Chemistry Commons^™

Investigations Into The Molecular Mechanisms Of Bacterial Pathogen–Host Interactions: Construction Of A Dual Plasmid System For Incorporation Of Unnatural Amino Acids Into Pseudomonas Syringae Pv. Tomato Dc3000, Scotty D. Raber

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A dual plasmid system for the incorporation of unnatural amino acids into plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, has been designed. This invention is expected to allow (a) mutations of proteins synthesized by the bacterium, P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000, that can capture molecular targets, especially for such modified proteins secreted by the phytopathogen into the host plant cells of A. thaliana and S. lycopersicum, (b) expression of biological probes in the bacterial species to monitor changes in redox, nutritional, and other small molecule states over pre-, post- and in situ disease stages, and secretion of such biological …

Characterization Of Cellulase Enzyme Inhibitors Formed During The Chemical Pretreatments Of Rice Straw, Kalavathy Rajan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Production of fuels and chemicals from a renewable and inexpensive resource such as lignocellulosic biomass is a lucrative and sustainable option for the advanced biofuel and bio-based chemical platform. Agricultural residues constitute the bulk of potential feedstock available for cellulosic fuel production. On a global scale, rice straw is the largest source of agricultural residues and is therefore an ideal crop model for biomass deconstruction studies. Lignocellulosic biofuel production involves the processes of biomass conditioning, enzymatic saccharification, microbial fermentation and ethanol distillation, and one of the major factors affecting its techno-economic feasibility is the biomass recalcitrance to enzymatic saccharification. Preconditioning …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbonized Poly (Divinylbenzene) Microspheres For Carbon/Nanodiamond/Polymer-Based Core-Shell Materials And Applications Of This Mixed-Mode Phase To High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Chuan-Hsi Hung

Theses and Dissertations

This work focuses on improving the quality of carbon-based core-shell materials for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) via the characterization of the core materials, and also the development of chromatographic methods (separations) for them. In the early part of this work, I applied organic synthesis to make uniform, spherical poly(divinylbenzene) (PDVB) microspheres, and then carbonized them to prepare carbon core materials for core-shell particle synthesis. Here, I studied in detail the surface and material properties of these particles with multiple instruments, which allowed me to describe the physical and chemical changes that took place during each treatment. The uniform, spherical …

Beryllium Is A Potent And Unique Gsk-3Β Inhibitor With Potential To Differentially Regulate Glycogen Synthase And Β-Catenin, Ata Ur Rahman Mohammed Abdul

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is an important serine/threonine kinase that phosphorylates/regulates diverse and metabolically important proteins. Some of the important substrates of GSK-3β are glycogen synthase, tau, β-catenin, cyclin D1, axin, c-jun, c-myc, Heat Shock Factor–1, BCL-3, CREB, Histone H1.5, mdm2, p21 (CIP1), pyruvate dehydrogenase and many more. De-regulation of GSK-3β has been implicated in diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Currently, GSK-3β is one of the most widely studied proteins and there is a great interest in developing potent and efficient GSK-3β-inhibitors for research as well as therapeutic purposes. We demonstrate that beryllium …

Distinguishing Macrophage Activation States By Mass Spectrometry, Matthias Manfred Knust

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages are versatile and highly adaptive cells that are involved in a wide range of physiological processes including host defense, homeostasis or regeneration, as well as pathogenesis. They react to their microenvironment, assuming various roles based on chemical and/or physical cues, and can reversibly shift between these so-called activation states. Concurrently, the technique of immunohistochemistry is used to gain spatial information on activated macrophages on tissue sections. The aim of this work was to find mass spectral biomarkers that allow the differentiation of activation states, and establish conditions that can be used in imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) experiments to investigate …

Heterogeneous Dynamics In Dna Site Discrimination By The Structurally Homologous Dna-Binding Domains Of Ets-Family Transcription Factors, Gaofei He, Ana Tolic, James Bashkin, Gregory Poon

