Chemistry Commons^™

Pyrrolidine As A Promoter For Methane Hydrate Formation: Comparative Study On The Thermodynamics, Kinetics, And Morphology With Tetrahydrofuran, Siravich Junthong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Solidified natural gas (SNG) via clathrate hydrates has been proposed as an alternative approach for natural gas storage and transportation due to its numerous advantages. However, a slow hydrate formation rate and a requirement of operating conditions are the major limitations, which need to be improved to make SNG competitive in a large scale deployment. In this work, the roles of 5.56 mol% pyrrolidine were investigated for the methane hydrate formation in terms of thermodynamics and kinetics along with morphology. The results showed that pyrrolidine generally improved the thermodynamic stability of mixed methane hydrates, enhancing the formation at milder conditions …

Solid-Liquid-Polymer Mixed Matrix Membranes For Gas Separation: Silicone Rubber Membranes Filled With Nax And Ky Zeolites Adsorbed Peg, Sitthikiat Boonchoo

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is one of the major constituents of natural gas and biogas. The presence of high CO₂ content causes some serious problems including reduction of heating value and corrosion of equipment's surface. Additionally, CO₂ emission is the main issue of the greenhouse effect. In consequence of these problems, membrane technologies have drawn much attention as potential techniques for gas separation. mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been studied and developed to provide the synergistic effect of inorganic and organic materials on membranes. In this study, PEG/NaX:KY/SR mixed matrix membranes (PZS MMMs) were prepared by the solution casting method using …

Identification Of Crude Palm Oils By The Analyses Of Fatty Acids, Volatile Organic Compounds, And Carotenoids, Somluk Sanorkham

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

An in-depth analysis of crude palm oil is important to differentiate crude palm oil (CPO) from different geographic provenance for administrative control purposes to prevent and solve the problem of smuggling CPO from abroad to Thailand. In this study, eleven CPO samples from five provinces in Thailand were studied for their composition. The compositions of fatty acids, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carotenoids were characterized by GC-FID, GC-MS, and HPLC-DAD techniques, respectively. The chromatograms of fatty acids distribution were similar for all samples. The main components of fatty acids are palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and stearic acid. In …

Silver Surface Enrichment On Zsm-5 Zeolites For The Catalytic Cracking Of N-Pentane To Produce Light Olefins, Warisara Angguravanich

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The effects of Ag-incorporation on the catalytic performance of ZSM-5 zeolites have been investigated. Since Ag-incorporation can promote the formation of light olefins and significantly enhance catalytic performance in n-pentane catalytic cracking. However, the Ag-incorporated ZSM-5 zeolite was rapidly deactivated in npentane catalytic cracking. Thus, CLD and sulfation methods were introduced to improve catalytic activity and stability of Ag-incorporated ZSM-5 zeolites. The Agincorporated ZSM-5 zeolites have been prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation and CLD methods. Moreover, the sulfated catalyst was prepared by the sequential CLD and sulfation of commercial HZSM-5 zeolite. The catalytic activity and stability of Ag-incorporated ZSM-5 …

กลูโคสไบโอเซ็นเซอร์แบบไม่ใช้เอนไซม์จากคอปเปอร์ออกไซด์/รีดิวซ์กราฟีนออกไซด์นาโนคอมพอสิต, นพรัตน์ จันทร์มี

