Chemistry Commons^™

Treatment Of A Worn Mineral Oil Effluent By Electrocoagulation Using Aluminium Electrodes, Serge Raoul Tchamango Dr, God Promess Lactio, Inès Estelle Nkenmogne Kamdem, Martin Benoît Ngassoum

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Water pollution by oils is more and more a preoccupation because of its increasing occurrence and the hazard to human life and environment. Depollution of oily effluents can sometimes generate a secondary pollution (with chemical coagulation / flocculation processes) or be very costly (ultracentrifugation). In this work, electrocoagulation with aluminium electrodes was applied to the treatment of a worn mineral oil effluent. For this to be achieved, the influence of the pH and the current density on the turbidity and organic matter was first investigated. A liquid-liquid extraction was then carried out on the oil samples in order to isolate …

A Systematic Mapping Study On The Risk Factors Leading To Type Ii Diabetes Mellitus, Karar N. J Musafer, Fahrul Zaman Huyop, Mufeed J Ewadh, Eko Supriyanto, Mohammad Rava

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases that has had devastating effects on the general population. It is also among the most popular research trends in modern medicine. Thus, due to the complexity and desirability of this particular affliction, there is a lot of demand towards understanding this disease better, so that it can pave the way towards better solutions in combating diabetes. The aim of this review is to provide a categorization of the risk factors leading to Type II Diabetes. In order to provide a justification for the type of diabetes, an explanation is provided which covers …

Chemical Composition And Antibacterial Activity Of The Essential Oil Of Myrtus Communis Leaves, Hajar El Hartiti, Amine El Mostaphi, Mariam Barrahi, Aouatif Ben Ali, Nabila Chahboun, Rajaa Amiyare, Abdelkader Zarrouk, Brahim Bourkhiss, Mohammed Ouhssine

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The aim of this work is to determine the yield of the essential oil of the Myrtus communis leaves, to identify its chemical composition and to evaluate its antibacterial properties. The plant is harvested from Sidi Ahmed Chrif, a region in Ouazzane, Morocco. The extraction of the essential oil was carried out by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus type. The average yield was 0.7%. The analysis of this oil by Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrum (GC/MS) allows the identification of 32 compounds. Eucalyptol was the main compound with 42.43%, followed by myrtenyl acetate (21.25%) and α-pinene (19.39%). Myrtle essential …

Hormones Of Maize Crop As Affected By Potassium Fertilization , Water Quality And Ascobin Foliar Application ., Qais Hussain Al-Samak Prof., Fatima Karim Khudair Alasadi

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

A pot assay on the plastic container of the wire sunshade in the University of Kerbala's Agricultural Division was conducted to research the impact of potassium treatment, the salinity of irrigation water and ascobin sprinkling, just as their connections, on the some plant hormones activities (auxin, gibberellin and abscisic acid) in developing Zea mays crops in a soil with sandy texture during the farming fall period of 2017–2018. The trial was planned as a factorial one with three factors, Potassium adding are 0, 100 and 200 Kg K.ha^–1 . the irrigation water salinity are 1, 3 and 6 ds.m …

Editorial Board

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

No abstract provided.

Mutating Lpar4 In The Visual System Using Crispr, Thomas A. Gonzalez

S.U.R.E Posters

The visual system is developed throughout the embryonic stage and is dictated by axon guidance molecules that tell the growing fibers of nerve cells, axons, where to grow. The ends of axons, called growth cones, continuously sprout out or collapse based on the axon guidance molecules. Research has shown that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) causes growth cone collapse, so it is hypothesized that it is an axon guidance molecule. LPA binds to specific receptors, known as Lpars of which there are at least five known. Previous research indicates that Lpar 1,2, and 3 are not required in mice for growth cone …

Discovery Research For New Optical Materials, Kameron Johnson

S.U.R.E Posters

This project utilizes the MGI approach in order to discover new compounds at an accelerated rate. Novel materials for optical applications, such as luminescent scintillators, are desired for improvement of properties. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, new single-crystal scintillating materials can be optimized leading to more efficient scintillation. (5) Two existing compounds in the quaternary system Na-O-Si-Y were chosen and further modified using substitutions into proposed structures that can be investigated. The two original compounds, NaO4SiY and NaO26Si6Y9, were chosen and modified because of their already high density by substituting yttrium for lanthanum, sodium for potassium and yttrium for …