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

The ETS family of transcription factors exemplifies current uncertainty in how eukaryotic genetic regulators with overlapping DNA sequence preferences achieve target site specificity. PU.1 and Ets-1 represent archetypes for studying site discrimination by ETS proteins because their DNA-binding domains are the most divergent in sequence, yet they share remarkably superimposable DNA-bound structures. To gain insight into the contrasting thermodynamics and kinetics of DNA recognition by these two proteins, we investigated the structure and dynamics of site discrimination by their DNA-binding domains. Electrophoretic mobilities of complexes formed by the two homologs with circularly permuted binding sites showed significant dynamic differences only …

Whole Genome Comparison Of A Large Collection Of Mycobacteriophages Reveals A Continuum Of Phage Genetic Diversity, Welkin H. Pope, Charles A. Bowman, Daniel A. Russell, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, David J. Asai, Steven G. Cresawn, William R. Jacobs Jr, Roger W. Hendrix, Jeffrey G. Lawrence, Graham F. Hatfull, Dr. Kathleen Cornely

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The bacteriophage population is large, dynamic, ancient, and genetically diverse. Limited genomic information shows that phage genomes are mosaic, and the genetic architecture of phage populations remains ill-defined. To understand the population structure of phages infecting a single host strain, we isolated, sequenced, and compared 627 phages of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Their genetic diversity is considerable, and there are 28 distinct genomic types (clusters) with related nucleotide sequences. However, amino acid sequence comparisons show pervasive genomic mosaicism, and quantification of inter-cluster and intra-cluster relatedness reveals a continuum of genetic diversity, albeit with uneven representation of different phages. Furthermore, rarefaction analysis shows …

Urine Proteomics Identifies Preeclampsia Subphenotypes, Michelle R. Axe

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Preeclampsia is a perinatal complication of unknown etiology, resulting in 76,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 infant deaths annually₁. The Nationwide Children’s Center for Perinatal Research was the first cohort to propose that preeclampsia is rooted in protein misfolding. We aimed to characterize the misfolded protein components of maternal urine samples and to determine if distinct molecular profiles exist for clinical preeclampsia phenotypes. A total of 86 maternal urine samples from Yale-New Haven Hospital were analyzed for this study, from six clinical preeclampsia subphenotypes- pregnant control (n=10), idiopathic proteinuria (n=15), mild preeclampsia (n=14), superimposed preeclampsia (n=12), typical severe preeclampsia …

Essential Oils From Apple Mint (Mentha Suaveolens) And Passionflower Fruit (Passiflora Incarnata): Studies On Cognition, Coordination, And Chemical Components., Evelyn F. Patrick *, Jessie Bowers *, Shannon Read *, Brett R. Lackey, Christine Murphy, Sandra L. Gray

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Plant essential oils (EO) are used as perfumes, lotions and air fresheners because of their pleasant aromas, but EO also have the ability to elicit changes in mood and behavior. These activities are influenced by the mode of administration and by multiple signaling pathways. The EO aromas from organically grown apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) and passionflower fruit (Passiflora incarnata) were assessed for their effects on cognition and coordination. Participants completed two tasks designed to test working memory and bimanual task efficiency in rooms infused with apple mint, passionflower fruit or control EO. Bimanual coordination was assessed using the Intercept2 program …

The Rise Of Carbon Nanoscience In South Carolina, Apparao M. Rao

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Reagent Pencils: A New Technique For Solvent-Free Deposition Of Reagents Onto Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices, Haydn T. Mitchell, Isabelle C. Noxon, Cory A. Chaplan, Samantha J. Carlton, Cheyenne H. Liu, Kirsten A. Ganaja, Nathaniel W. Martinez, Chad Immoos, Philip Costanzo, Andres W. Martinez

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Custom-made pencils containing reagents dispersed in a solid matrix were developed to enable rapid and solvent-free deposition of reagents onto membrane-based fluidic devices. The technique is as simple as drawing with the reagent pencils on a device. When aqueous samples are added to the device, the reagents dissolve from the pencil matrix and become available to react with analytes in the sample. Colorimetric glucose assays conducted on devices prepared using reagent pencils had comparable accuracy and precision to assays conducted on conventional devices prepared with reagents deposited from solution. Most importantly, sensitive reagents, such as enzymes, are stable in the …

