyzes the reduction of dinitrogen (N₂) using low-potential electrons from ferredoxin (Fd) or flavodoxin (Fld) through an ATP-dependent process. Since its emergence in an anaerobic chemoautotroph, this oxygen (O₂)-sensitive enzyme complex has evolved to operate in a variety of genomic and metabolic backgrounds, including those of aerobes, anaerobes, chemotrophs, and phototrophs. However, whether pathways of electron delivery to nitrogenase are influenced by these different metabolic backgrounds is not well understood. Here, we report the distribution of homologs of Fds, Flds, and Fd-/Fld-reducing enzymes in 359 genomes of putative N₂ fixers (diazotrophs). Six distinct lineages …

Implications Of Monomer Deformation For Tetrel And Pnicogen Bonds, Wiktor Zierkiewicz, Mariusz Michalczyk, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

A series of TF₄ and ZF₅ molecules (T = Si, Ge, Sn and Z = P, As, Sb) were allowed to engage in tetrel and pnicogen bonds, respectively, with NH₃, pyrazine, and HCN. The interaction energies are quite large, approaching 50 kcal mol^-1 in some cases. The formation of each complex is accompanied by substantial geometrical deformation of the Lewis acid to accommodate the approaching base. The energy associated with this monomer rearrangement is the largest for the smaller central atoms Si and P, where it exceeds 20 kcal mol^-1. The total reaction …

Chemical Characterization Of Fine Particulate Matter Emitted By Peat Fires In Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, During The 2015 El Niño, Thilina Jayarathne, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Ashley A. Gilbert, Kaitlyn Daugherty, Mark A. Cochrane, Kevin C. Ryan, Erianto I. Putra, Bambang H. Saharjo, Ati D. Nurhayati, Israr Albar, Robert J. Yokelson, Elizabeth A. Stone

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Fine particulate matter (PM2:5) was collected in situ from peat smoke during the 2015 El Niño peat fire episode in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Twenty-one PM samples were collected from 18 peat fire plumes that were primarily smoldering with modified combustion efficiency (MCE) values of 0.725-0.833. PM emissions were determined and chemically characterized for elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), water-soluble OC, water-soluble ions, metals, and organic species. Fuel-based PM2:5 mass emission factors (EFs) ranged from 6.0 to 29.6 g kg1 with an average of 17:36:0 g kg1. EC was detected only in 15 plumes and comprised 1% of PM mass. …

Nepal Ambient Monitoring And Source Testing Experiment (Namaste): Emissions Of Particulate Matter From Wood-And Dung-Fueled Cooking Fires, Garbage And Crop Residue Burning, Brick Kilns, And Other Sources, Thilina Jayarathne, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Prakash V. Bhave, Puppala S. Praveen, Chathurika M. Rathnayake, Robiul Md Islam, Arnico K. Panday, Sagar Adhikari, Rashmi Maharjan, J. Douglas Goetz, Peter F. Decarlo, Eri Saikawa, Robert J. Yokelson, Elizabeth A. Stone

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE) characterized widespread and under-sampled combustion sources common to South Asia, including brick kilns, garbage burning, diesel and gasoline generators, diesel groundwater pumps, idling motorcycles, traditional and modern cooking stoves and fires, crop residue burning, and heating fire. Fuel-based emission factors (EFs; with units of pollutant mass emitted per kilogram of fuel combusted) were determined for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), inorganic ions, trace metals, and organic species. For the forced-draft zigzag brick kiln, EFPM2.5 ranged from 12 to 19gkg-1 with major contributions from OC (7%), sulfate …

Distinct Properties Underlie Flavin-Based Electron Bifurcation In A Novel Electron Transfer Flavoprotein Fixab From Rhodopseudomonas Palustris, H. Diessel Duan, Carolyn E. Lubner, Monika Tokmina-Lukaszewska, George H. Gauss, Brian Bothner, Paul W. King, John W. Peters, Anne-Frances Miller