Elucidating The Effect Of The Antibiotic Tetracycline On The Regulatory Function Of The Guanidine Sensing Riboswitch Ykkcd, Thomas K. Sullivan

S.U.R.E Posters

The primary objective of this research is to develop an assay – one more feasible for undergraduate institutions than currently available methods – that will enable evaluation of the concomitant binding of, guanidine and tetracycline to the ykkCD bacterial guanidine sensor riboswitch. This noncoding regulatory RNA, in addition to guanidine, also recognizes tetracycline, a translation-inhibiting antibiotic, via a high-affinity aptamer domain. The resulting conformational change by the riboswitch upregulates the expression of genes that are downstream of this regulator, most of which are membrane transporter that expel toxins from bacteria. This phenomenon exemplifies the increasing issue of bacterial antibiotic resistance, …

Photoredox Mediated Alkylation Of Imines With Potassium Organotrifluoroborates In The Presence Of An Organic Photocatalyst, Jackson W. Barrett, Evan H. Thibodeaux, Molly A. Quetel, Eric J. Walters

S.U.R.E Posters

Our group is investigating the application of an organic photocatalyst, 9-mesityl-10-methyl acridinium tetrafluoroborate (Mes-Acr-Me), to the alkylation of aryl imines with potassium organotrifluoroborates. In the past, our group has employed an potassium isopropyltrifluoroborate for model reactions, but we desired to expand our BF₃K scope to see the effects of variation in the alkyl group of the organotetrafluoroborate. In addition, we also wanted to study the substituent electronic effects in the imine, which was done using a series of competition experiments.

Using Nucleic Acid-Gold Nanoparticle Conjugate In The Fight Against Bacteria That Are Resistant To Tetracycline Antibiotics, Allen T. Livingston

S.U.R.E Posters

Antibiotic resistance is major problem in modern medicine. Seventy percent of bacterial strains are resistant to at least one antibiotic, making treatment of bacterial infections ever more expensive and difficult. Currently, we are investigating the therapeutic potency of nucleic acid-gold nanoparticle conjugates as treatments against bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic tetracycline. We hypothesize that by attaching RNA that binds to tetracycline to silver or gold nanoparticles the resulting conjugates will work as a “Trojan-horse” tetracycline-delivery vehicle that smuggles the antibiotic into the cell without being detected by cellular defense systems. Moreover, we reason that silver or gold ions …

Water-Soluble Graphene In Agar Gel As Electrolyte For Magnesium-Air Battery, Liew Siaw Ying

Student Works (2020-2029)

Presently, ever-increasing demands on energy and the global environmental issues have given the impetus to investigate the new battery systems which are inexpensive, efficient, having high performance, and also green to the environment. Among all the battery technologies, magnesium-air (Mg-air) battery is an attractive battery to be developed owing to the interesting properties of the Mg anode. Mg has high specific energy (6.46 kWh kg-1) and reactivity, apart from its high abundance, lower cost, low toxicity, and comparatively safe to handle in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, Mg-air battery is still not being widely investigated as compared to the other batteries. Electrolyte …

Covalent Organic Frameworks As An Organic Scaffold For Heterogeneous Catalysis Including C-H Activation, Harsh Vardhan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Linking small organic molecules into an extended solid usually afford disordered amorphous polymers. The instigation of order into such a material is of profound interest to induce inherent fine control of the overall structure. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are new class of porous crystalline material prepared by connecting organic building blocks via strong covalent bonds. The judicious choice of organic monomers can give rise to highly ordered and predictable frameworks with high crystallinity, surface area, and thermal/chemical stability. The role of connecting linkages such as B─O, C─C, C─N extends the principle of fundamental molecular covalent chemistry to the formation of …

Solving Complex Eigenvalue Problems On A Quantum Annealer With Applications To Quantum Scattering Resonances, Alexander Teplukhin, Brian K. Kendrick, Dmitri Babikov