Exploring The Effect Of Climate Change On Biological Systems, Nardos Sori

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

The present and potential future effect of global warming on the ecosystem has brought climate change to the forefront of scientific inquiry and discussion. For our investigation, we selected two organisms, one from cyanobacteria and one from a cereal plant to determine how climate change may impact these biological systems. The study involved understanding the physiological and adaptive responses at both the genetic and protein function levels to counteract environmental stresses. An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is a key factor in global climate change and can lead to alterations in ocean chemistry. Cyanobacteria are important, ancient and ubiquitous organisms …

Development Of Experimental And Instrumental Systems To Study Biological Systems, Amanda J Hemphill

Open Access Dissertations

Chapters 1-4 of this thesis describes the development of an experimental system to measure diffusion-limited reaction kinetics in a biological environment. About 100 years ago, the relationship between reaction rate and diffusion in homogenous solution, ie water or buffer, was described as a linear relationship by Smoluchowski. Applying this theory naively would suggest that since the diffusion coefficients drop by factors of 4-100 then the rates of reaction would drop by the same amount. However, recent theory and simulations suggest that this does not hold. Even though biological diffusion coefficients drop to 0.1-20% of that in buffer, these recent studies …

Novel Methods For Manipulating Ion Types In The Solution And Gas Phases For The Structural Analysis Of Biomolecules Using Mass Spectrometry, Christine M Fisher

Open Access Dissertations

Mass Spectrometry has become a valuable tool for the analysis of a variety of molecules, making it applicable to many fields. The advent of nanoelectrospray ionization (nESI) as a soft/low energy ionization technique has enabled the analysis of large, intact biomolecules. Most mass spectrometry experiments consist of three main steps: ionization, probe step(s), and mass analysis. The present work focuses on a variety of methods for altering ion types at various stages of the mass spectrometry experiment to affect ion fragmentation. Ion types can be manipulated in the solution/droplet phases using novel nESI emitters, generated from borosilicate theta capillaries. These …

In Vivo Near Ir Fluorescent Imaging Of Hollow Polymeric Nanocapsules, Venkata Suresh Patthipati

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Medical Imaging has been an integral component in medical diagnosis and therapeutics. It is frequently used in conjunction with other treatment modalities and has been used for developing applications that range from cancer management to clinical practice. Nanotechnology and its applications are foreseen to have a profound impact on life sciences. Nanomaterial based imaging has a significant potential in addressing medical challenges such as tumor localization, targeted delivery of drugs and real time diagnosis and management of circulation pathology. In particular, polymer based nanoparticles are increasingly being developed as they can be customized according to the diagnostic and/or therapeutic requirements. …

Volume 07, Rachel C. Lombardi, Ben Osterhout, Lindsay Graybill, Rebecca E. Dey, Skyler T. Carpenter, Emma Beckett, Jason Ware, Mollie Andrews, James Bates, Landon Cooper, Tiffani Jeffries, Maria Wheaton, Dallas Price, Laura Kahler, Sarah Charlton, Anna Bultrowicz, Emily Spittle, Erin Godwin, Eamon Brokenbrough

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Interim Dean Dr. Jennifer Apperson

Spatial Analysis of Potential Risk Factors Associated with Addition of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Through Virginia by Rachel C. Lombardi

"Delicate Matters with No Speaking," "Hope and Nothing," "Mono Duality" by Ben Osterhout

"Connect" Graphic Design Senior Project by Lindsay Graybill

Phenolic Acids in Brassicaceae Plants: Ovipositional Stimulants or Deterrents for Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris Rapae? by Rebecca E. Dey And Skyler T. Carpenter

"Abecedarian Cards" by Emma Beckett, Jason Ware, And Mollie Andrews

Helvetica: A Type Specimen Book by James Bates, Landon Cooper, Tiffani Jeffries, And Maria Wheaton