Chemistry Faculty Publications

A newly recognized third fundamental mechanism of energy conservation in biology, electron bifurcation, uses free energy from exergonic redox reactions to drive endergonic redox reactions. Flavin-based electron bifurcation furnishes low-potential electrons to demanding chemical reactions, such as reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia. We employed the heterodimeric flavoenzyme FixAB from the diazotrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris to elucidate unique properties that underpin flavin-based electron bifurcation. FixAB is distinguished from canonical electron transfer flavoproteins (ETFs) by a second FAD that replaces the AMP of canonical ETF. We exploited near-UV–visible CD spectroscopy to resolve signals from the different flavin sites in FixAB and to …

Investigating Biomass Burning Aerosol Morphology Using A Laser Imaging Nephelometer, Katherine M. Manfred, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Nicholas L. Wagner, Gabriela Adler, Frank Erdesz, Caroline C. Womack, Kara D. Lamb, Joshua P. Schwarz, Alessandro Franchin, Vanessa Selimovic, Robert J. Yokelson, Daniel M. Murphy

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Particle morphology is an important parameter affecting aerosol optical properties that are relevant to climate and air quality, yet it is poorly constrained due to sparse in situ measurements. Biomass burning is a large source of aerosol that generates particles with different morphologies. Quantifying the optical contributions of non-spherical aerosol populations is critical for accurate radiative transfer models, and for correctly interpreting remote sensing data. We deployed a laser imaging nephelometer at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory to sample biomass burning aerosol from controlled fires during the FIREX intensive laboratory study. The laser imaging nephelometer measures the unpolarized scattering phase …

Automating Data Analysis For Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography/Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Non-Targeted Analysis Of Comparative Samples, Ivan A. Titaley, O. Maduka Ogba, Leah Chibwe, Eunha Hoh, Paul H.-Y. Cheong, Staci L. Massey Simonich

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Non-targeted analysis of environmental samples, using comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC/ToF-MS), poses significant data analysis challenges due to the large number of possible analytes. Non-targeted data analysis of complex mixtures is prone to human bias and is laborious, particularly for comparative environmental samples such as contaminated soil pre- and post-bioremediation. To address this research bottleneck, we developed OCTpy, a Python™ script that acts as a data reduction filter to automate GC × GC/ToF-MS data analysis from LECO^® ChromaTOF^® software and facilitates selection of analytes of interest based on peak area …

Pi Tetrel Bonds, And Their Influence On Hydrogen Bonds And Proton Transfers, Yuanxin Wei, Qingzhong Li, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The positive region that lies above the plane of F2TO (T=C and Si) interacts with malondialdehyde (MDA), which contains an intramolecular H‐bond. The T atom of F2TO can lie either in the MDA molecular plane, forming a T⋅⋅⋅O tetrel bond, or F2TO can stack directly above MDA in a parallel arrangement. The former structure is more stable than the latter, and in either case, F2SiO engages in a much stronger interaction than does F2CO, reaching nearly 200 kJ mol−1. The π‐tetrel bond strengthens/weakens the MDA H‐bond when the bond is formed to the hydroxyl/carbonyl group of MDA, and causes an …

Expansion Of The (Bb)>Ru Metallacycle With Coinage Metal Cations: Formation Of B-M-Ru-B (M= Cu, Ag, Au) Dimetalacyclodiboryls†, Bennett J. Eleazer, Mark D. Smith, Alexey A. Popov, Dmitry V. Peryshkov

Faculty Publications

In this work, we introduce a novel approach for the selective assembly of heterometallic complexes by unprecedented coordination of coinage metal cations to strained single ruthenium–boron bonds on a surface of icosahedral boron clusters. M(I) cations (M ¼ Cu, Ag, and Au) insert into B–Ru bonds of the (BB)–carboryne complex of ruthenium with the formation of four-membered B–M–Ru–B metalacycles. Results of theoretical calculations suggest that bonding within these metalacycles can be best described as unusual three-center-two-electron B–M/Ru interactions that are isolobal to B–H/Ru borane coordination for M ¼ Cu and Ag, or the pairs of two-center-two electron B–Au and Au–Ru …