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ในงานวิจัยนี้กลูโคสไบโอเซ็นเซอร์แบบไม่ใช้เอนไซม์ถูกพัฒนาขึ้นโดยใช้นาโนคอมพอสิตของโลหะออกไซด์และรีดิวซ์กราฟีนออกไซด์ ขั้วไฟฟ้าคาร์บอนพิมพ์สกรีนถูกดัดแปรด้วยรีดิวซ์ กราฟีนออกไซด์เพื่อเพิ่มการนำไฟฟ้าและดัดแปรด้วยโลหะออกไซด์ที่มีขนาดในระดับนาโนสองชนิด ได้แก่ คอปเปอร์ออกไซด์ และซิงค์ออกไซด์เพื่อเป็นตัวเร่งทางเคมีไฟฟ้าสำหรับการเกิดออกซิเดชันโดยตรงของกลูโคส โดยศึกษาความเข้มข้นของสารดัดแปรที่เหมาะสมด้วยกล้องจุลทรรศน์อิเล็กตรอนแบบส่องกราด จากนั้นเปรียบเทียบประสิทธิภาพการเร่งปฏิกิริยาของขั้วไฟฟ้าดัดแปรด้วยโลหะออกไซด์ด้วยเทคนิคไซคลิกโวล แทมเมทรีพบว่าขั้วไฟฟ้าคาร์บอนพิมพ์สกรีนที่ถูกดัดแปรด้วยรีดิวซ์กราฟีนออกไซด์และคอปเปอร์ออกไซด์ให้กระแสสูงสุด จึงเลือกมาใช้เป็นขั้วไฟฟ้าสำหรับกลูโคสไบโอเซ็นเซอร์แบบไม่ใช้เอนไซม์ สำหรับการตรวจวัดกลูโคสในตัวอย่างจริง อุปกรณ์รูปแบบใหม่ถูกสร้างขึ้นโดยติดกระดาษพิมพ์แวกซ์ที่เคลือบด้วยโซเดียมไฮดรอกไซด์เพื่อเป็นส่วนป้อนสารตัวอย่างลงบนขั้วไฟฟ้าคาร์บอนพิมพ์สกรีนที่ถูกดัดแปรด้วย รีดิวซ์กราฟีนออกไซด์และคอปเปอร์ออกไซด์ อุปกรณ์นี้ถูกใช้ตรวจวัดกลูโคสในฟอสเฟตบับเฟอร์ซาลีนแสดงช่วงความเป็นเส้นตรงที่ 0.125 ถึง 7.0 มิลลิโมลาร์ และ 0.031 ถึง 7.0 มิลลิโมลาร์ โดยมีค่าสัมประสิทธิ์สหสัมพันธ์ที่ 0.9940 และ 0.9911 สำหรับการตรวจวัดด้วยเทคนิคไซคลิกโวลแทมเมทรีและเทคนิคแอมเพอโรเมทรี ตามลำดับ นอกจากนี้ขั้วไฟฟ้าคาร์บอนพิมพ์สกรีนที่ถูกดัดแปรด้วยรีดิวซ์กราฟีนออกไซด์และคอปเปอร์ออกไซด์สามารถคงประสิทธิภาพการตรวจวัดได้ถึง 6 วันภายหลังการเตรียมอุปกรณ์ กลูโคสไบโอเซ็นเซอร์แบบไม่ใช้เอนไซม์ที่พัฒนาขึ้นนี้จึงสามารถประยุกต์เป็นอุปกรณ์ทางเลือกสำหรับติดตามผู้ป่วยโรคเบาหวานอย่างง่ายโดยไม่ต้องเตรียมตัวอย่าง

Analysis Of Mass Transfer Coefficient Of Co2 Absorbed By Two-Component Amine Mixture In A Packed Bed Column, Thanakornkan Limlertchareonwanit

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Nowadays, coal fired plant has an important role in generating energy all over the world. It affects to greenhouse gases effect (GHGs) and global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a product of coal combustion that is the amount of number one in the world. However, most of the CO2 usually remove from post-combustion process by chemical absorption which is Monoethanolamine (MEA). Anyway, MEA has a disadvantage such as low CO2 loading and corrosion. Therefore, this study needs to investigate the effect of the mass transfer for a new solvents, 2-(Methylamino)ethanol (2-MAE) and Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), compensate for the drawbacks of MEA …

Effect Of Cocatalyst Combination In Titanium-Based Ziegler-Natta Catalyst On Olefin Polymerization, Thanyaporn Pongchan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research focused on effect of cocatalyst types (TEA, TnOA, and TEA+TnOA) on titanium-based Ziegler-Natta catalyst in olefin polymerization both in slurry and gas-phase systems. This study has been divided into four sections. The commercial titanium-based catalyst was selected to investigate effect of reaction temperature and oxidation state of titanium from ESR measurement on slurry ethylene and propylene polymerization in the first and the second parts, respectively. The commercial catalyst with TEA exhibited the highest activity in ethylene polymerization. However, divalent, and trivalent of titanium (Ti2+ and Ti3+) was active in ethylene polymerization to produce more polymer. Stability of Ti3+ …