“Things Left Behind” by Dallas …

Hybrid Computational Toxicology Models For Regulatory Risk Assessment, Prachi Pradeep

Dissertations (1934 -)

Computational toxicology is the development of quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models that relate a quantitative measure of chemical structure to a biological effect. In silico QSAR tools are widely accepted as a faster alternative to time-consuming clinical and animal testing methods for regulatory risk assessment of xenobiotics used in consumer products. However, different QSAR tools often make contrasting predictions for a new xenobiotic and may also vary in their predictive ability for different class of xenobiotics. This makes their use challenging, especially in regulatory applications, where transparency and interpretation of predictions play a crucial role in the development of …

Blue Carbon In Freshwater / Brackish Marshes On The Barrier Islands Of Virginia Aboveground Net Primary Productivity And Carbon Pools, Emily Caitlin Adams

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

"Blue carbon" is a relatively new concept describing carbon distributed tidally and sequestered via net production within coastal ecosystems, including seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and salt-water marshes. These systems sequester carbon at least 10 times faster than terrestrial systems. Fresh to brackish wetlands that receive irregular tidal influence due to overwash and storm events have not been typically studied as blue carbon systems. My objective was to quantify carbon pools within four interdunal fresh to brackish marshes on Hog Island, Virginia to determine their blue carbon potential. Marshes 1 and 2 were farthest from the ocean, below and above a …

Blue Carbon In Coastal Freshwater/Brackish Marshes On The Barrier Islands Of Virginia: Belowground Carbon Dynamics, Nathan M. Sedghi

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Some coastal ecosystems sequester substantially more carbon (blue carbon) than land locked systems due to high net primary production and deposition associated with oceanic influences. Most blue carbon research has focused on mangroves, seagrass beds, and salt marshes. Studies on blue carbon potential of coastal freshwater marshes are less common. Barrier islands frequently flood, with seawater reaching interior ecosystems. I examined brackish/freshwater marshes on Virginia barrier islands for possible roles as blue carbon systems. I studied four interior marshes on Hog Island, which varied in proximity to a direct overwash path and protection by a trail berm that divides northern …

Immunoassays Of Potential Cancer Biomarkers In Microfluidic Devices, Jayson Virola Pagaduan

Theses and Dissertations

Laboratory test results are important in making decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis and response to treatment. These tests often measure the biomarkers found in biological fluids such blood, urine, and saliva. Immunoassay is one type of laboratory test used to measure the level of biomarkers using specific antibodies. Microfluidics offer several advantages such as speed, small sample volume requirement, portability, integration, and automation. These advantages are motivating to develop microfluidic platforms of conventional laboratory tests. I have fabricated polymer microfluidic devices and developed immunoassays on-chip for potential cancer markers. Silicon template devices were fabricated using standard photolithographic techniques. The template …

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Determination In Liver Of Menhaden Exposed To The Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill, Rebecca Hawke

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The April 2010 BP® oil spill has caused great concern for ecological impacts in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) and oil spills increase the exposure of aquatic organisms to this class of chemicals. The overall detrimental health effects associated with PAH exposure depend on the exposure period, the concentration of PAHs, and the toxicity of the PAHs in the mixture. Brevoortia tyrannus and Brevoortia patronus are filter feeding fish commonly known as menhaden and account for over 40% of the commercial industry fisheries catch. As primary consumers, they are a major link in the …

Violacein Induces P44/42 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase‑Mediated Solid Tumor Cell Death And Inhibits Tumor Cell Migration, Toral Mehta, Koen P. Vercruysse, Terrance Johnson, Anthony Okechukwu Ejiofor, Elbert Myles, Quincy A. Quick