The Therapeutic Potential Of Natural Products From Vaccinium Berries For Viral And Lung Diseases Through An Improved Lc-Ms-Based Chemometric Approach, Vanya I. Petrova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Smoking is a global epidemic that creates serious health and economic burden. It is the primary, preventative factor for the majority of causes of death worldwide. Analysis of publicly available data revealed that smoking prevalence rates among the youth in developing countries, especially in Bulgaria, are alarmingly high. The Bulgarian population has one of the highest percentages of smokers and the second highest rate among teenage girls. Consequently, chronic diseases affected by smoking, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), have been increasing there in the last five years. Poland, on the other hand, is an exemplary outlier for the …

Informing Efforts To Develop Nitroreductase For Amine Production, Anne-Frances Miller, Jonathan T. Park, Kyle L. Ferguson, Warintra Pitsawong, Andreas S. Bommarius

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Nitroreductases (NRs) hold promise for converting nitroaromatics to aromatic amines. Nitroaromatic reduction rate increases with Hammett substituent constant for NRs from two different subgroups, confirming substrate identity as a key determinant of reactivity. Amine yields were low, but compounds yielding amines tend to have a large π system and electron withdrawing substituents. Therefore, we also assessed the prospects of varying the enzyme. Several different subgroups of NRs include members able to produce aromatic amines. Comparison of four NR subgroups shows that they provide contrasting substrate binding cavities with distinct constraints on substrate position relative to the flavin. The unique architecture …

A Galactomannoglucan Derived From Agaricus Brasiliensis: Purification, Characterization And Macrophage Activation Via Mapk And Ikappab/Nfkappab Pathways, Yanqing Zhang, Danting Liu, Leilei Fang, Xiaotong Zhao, Aimin Zhou, Junbo Xie

Chemistry Faculty Publications

In this study, a novel galactomannoglucan named as TJ2 was isolated from Agaricus brasiliensis with microwave extraction, macroporous resin, ion exchange resin and high resolution gel chromatography. TJ2 is composed of glucose, mannose and galactose in the ratio 99.2:0.2:0.6. Infrared spectra (IR), methylation analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra indicated that TJ2 mainly contained a b-(1?3) – linked glucopyranosyl backbone. Interestingly, TJ2 significantly promoted RAW264.7 cell proliferation, and was able to activate the cells to engulf E. coli. In addition, TJ2 induced the expression of Interleukin 1b (IL-1b), Interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a) and cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) in …

Cooperative Standing-Horizontalstanding Reentrant Transition For Numerous Solid Particles Under External Vibration, Satoshi Takatori, Hikari Baba, Takatoshi Ichino, Chwen-Yang Shew, Kenichi Yoshikawa

Publications and Research

We report the collective behavior of numerous plastic bolt-like particles exhibiting one of two distinct states, either standing stationary or horizontal accompanied by tumbling motion, when placed on a horizontal plate undergoing sinusoidal vertical vibration. Experimentally, we prepared an initial state in which all of the particles were standing except for a single particle that was placed at the center of the plate. Under continuous vertical vibration, the initially horizontal particle triggers neighboring particles to fall over into a horizontal state through tumbling-induced collision, and this effect gradually spreads to all of the particles, i.e., the number of horizontal particles …

Biomimetic Macromolecules For Macrophage Targeting And Modulation, Joshua Whited

ETD Archive

Carbohydrate recognition has come to the forefront of biological aiming to uncover the mechanisms of physiological and pathological processes. Cell surface glycans are involved in processes including cellular adhesion, cell signaling, and immune response. A new approach for profiling cell surface glycans has great potential for a wide range of biomedical applications. Lectins have been conventionally used to determine the structure and function of glycoproteins, however, their numbers are still restricted compared to the number of glycan structures. Boronic acid has proven a remarkable small molecule capable of binding diols in aqueous solution. This interaction indicates boronic acid derived molecules …

Audiobook Of A World From Dust, Ben Mcfarland

Faculty Open Access Books

A World From Dust is a popular science book about the chemical sequence behind the evolution of creation.