A Theoretical And Experimental Study Of Charge Transport In Organic Thermoelectric Materials And Charge Transfer States In Organic Photovoltaics, Ashkan Abtahi

Theses and Dissertations--Physics and Astronomy

Applications of organic electronics have increased significantly over the past two decades. Organic semiconductors (OSC) can be used in mechanically flexible devices with potentially lower cost of fabrication than their inorganic counterparts, yet in many cases organic semiconductor-based devices suffer from lower performance and stability. Investigating the doping mechanism, charge transport, and charge transfer in such materials will allow us to address the parameters that limit performance and potentially resolve them. In this dissertation, organic materials are used in three different device structures to investigate charge transport and charge transfer. Chemically doped π-conjugated polymers are promising materials to be used …

Heparan Sulfate. A Ligand For Coordination Compounds., Eric Ginsburg

Theses and Dissertations

Heparan sulfate (HS), a type of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), has been identified as a ligand for interactions with polynuclear platinum complexes (PPCs). HS is involved in numerous biological processes, and often considered to be extracellular DNA. PPCs interact with HS through the formation of a “sulfate clamp”, where multiple anionic sulfate groups cluster around the cationic PPC. The masking of HS results in the inhibition of enzymatic activity, protein-HS interactions, and other biological processes. PPCs use HS proteoglycans as an method of cellular internalization. By targeting sulfated-GAGs, PPCs can offer precision medicine not currently observed with the FDA approved platinum therapies. …

Electrocatalytic Cathodes For Advanced Lithium–Sulfur Batteries, Ahmed Abdelkader

Theses and Dissertations

Energy demands are anticipated to increase in the next decades with the consumption of fossil fuels predicted to grow from the current levels. This will place an enormous burden on the non–renewable reserves of our energy sources and add to the preexisting environmental crisis with the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂). Electrical energy storage (EES) is considered one of the most crucial needs of modern society to circumvent this crisis and potential applications include electric vehicles and devices, as well as storage systems for solar and wind sources.Lithium–ion batteries (LIBs) have proven to be …

Three Studies Of Research-Based Pedagogy In Physical Chemistry: Development Of A Zno Thin Film Experiment, Analysis Of Student Discourse By Graph Theory And Cognitive Engagement, Building A Physical Chemistry Faculty Network., Dilhara Liyanage

Theses and Dissertations

Three research projects, each focusing on a different aspect, development of a ZnO thin film experiment, student’s cognitive engagement behavior, and building of a faculty network, are presented in this dissertation.

In the first project, a physical chemistry laboratory experiment was developed to answer the question, “How do electrons move in a solid?”. The experiment structure follows the POGIL-PCL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning - Physical Chemistry Laboratory) model. Students begin by using the PhET “Quantum Bound States” animation to compare energy levels for single atoms to energy levels of a lattice containing many potential wells, and they incorporate that …

Synthesis Of Supported Metal Nanoparticles On High Surface Area Supports For Application In Energy Conversion And Heterogeneous Catalysis, Nazgol Norouzi

Theses and Dissertations

Precise control of metal nanoparticles’ size, composition, and dispersity over high surface area supports are highly desirable to address current challenges in energy storage and conversion as well as catalytic processes involving precious metals. Therefore, developing viable synthetic routes that enable new catalytic systems derived from inexpensive transition metals or limited use of precious metals is vital for clean energy applications such as fuel cells and rechargeable batteries or affordable drugs in the pharmaceuticals arena. In addition to metal components of heterogeneous catalysts, the catalyst support is an integral part of catalyst design as it can impart both physical stability …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Multicomponent Gradients Containing Weakly Acidic And Basic Functional Groups, Kallol Roy

Theses and Dissertations

Multicomponent synthetic chemical gradients containing amine (NH₂) and carboxylic acid (COOH) groups have been prepared on the silanol (Si-OH) containing a base-layer substrate by the controlled-rate infusion (CRI) method. The spatial variation of weakly acidic COOH and basic NH₂ functional groups on weakly acidic Si-OH surface was created in such a way that the two antagonist groups at high concentrations were in close proximity (aligned gradient) and were separated (opposed gradient). The difference in concentration of different components (acid, base, or silanol) along the length of aligned or opposed resulted in significantly different physicochemical properties …