Chemistry Faculty Research

Microbial secondary metabolites have emerged as alternative novel drugs for the treatment of human cancers. Violacein, a purple pigment produced by Chromobacterium violaceum, was investigated in the present study for its anti‑tumor properties in tumor cell lines. Clinically applicable concentrations of violacein were demonstrated to inhibit the proliferative capacity of tumor cell lines according to a crystal violet proliferation assay. The underlying mechanism was the promotion of apoptotic cell death, as indicated by poly(ADP ribose) polymerase cleavage and p44/42 mitogen‑activated protein kinase signaling determined by western blot analysis. Collectively, this provided mechanistic evidence that violacein elicits extracellular-signal regulated kinase‑induced apoptosis …

Comparative Genomics Of Cluster O Mycobacteriophages, Steven G. Cresawn, Welkin H. Pope, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, Charles A. Bowman, Daniel A. Russell, Rebekah M. Dedrick, Tamarah Adair, Kirk R. Anders, Sarah Ball, David Bollivar, Caroline Breitenberger, Sandra H. Burnett, Kristen Butela, Deanna Byrnes, Sarah Carzo, Dr. Kathleen Cornely, Trevor Cross, Richard L. Daniels, David Dunbar, Ann M. Findley, Chris R. Gissendanner, Urszula P. Golebiewska, Grant A. Hartzog, J. Robert Hatherill, Lee E. Hughes, Chernoh S. Jalloh, Carla De Los Santos, Kevin Ekanem, Sphindile L. Khambule, Rodney A. King, Christina King-Smith, Karen Klyczek, Greg P. Krukonis, Christian Laing, Jonathan S. Lapin, A. Javier Lopez, Sipho M. Mkhwanazi, Sally D. Molloy, Deborah Moran, Vanisha Munsamy, Eddie Pacey, Ruth Plymale, Marianne Poxleitner, Nathan Reyna, Joel F. Schildbach, Joseph Stukey, Sarah E. Taylor, Vassie C. Ware, Amanda L. Wellmann, Daniel Westholm, Donna Wodarski, Michelle Zajko, Thabiso S. Zikalala, Roger W. Hendrix, Graham F. Hatfull

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Mycobacteriophages – viruses of mycobacterial hosts – are genetically diverse but morphologically are all classified in the Caudovirales with double-stranded DNA and tails. We describe here a group of five closely related mycobacteriophages – Corndog, Catdawg, Dylan, Firecracker, and YungJamal – designated as Cluster O with long flexible tails but with unusual prolate capsids. Proteomic analysis of phage Corndog particles, Catdawg particles, and Corndog-infected cells confirms expression of half of the predicted gene products and indicates a non-canonical mechanism for translation of the Corndog tape measure protein. Bioinformatic analysis identifies 8–9 strongly predicted SigA promoters and all five Cluster O …

The Infrared Spectrum Of The He-C2d2 Complex, N. Moazzen-Ahmadi, A. R. W. Mckellar, Berta Fernandez, David Farrelly

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Spectra of the helium-acetylene complex are elusive because this weakly bound system lies close to the free rotor limit. Previously, limited assignments of He–C2D2 transitions in the R(0) region of the ν3 fundamental band (≈2440 cm⁻¹) were published. Here, new He–C2D2 infrared spectra of this band are obtained using a tunable optical parametric oscillator laser source to probe a pulsed supersonic slit jet expansion from a cooled nozzle, and the analysis is extended to the weaker and more difficult P(1) and R(1) regions. A term value approach is used to obtain a consistent set of “experimental” energy levels. …

Identification And Quantification Of Gaseous Organic Compounds Emitted From Biomass Burning Using Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography–Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry, L. E. Hatch, W. Luo, J. F. Pankow, Robert Yokelson, C. Stockwell, K. C. Barsanti

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The current understanding of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation within biomass burning (BB) plumes is limited by the incomplete identification and quantification of the non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs) emitted from such fires. Gaseous organic compounds were collected on sorbent cartridges during laboratory burns as part of the fourth Fire Lab at Missoula Experiment (FLAME-4) and analyzed by two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-ToFMS). The sensitivity and resolving power of GC x GC-ToFMS allowed the acquisition of the most extensive data set of BB NMOCs to date, with measurements from 708 positively or tentatively identified compounds. Estimated emission factors …