It’s about how geology, biology, and chemistry worked together over billions of years, providing a hidden order under the random flow of genes and lava and water.

It’s about the chemical job that each element takes up in life, and how that job is predictable from its place on the periodic table.

It can be told as the story of many elements: how iron and sulfur gave a spark of life; how manganese was a key for oxygen; and how copper and …

Large Effect Quantitative Trait Loci For Salicinoid Phenolic Glycosides In Populus: Implications For Gene Discovery, Scott A. Woolbright, Brian J. Rehill, Richard L. Lindroth, Stephen P. Difazio, Gregory D. Martinsen, Matthew S. Zinkgraf, Gerard J. Allan, Paul Keim, Thomas G. Whitham

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Genomic studies have been used to identify genes underlying many important plant secondary metabolic pathways. However, genes for salicinoid phenolic glycosides (SPGs)—ecologically important compounds with significant commercial, cultural, and medicinal applications—remain largely undescribed. We used a linkage map derived from a full-sib population of hybrid cottonwoods (Populus spp.) to search for quanti- tative trait loci (QTL) for the SPGs salicortin and HCH-salicortin. SSR markers and primer sequences were used to anchor the map to the V3.0 P. trichocarpa genome. We discovered 21 QTL for the two traits, including a major QTL for HCH-salicortin (R2 = .52) that colocated with a …

Combining Semi-Synthesis With Plant And Microbial Biocatalysis: New Frontiers In Producing A Chemical Arsenal Against Cancer†, Samuel Gary, Janet Adegboye, Brian Popp, Jean-Christophe Cocuron, Brooklyn Woodrum, Nik Kovinich

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Natural products (NPs) that exhibit anticancer activities are frequently not potent enough to be used clinically as therapeutics. Semi-synthesis and metabolic engineering are promising approaches for producing more efficacious derivatives of anticancer NPs (ACNPs), but each technique alone can be inefficient at obtaining specific ACNP derivatives that may be suspected to have enhanced anticancer activity. Here, we demonstrate that the methods of semi-synthesis and biocatalysis can be used as modules in succession and in different combinations to produce 6,8-dibromogenkwanin, a derivative of the ACNP apigenin. Further, we demonstrated that soybean seed coats can be used as a biocatalyst to convert …

Metabolic And Transcriptional Modules Independently Diversify Plasma Cell Lifespan And Function, Wing Y. Lam, Arijita Jash, Cong-Hui Yao, Lucas D'Souza, Rachel Wong, Ryan M. Nunley, Gordon P. Meares, Gary J. Patti, Deepta Bhattacharya

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Plasma cell survival and the consequent duration of immunity vary widely with infection or vaccination. Using fluorescent glucose analog uptake, we defined multiple developmentally independent mouse plasma cell populations with varying life- spans. Long-lived plasma cells imported more fluo- rescent glucose analog, expressed higher surface levels of the amino acid transporter CD98, and had more autophagosome mass than did short-lived cells. Low amino acid concentrations triggered re- ductions in both antibody secretion and mitochon- drial respiration, especially by short-lived plasma cells. To explain these observations, we found that glutamine was used for both mitochondrial respira- tion and anaplerotic reactions, yielding …

Structure Of The Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Mycangia Revealed Through Micro-Computed Tomography, You Li, Yongying Ruan, Matthew T. Kasson, Edward L. Stanley, Conrad P.D.T Gillett, Andrew J. Johnson, Mengna Zhang, Jiri Hulcr