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Quantum computing is a new and rapidly evolving paradigm for solving chemistry problems. In previous work, we developed the Quantum Annealer Eigensolver (QAE) and applied it to the calculation of the vibrational spectrum of a molecule on the D-Wave quantum annealer. However, the original QAE methodology was applicable to real symmetric matrices only. For many physics and chemistry problems, the diagonalization of complex matrices is required. For example, the calculation of quantum scattering resonances can be formulated as a complex eigenvalue problem where the real part of the eigenvalue is the resonance energy and the imaginary part is proportional to …

Clean & Fast Amide Couplings In Water, Nicklas Buckbinder, Sudripet Sharma, Sachin Handa

Undergraduate Research Events

EDC

(1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide) is a carbodiimide that is well known reagent for the amide coupling reactions between an amine and carboxylic acid in the presence of a base. It is the commonly used coupling agent in industries because it produces a water-soluble urea byproduct, which can be easily removed by an aqueous work-up. However, our methodology, the desired amide product precipitates out of the reaction mixture, and no additional work-up is required.3 Using aqueous micelles of PS-750-M as a solvent dramatically increases the rate of reaction.2 The filtrate recovered can be recycled to perform several coupling runs after post-reaction manipulation.

Modification Of Chm20 Lab: Synthesis Of Aspirin, Nicole Diaz, Amy Musselman Prof.

KU Inspires! Undergraduate Research Day

No abstract provided.

Developing Novel Tale-Based Rapid Detection Of Pathogenic Dna Utilizing 2d Graphene Oxide Nanosheets And Quantum Dots, Narayan Neupane

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A faster method of quantitative detection of specific dsDNA of pathogenic bacteria such as the Shiga toxin 2 gene (stx2) present in E. coli O157:H7 is of great importance. There is a need for a simple and facile method for sensitive detection of pathogenic gene which is crucial for the prevention and earlier treatment of any infectious diseases. A Transcriptional Activator-Like Effector (TALE) is a novel class of DNA-binding proteins with the unique modularity, flexibility and easy programmability compared to previously discovered DNA- binding proteins. TALEs can bind to any DNA sequences through its unique variable di- residues …

Bentonite Reinforced Chitosan Scaffold: Effect Of Bentonite Exfoliation On Scaffold Properties, Soma Chakraborty, Cristine Joy M. Pimentel

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Chitosan is under investigation as biodegradable scaffolding material for tissue engineering. Crosslinked chitosan alone cannot form a self-supporting scaffold hence it needs reinforcement. The group reported fabrication of chitosan scaffolds reinforced by exfoliated and non-exfoliated bentonite and compared their properties. Scaffolds were fabricated by freeze-drying technique. Bentonite was exfoliated by allowing it to swell in water for a certain time interval. XRD profile showed that swelling reduced the crystallinity of bentonite. Both types of bentonite dispersed well in the chitosan matrix and imparted structural stability to the scaffolds. Scaffolds had interconnected pores, apparent porosity of scaffold with exfoliated bentonite was …

Adaptation Of Pt-Dna Binding Experiments Into A Multiweek Upperlevel Biochemistry Laboratory Activity, Keira Naff

Fall Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Platinum-based drugs are commonly used as anti-cancer therapeutics due to their abilities to bind to DNA and prohibit proliferation in cells. Although the concept of drug interactions within biomolecules is often introduced in undergraduate courses such as biochemistry and toxicology, there are very few laboratory activities that exist that provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to investigate this topic in the lab. During the Summer 2020 PRISM program, we worked to create a multi-week laboratory activity for upper-level biochemistry students focused on the investigation of the DNA binding abilities of common Pt anticancer therapeutics through biochemical modeling and wet laboratory …

Measurements Of Rate Exchange Dynamics In Supercooled Ortho-Terphenyl By Single-Molecule 3d Kinetics And Green’S Functions, Harveen Kaur

Theses and Dissertations

Heterogeneity in relaxation rates is a well-established feature of supercooled liquids. It implies the existence of a rate-exchange process to restore ergodicity, but the experimental characterization of that exchange has been incomplete and controversial. This dissertation develops three-dimensional (3D) correlation functions that provide a well-defined measure of rate exchange from single-molecule measurements. This approach is demonstrated on both single-molecule dichroism measurements and atomistic simulations of molecular rotation in ortho-terphenyl.