The Exchanged Ef-Hands In Calmodulin And Troponin C Chimeras Impair The Ca2+-Induced Hydrophobicity And Alter The Interaction With Orai1: A Spectroscopic, Thermodynamic And Kinetic Study, Drake Jensen, Nicole Reynolds, Ya-Ping Yang, Shubha Shakya, Zhi-Qiang Wang, Dennis J. Stuehr, Chin-Chuan Wei

Chemistry Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Background

Calmodulin (CaM) plays an important role in Ca²⁺-dependent signal transduction. Ca²⁺ binding to CaM triggers a conformational change, forming a hydrophobic patch that is important for target protein recognition. CaM regulates a Ca²⁺-dependent inactivation process in store-operated Ca²⁺entry, by interacting Orai1. To understand the relationship between Ca²⁺-induced hydrophobicity and CaM/Orai interaction, chimera proteins constructed by exchanging EF-hands of CaM with those of Troponin C (TnC) are used as an informative probe to better understand the functionality of each EF-hand.

Results

ANS was used to assess the context of the induced …

Gamma-Aapeptides As A New Class Of Peptidomimetics: Synthesis, Structures, And Functions, Haifan Wu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peptidomimetics are synthetic oligomers that resemble the activities of peptides. Their advantages over peptides include high stability towards proteolysis and enormous chemical diversity. Over the past two decades, there have been extensive efforts to develop peptide mimics, such as beta-peptides, peptoids, D-peptides, etc. The research on peptidomimetics have led to many important applications in both medicinal and material science. In order to explore new functions, the discovery of peptidomimetics with novel frameworks is essential. We reported the synthesis and evaluation of a new class of peptidomimetics, termed as gamma-AApeptides. Previous studies of gamma-AApeptides have revealed that gamma-AApeptides are highly resistant …

Functional Expression And Characterization Of A Truncated Candida Antarctica Lipase B In Yeast, Samantha Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Candida antarctica lipase B is an enzyme capable of hydrolyzing ester bonds in a lipid-water interface with potential to become a useful biocatalyst for production of biodiesel fuel. Enzymatically catalyzing the transesterification of triacylglycerides to produce fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) is an environmentally cleaner alternative to the current process which utilizes chemical reagents as catalysts. Optimization and development of strains to express highly active, stable, large quantities of these biocatalysts is essential for inexpensive production of biodiesel. Additionally, lipase enzymes can be immobilized onto a resin, eliminating the need to recover the catalyst from the product and allowing multiple …

Intramolecular S···O Chalcogen Bond As Stabilizing Factor In Geometry Of Substituted Phenyl-Sf3 Molecules, Vincent De Paul Nziko, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Density functional methods are used to examine the geometries and energetics of molecules containing a phenyl ring joined to the trigonal bipyramidal SF3 framework. The phenyl ring has a strong preference for an equatorial position. This preference remains when one or two ether -CH2OCH3 groups are added to the phenyl ring, ortho to SF3, wherein an apical structure lies nearly 30 kcal/mol higher in energy. Whether equatorial or apical, the molecule is stabilized by a S···O chalcogen bond, sometimes augmented by CH···F or CH···O H-bonds. The strength of the intramolecular S···O bond is estimated to lie in the range between …

Characterization Of Biomass Burning Emissions From Cooking Fires, Peat, Crop Residue, And Other Fuels With High-Resolution Proton-Transfer-Reaction Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry, C. Stockwell, P. Veres, J. Williams

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We deployed a high-resolution proton-transferreaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS) to measure biomass-burning emissions from peat, crop residue, cooking fires, and many other fire types during the fourth Fire Lab at Missoula Experiment (FLAME-4) laboratory campaign. A combination of gas standard calibrations and composition sensitive, mass-dependent calibration curves was applied to quantify gas-phase non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs) observed in the complex mixture of fire emissions. We used several approaches to assign the best identities to most major “exact masses”, including many high molecular mass species. Using these methods, approximately 80–96% of the total NMOC mass detected by the PTR-TOFMS and Fourier …