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae) rely on a symbiosis with fungi for their nutrition. Symbiotic fungi are preserved and transported in specialized storage structures called mycangia. Although pivotal in the symbiosis, mycangia have been notoriously difficult to study, given their minute size and membranous structure. We compared the application of novel visualization methods for the study of mycangia, namely micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and laser ablation tomography (LATscan) with traditional paraffin sectioning. Micro-CT scanning has shown the greatest promise in new organ discovery, while sectioning remains the only method with sufficient resolution for cellular visualization. All three common types …

Spontaneous Dna Damage To The Nuclear Genome Promotes Senescence, T Redox Imbalance And Aging, Andria R. Robinson, Matthew J. Yousefzadeh, Tania A. Rozgaja, Jin Wang, Xuesen Li, Jeremy S. Tilstra, Chelsea H. Feldman, Siobhan Q. Gregg, Caroline H. Johnson, Erin M. Skoda, Marie-Celine Frantz, Harris Bell-Temin, Hannah Pope-Varsalona, Aditi U. Gurkar, Luigi A. Nasto, Rena A.S. Robinson, Heike Fuhrmann-Stroissnigg, Jolanta Czerwinska, Sara J. Mcgowan, Nadiezhda Cantu-Madellin, Jamie B. Harris, Salony Maniar, Mark A. Ross, Christy E. Trussoni, Nicholas F. Larusso, Eugenia Cifuentes-Pagano, Patrick J. Pagano, Barbara Tudek, Nam V. Vo, Lora H. Rigatti, Patricia L. Opresko, Donna B. Stolz, Simon C. Watkins, Christin E. Burd, Claudette M. St, Croix, Gary Siuzdak, Nathan A. Yates, Paul D. Robbins, Yinsheng Wang, Peter Wipf, Eric E. Kelley, Laura J. Neidernhofer

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Accumulation of senescent cells over time contributes to aging and age-related diseases. However, what drives senescence in vivo is not clear. Here we used a genetic approach to determine if spontaneous nuclear DNA damage is sufficient to initiate senescence in mammals. Ercc1-/Δ mice with reduced expression of ERCC1-XPF endonuclease have impaired capacity to repair the nuclear genome. Ercc1-/Δ mice accumulated spontaneous, oxidative DNA damage more rapidly than wild-type (WT) mice. As a consequence, senescent cells accumulated more rapidly in Ercc1-/Δ mice compared to repair-competent animals. However, the levels of DNA damage and senescent cells in Ercc1-/Δ mice never exceeded that …

Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bond Forming Reactions, Jiangyue Miao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research project lies in the development of new methodology in the field of Brønsted acid catalysis enabling rapid synthesis of medicinally relevant compounds. It is foreseen that small molecule sulfonic acids evaluated in this research project will unveil new asymmetric carbon carbon bond forming reactions between substrates hitherto unexplored with Brønsted acid catalysis. It has been established that strong Brønsted acids, such as phosphoric acids, are capable of mediating highly selective transformations operating through unique mechanistic manifolds.

Specific focus for the sulfonic acid catalysts was geared towards asymmetric coupling reactions with synthetically useful precursors such as …

Progress Toward The Synthesis Of Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitors Derived From Fluoroquinolones. N-1 Amine Derivatives, Luke Burroughs, Joshua Kuperus, Evamarie Medendorp, Michael Barbachyn

Summer Research

Bacterial resistance to current antibiotics is a growing problem across the globe. The CDC reported that the estimated minimum illnesses caused by antibiotic resistance in the year 2013 was over 2 million, resulting in about 23,000 deaths in the U.S. 1 In 2014, the Obama administration released an executive order mandating that research be conducted to identify solutions to the bacterial resistance problem, especially in Gram-negative bacteria. One antibiotic series that has shown some promise are the fluoroquinolones. Fluoroquinolones have been on the market for years, with a current reference example being moxifloxacin. Fluoroquinolones (FQs) work by targeting DNA gyrase …