The first project develops non-parametric analysis of nonexponential and multidimensional kinetics. The quantification of nonexponential (dispersed) kinetics has relied on empirical functions, which yield parameters that are neither unique nor easily …

Seasonal Ely Copper Mine Superfund Site Shotgun Metagenomic And Metatranscriptomic Data Analysis, Lesley Ann Giddings, George Chlipala, Heather Driscoll, Kieran Bhave, Kevin Kunstman, Stefan Green, Katherine Morillo, Holly Peterson, Mark Maienschein-Cline

Chemistry: Faculty Publications

High throughput sequencing data collected from acid rock drainage (ARD) communities can reveal the active taxonomic and functional diversity of these extreme environments, which can be exploited for bioremediation, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications. Here, we report a seasonal comparison of a microbiome and transcriptome in Ely Brook (EB-90M), a confluence of clean water and upstream tributaries that drains the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site in Vershire, VT, USA. Nucleic acids were extracted from EB-90M water and sediment followed by shotgun sequencing using the Illumina NextSeq platform. Approximately 575,933 contigs with a total length of 1.54 Gbp were generated. Contigs of …

All-Atomic Molecular Dynamic Studies Of Human And Drosophila Cdk8: Insights Into Their Kinase Domains, The Lxxll Motifs, And Drug Binding Site, Wu Xu, Xiao-Jun Xie, Ali K. Faust, Mengmeng Liu, Xiao Li, Feng Chen, Ashlin A. Naquin, Avery C. Walton, Peter W. Kishbaugh, Jun-Yuan Ji

Faculty Publications

Cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) and its regulatory partner Cyclin C (CycC) play conserved roles in modulating RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-dependent gene expression. To understand the structure and function relations of CDK8, we analyzed the structures of human and Drosophila CDK8 proteins using molecular dynamics simulations, combined with functional analyses in Drosophila. Specifically, we evaluated the structural differences between hCDK8 and dCDK8 to predict the effects of the LXXLL motif mutation (AQKAA), the P154L mutations, and drug binding on local structures of the CDK8 proteins. First, we have observed that both the LXXLL motif and the kinase activity of CDK8 …

Ultra-High Vibrational And Rotational Motion Of The Hf Molecule Via Infrared (Ir) Laser Excitation, Toria Tucker, Jingwei (Mike) Ling, Bridget Gourley

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Our goals this summer were to build on previous work in our group modeling ultra-high vibrational and rotational excitation in small molecules via unique pulse sequencing of an infrared (IR) laser. The system was modeled both using Fortran and Mathematica as programming languages. We were able to demonstrate that different numerical techniques for propagating coupled differential equations forward in time led to equivalent levels of vibrational excitation and allowed for identical visualization of molecular state probabilities as a function of time. Work including the rotational motion progressed to the point of being able to see both significant excitation when rotations …

Visualizing And Analyzing Structures Of Coordination Polymers Synthesized In Ionic Liquids, Natalie Husby, Akane Inoue, Hilary Eppley

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Synthesis of metal organic frameworks can result in different products based on the solvent that is used. One option is to use ionic liquids (ILs, or room temperature molten salts) to create novel metal organic coordination polymers. Our group analyzed metal organic polymers synthesized in ILs with the goal of cataloging the topology of the structures, the connectivity of the organic ligands, and the roles of the ILs in the syntheses. We used Sci-Finder Scholar to find papers where compounds were synthesized using ILs, and determined whether the IL played the role as the cation, anion, or neither in the …

De Novo Molecular Design Using 3d Molecular Structure Information, Gillian Hughes

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Predicting small molecule potency against a target receptor is critically important in the drug discovery process. By evaluating literature and associated GitHub repositories, we developed a deep learning model based on 3-D molecule and protein structure information to generate new small molecules and predict their binding affinity with protein receptors.