Structure, Morphology And Composition-Property Elucidation Of Ni–Mo And Ni−Mo−P Nanocrystals For Water Splitting Reactions And Group Iv Alloy And Silicate Nanocrystals For Visible To Near Ir Optoelectronics, Ebtesam Hassan Abuelenein Eladgham

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Structure, Morphology and Composition-Property Elucidation of Ni–Mo and Ni−Mo−P Nanocrystals for Water Splitting Reactions and Group IV Alloy and Silicate Nanocrystals for Visible to Near IR Optoelectronics

by

Ebtesam Hassan Abuelenein Eladgham

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Advisor: Indika U Arachchige

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry

Nanomaterials have gained a great attention because of their unique physical properties with size intermediate between molecular materials and extended solids. They have a large surface to volume ratio and display size tunable physical properties that was not …

Metal-Oxide Nanostructures Fabricated From Reactive Laser Ablation In Liquid, Mallory G. John

Theses and Dissertations

The development of metal-oxide nanostructures is a growing area due to their applications in diverse fields spanning energy conversion and storage, chemical manufacturing, and en- vironmental technology. This interest in catalytically active nanomaterials has prompted the synthesis and investigation of highly functionalized nanoparticles (NPs), including core- shell, silicate-stabilized, and bi- and multi-metallic nanocomposites. While wet-chemical synthesis methods of metal-oxide nanostructures have led to several morphologies, compositions, and shapes, these syntheses often require high temperatures, toxic solvents or reducing agents, and long reaction times.

Laser synthesis and processing of colloids (LSPC) encompasses both ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ approaches to synthesize …

Investigation Into The Reaction Profile Of A Bioinspired Nickel Complex, Denver Heitger

Theses and Dissertations

Metal complexes that can activate natural oxidants like H₂O₂ and O₂ have become a key research topic in many labs in hope of mimicking nature, by generating a bioinspired complex that can perform unique chemistry through green processes. To prepare the perfect catalyst, this has lead scientists to explore numerous avenues, including the use of both natural and artificial oxidants, to tease apart the reaction pathway taking place. A ligand system dear to the Lucas Lab (13-DOB) has been metalated with nickel, a cheap and earth abundant transition metal. Our bioinspired metal-(di)oxygen adducts can be formed …

Probing Vibrational Wave Packets In Organophoshorous Molecules Using Femtosecond Time-Resolved Mass Spectrometry (Ftrms), Derrick Ampadu Boateng

Theses and Dissertations

The study of organophosphorus and nitroaromatic compounds is essential due to their suitability as models for understanding the dynamics of radiation induce damage to DNA sugar-phosphate backbone, and the detection of chemical warfare agents as well as nitroaromatic explosives (such as TNT). The ultrafast dynamics of these polyatomic radicals were studied using femtosecond time-resolved mass spectrometry (FTRMS), a versatile method that is capable of monitoring the ultrafast dynamics of rapid dissociation in the gas phase after the removal of an electron. The method uses a technique called pump-probe, which makes use of two time-delayed laser pulses. In this work, the …

Towards A Greener Route To Blockbuster Statin Drugs: Harnessing The Power Of Biocatalysis And Integrating Cross-Coupling Catalysis In The Synthesis Of Rosuvastatin, Chanaka M. Amarasekarage

Theses and Dissertations

As global and political awareness about green and sustainable practices sharpens in the face of dramatic climate change and environmentally detrimental practices, one attractive approach is to harness the catalytic potential of enzymes. Thus influenced, our efforts focused on the development of an innovative chemoenzymatic route to widely prescribed Blockbuster statin drugs, specifically rosuvastatin. In this work, we engineered novel deoxyribose phosphate aldolase (DERA) variants via rationally designed site-directed mutagenesis to accept non-natural, less polar substrate, acrolein, along with acetaldehyde. Several of new mutants displayed elevated tolerance towards aldehydes and showed effective incorporation of acrolein into the unprecedented enzymatically-derived chiral …

Investigations Of Graphene-Supported Single-Atom Catalyst Model Ions In The Gas Phase, Michael Borrome

Theses and Dissertations

Recent developments in heterogeneous catalysis has led to the conception of single-atom catalysts (SACs), a class of catalysts based on isolated metal atoms anchored to a support scaffold. SACs are often much more reactive and can offer better selectivity when compared to nano-scale catalysts. In order to realize the full potential of SACs, a sound understanding of the underlying catalytic mechanisms is required. However, surface analysis tools can become less effective in studying catalytic mechanisms at the atomic scale. Mass spectrometry has proven to be a robust technique for studying organometallic catalytic mechanisms at the single-molecule level. Using mass spectrometry, …

Mechanistic Study Of C-H Activation By Iridium Complexes, Rozalie S G Corea

Theses and Dissertations

C-H activation is considered the “holy grail” of chemistry. Remote, selective C-H activation has many applications such as modifying precursors, adding complexity to molecules, and modifying pre- existing structures in a reduced number of steps. Previous work by Swift and Gronert identified an iridium(III) phenanthroline complex that can activate C-H bonds of cyclohexane. The objective of this dissertation is to study the mechanism and regioselectivity of this complex in common precursors, namely 1-butanol, 1-methoxybutane and butyl acetate.

The studies were carried out in the gas phase on a modified mass spectrometer. Selectively deuterated alcohol, ether and ester were used to …

Adiabatic Trajectory Approximation Within The Framework Of Mixed Quantum/Classical Theory, Bikramaditya Mandal, Alexander Semenov, Dmitri Babikov

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

A hierarchy of approximate methods is proposed for solving the equations of motion within a framework of the mixed quantum/classical theory (MQCT) of inelastic molecular collisions. Of particular interest is a limiting case: the method in which the classical-like equations of motion for the translational degrees of freedom (scattering) are decoupled from the quantum-like equations for time evolution of the internal molecular states (rotational and vibrational). In practice, trajectories are pre-computed during the first step of calculations with driving forces determined solely by the potential energy surface of the entrance channel, which is an adiabatic trajectory approximation. Quantum state-to-state transition …

Continuous-Flow Synthesis Of Fine Chemicals And Pharmaceutical Compounds Over Intelligent Organocatalysts With Bifunctional Reactivity, Abdo-Alslam Alwakwak

Doctoral Dissertations

“Many biological systems that utilize organic active sites to catalyze reactions under mild conditions invoke cooperative catalytic pathways, whereby two or more active sites work together to activate the reactant(s). The use of cooperative (bifunctional) catalysts and continuous flow chemistry (a reaction within the narrow channels of a micro‐ or microfluidic reactor) are commonplace in sustainable chemical transformation and attract a great deal of interest with respect to economic and environmentally-sustainable production of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals, water treatment, as well as upgrading of biomass feedstocks. Although, some methods have been developed for immobilization of bifunctional catalysts for cooperative …

Structurally And Electronically Diverse Polyanion-Based Cathode Materials For Alkali-Ion Batteries, Prashanth Sandineni

Doctoral Dissertations

”Through this investigation polyanion-based cathode materials including sulfates, phosphates, and phosphites of transition metal have been synthesized for lithium and sodium-ion batteries and their electrochemical performances were evaluated. The emphasis was on soft chemical routes to discover metastable phases which are often missed in high temperature synthesis. Iron-based compounds were the main focus of this investigation, however, concurrently a few vanadium-analogues of iron compounds were investigated to evaluate the effect of multi-electron process on achievable voltage and capacity.

This investigation resulted in the discovery of several compounds with unique crystal structures, namely AFe₃(SO₄)₂(OH)_{6 …}

Transition Metal Chalcogenide Hybrid Systems As Catalysts For Energy Conversion And Biosensing, Siddesh Umapathi

Doctoral Dissertations

"Generation of hydrogen and oxygen through catalyst-aided water splitting which has immense applications in metal air batteries, PEM fuel cells and solar to fuel energy production, has been one of the critical topics in recent times. The state of art oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts are mostly comprised of precious metals. The current challenge lies in replacing these precious metal-based catalysts with non-precious earth-abundant materials without compromising catalytic efficiency.