Supervisor: Hongzhou Zhang, PhD

A Brief Overview Of Analyzing Testing Procedures In The Quality Control Lab At Elanco Animal Health, Gina Fedrighi

Annual Student Research Poster Session

The study of testing procedures within the quality control lab was conducted at Elanco Animal Health through the summer internship program. The internship program focuses on the development of young professionals as research and manufacturing leaders in the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of this project was to determine ways in which to save both time and money in the quality control lab through the study of various quality testing procedures. Quality Control plays a vital role in the manufacturing process in order to ensure quality of products and consistency between batches. It is important to improve upon the current testing …

Conceptualizing And Analyzing Metal-Organic Frameworks And The Role Of The Ionic Liquid, Sydney Forbes, Aaron Wills, Hilary Eppley

Annual Student Research Poster Session

The synthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks, or MOFs, can be easily changed or manipulated simply by changing the solvent medium. The research focused primarily on the role ionic liquids (ILs) had in MOF synthesis. ILs can be defined as salts that are liquid at room temperature. IL ligands were found one of three ways in the final structure; either acting as the anion, cation, or neither and just acting as a medium for a reaction. This research primarily revolved around Cambridge Structural Database (CSD). The purpose of CSD was a way to look more closely at these crystalline structures from previous …

Analysis Of Dynamical Systems For Synthesis Of Phenobarbital, Mishal Ali

Annual Student Research Poster Session

The use of mathematical methods for the analysis of chemical reaction systems is one of the useful tools. Phenobarbital (a barbiturate type medication also called phenobarb) is a prescription drug used to control seizures, relieve anxiety, treat epilepsy (in some countries), and prevent withdrawal symptoms in people dependent on other barbiture drugs. We approaches it with matrix analysis and ODE system. It helps us understand the chemical stoichiometry of these synthesis reactions.

Supervisor: Prof. Seonguk Kim, PhD

0.0 Prologue: An Overview To Water Topos: A 3-D Trend Surface Approach To Viewing And Teaching Aqueous Equilibrium Chemistry, Garon C. Smith, Md Mainul Hossain

Water Topos: A 3-D Trend Surface Approach to Viewing and Teaching Aqueous Equilibrium Chemistry

The “topo” approach to viewing and teaching aqueous equilibrium through 3-D trend surfaces is introduced. A list of the pedagogical resource categories that accompany each chapter is provided. We describe the “composition grids” that form the foundation for the trend surfaces. A roadmap for the subsequent chapters follows. Finally, a brief statement about the Excel-based computer software is provided.

Low-Load Metal-Assisted Catalytic Etching Produces Scalable Porosity In Si Powders, Konstantin Tamarov, Riku Kiviluoto, Josph D. Swanson, Bret A. Unger, Alexis T. Ernst, Mark Aindow, Joakim Riikonen, Vesa-Pekka Lehto, Kurt W. Kolasinski

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The recently discovered low-load metal-assisted catalytic etching (LL-MACE) creates nanostructured Si with controllable and variable characteristics that distinguish this technique from the conventional high-load variant. LL-MACE employs 150 times less metal catalyst and produces porous Si instead of Si nanowires. In this work, we demonstrate that some of the features of LL-MACE cannot be explained by the present understanding of MACE. With mechanistic insight derived from extensive experimentation, it is demonstrated that (1) the method allows the use of not only Ag, Pd, Pt, and Au as metal catalysts but also Cu and (2) judicious combinations of process parameters such …

Synthesis And Design Of Novel Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles Relevant To Drug Delivery Vehicles For Biomedical Applications, Maan Abduldiyem Hassan Al-Ali

Theses and Dissertations

The modification of inorganic nanoparticles with organic polymer chains has become a significant field of study for the engineering of advanced nanocomposite materials. This dissertation presents the design, synthesis, and characterization of novel polymer grafted silica nanoparticles as new strategies to combat bacterial resistance. Described herein is the synthesis of monomers that have been graft polymerized onto silica nanoparticles that can be used as a delivery drug vehicle for biomedical applications. The polymerization of these monomers was performed via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The molecular design of the RAFT agents that are attached to the surfaces of the …