This research explores mixed metal selenides containing Fe-Ni, Fe-Co and RhSe which were hydrothermally synthesized and/or electrodeposited and tested for OER and ORR …

2-(Di­Phenyl­Methyl­Idene)-2,3-Di­Hydro-1h-Inden-1-One, Tao Zhang, Vilmar Bandero, Tom Mccabe, Neil Frankish, Helen Sheridan

Articles

In the title mol­ecule, C₂₂H₁₆O, the indanone ring system is approximately planar with a dihedral angle between the fused rings of 5.13 (14)°. Two benzene rings are linked together at one side of a double bond, sitting on either side of the indanone ring system and making dihedral angles of 70.30 (12) and 44.74 (13)° with it. In the crystal, hydrogen bonding is not present, but weak C—H⋯π or π–π inter­actions occur and mol­ecules form a sheet-like structure in the bc plane.

Benzimidazole Containing Acetamide Derivatives Attenuate Neuroinflammation And Oxidative Stress In Ethanol-Induced Neurodegeneration, Muhammad Imran, Lina Tariq Al Kury, Humaira Nadeem, Fawad Ali Shah, Muzaffar Abbas, Shagufta Naz, Arif Ullah Khan, Shupeng Li

All Works

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Oxidative stress-induced neuroinflammation is the prominent feature of neurodegenerative disorders, and is characterized by a gradual decline of structure and function of neurons. Many biochemical events emerge thanks to the result of this neurodegeneration, and ultimately provoke neuroinflammation, activation of microglia, and oxidative stress, leading to neuronal death. This cascade not only explains the complexity of events taking place across different stages, but also depicts the need for more effective therapeutic agents. The present study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of newly synthesized benzimidazole containing acetamide derivatives, 3a (2-(4-methoxyanilino)-N-[1-(4-methylbenzene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl] …

Structural Investigation On The Thermal Degradation Of Aqueous Amines In Post-Combustion Co2 Capture, Jeffrey Alexander Laub

Online Theses and Dissertations

One of the major issues concerning the increase in global temperature is with the elevating levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Combustion of fossil fuels in power plants is a leading contributor to the elevated anthropogenic CO2 concentration. To help alleviate this issue, the investigation of aqueous amines being implemented for the capture of CO2 in the post-combustion carbon capture (PCCC) in power plants has been a growing interest to chemists. One of the concerns with aqueous amines, is their ability to thermally degrade. Thermal degradation is a prominent aspect for the loss of aqueous amines during the stripper process …

Effects Of Nutrient Overload And Environmental Conditions On Algal Bloom Formation: A Case Study Of Water Sources In Eastern Kentucky, Lauren Sutton

Online Theses and Dissertations

Eastern Kentucky is home to many private ponds used for agricultural and recreational purposes. Each year, the owners of these ponds observe harmful algal blooms (HABs) that release toxins into the water, potentially limiting the use of these ponds. A pilot study in summer 2018 observed a harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurring in one pond in Madison Country that roughly correlated with a rise in water sulfate levels with no detectable levels of nitrate or phosphate present. A follow-up study of this pond and others in the area was conducted during Summer 2019. The purpose of this project was three-fold: …

Development Of Novel Analytical Methods For Detection And Determination Of Tamoxifen In Oral Fluid And Discrimination Between Regioisomeric Aromatase Inhibitors For Doping Control Purposes, Brooke A. Sutton

Online Theses and Dissertations

The use of SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) – most notably the drug Tamoxifen – has significantly increased among athletes over the past decade to enhance athletic performance and/or negate certain side effects of using anabolic steroids. This “doping” is always banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) for all athletes, but SERMs can naturally increase testosterone production so they are a tempting alternative to using steroids or androgenic supplements that can cause significant health problems (e.g. acne, breast development, frequent urge to urinate, low libido, etc.). Similarly, the use of AIs (Aromatase Inhibitors) has also increased among athletes for identical …

Development And Implementation Of A Novel Voltage-Free Interface For Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry Separations Of Proteins, Courtney J. Kristoff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry is a powerful technique for high-throughput and high efficiency separations combined with structural identification. Electrospray ionization is the primary interface used to couple capillary electrophoresis to mass analyzers; however, improved designs continue to be reported. A new interfacing method based on vibrating sharp-edge spray ionization is presented in this work to overcome the challenges of decoupling applied voltages and to enhance the compatibility with separations performed at near-neutral pH. The versatility and ease of use of this ionization source is demonstrated using β-blockers, peptides, and proteins. The cationic β-blocker pindolol was injected electrokinetically and detected at concentrations …