Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Extractive Membranes For The Detection And Screening Of Waterborne Plutonium, James Foster

All Dissertations

The development of rapid screening tools for special nuclear materials remains a crucial focus for nonproliferation efforts. Traditional approaches for the analysis of trace-level Pu isotopes in water requires tedious and time-consuming sample preparation steps that do not lend well to expeditious screening. Therefore, a novel analytical method that combines both Pu concentration and source preparation into a single detection system would make for an invaluable tool for nuclear security applications. Extractive membranes absorbers can help to fulfill this role as they are capable of concentrating Pu to detectable limits while subsequently serving as alpha spectrometry sample sources. In Chapter …

Valorization Of Biopolymers And Biomass To Produce Materials For A More Circular Economy, Moira Lauer

All Dissertations

With a globally increasing population and largely unchecked consumption of raw materials, human society is on track for devastating consequences. Two industries responsible for utilizing massive amounts of raw materials and generating equally gargantuan quantities of waste are the packaging and infrastructure sectors. In 2017 in Europe, for example, packaging reached a record 173 kg of packaging waste per capita. One of the largest packaging consumers is the food industry, in which 40% of packaging is made of petroleum-derived single-use plastic, leading to a massive carbon imbalance. “The Built Environment,” on the other hand, is responsible for about 50% of …

The Development Of Photoinduced Initiation Of Olefin Polymerization And Its Applications, Justin M. Burroughs

Doctoral Dissertations

Polyolefin synthesis is an ever-growing field due to the low cost of monomer feed stocks and the wide range of applications of the resulting polymeric material. Polyolefins are most commonly polymerized through coordination-insertion polymerization. One area this field of research has progressed is the development of complex ligand scaffolds to achieve various levels of control over polymerization. For example, researchers have been able to control molecular weight, branching density, and tacticity of various olefin polymerizations. As a result of complex ligand scaffolds, the catalytic systems become more expensive and less industrially applicable. On the other hand, little research efforts have …

Chiral Mesogen-Free Liquid Crystalline Polyethers With Sulfonylated Side Chains And Patchy Brush Nanoparticles, Caleb A. Bohannon

Doctoral Dissertations

Ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) hold promise for various applications driven by low electric fields, e.g., electrocaloric materials, because of the higher molecular motion in the liquid crystalline (LC) state. However, traditional chiral smectic C (SmC*) LCPs exhibit small spontaneous polarizations due to the bulky aromatic mesogens and weak polar groups. This dissertation research is focused on the design of mesogen-free sulfonylated LCPs with a goal of seeking the ferroelectric SmC* phase. Such LCPs are expected to exhibit high polarizations owing to the sulfonyl’s large dipole moment. A series of poly(oxypropylene)s (POPs), with chirality being introduced into either the backbone …

Spectroscopic Measurements Of Meibum Compositional, Structural, And Functional Relationships To Elucidate The Role Of Meibum In Dry Eye., Anthony Chigozie Ewurum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The major aim of my dissertation was to investigate the etiology of dry eye disease which affects about 7 million people in the United States, causing symptoms that can lead to visual disturbance. Correlation between dry eye and an abnormal lipid layer of the tear film has been found. Tear film lipids originate mostly from the meibomian glands. Cholesteryl ester (CE) and Wax ester (WE) lipids make up most of the human meibum lipidome and the CE/WE ratio has been shown to decrease in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. Model studies using synthetic CE and WE, although providing some insight, …

Nucleic Acid Editing By Adenosine Deaminase Enzymes, Josey Rae Mckinley

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

RNA editing is crucial to the genetic diversity and structural complexity of organisms. ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) is an RNA editing enzyme that creates a mutation of adenosine to inosine. The human ADAR2 (hADAR2) enzyme is known to edit RNA; however, it contains minor sequence homology with the cytidine deaminase enzymes, APOBEC and AID, which are known to edit both DNA and RNA (11 & 12). The ability of hADAR2 to edit DNA was tested through transformation into the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain BY4741. DNA editing was tested by determining if the transformed yeast became resistant to the …

Spectral Signatures Of Hydrogen Thioperoxide (Hosh) And Hydrogen Persulfide (Hssh): Possible Molecular Sulfur Sinks In The Dense Ism, Charles Z. Palmer, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Joseph S. Francisco

Faculty and Student Publications

For decades, sulfur has remained underdetected in molecular form within the dense interstellar medium (ISM), and somewhere a molecular sulfur sink exists where it may be hiding. With the discovery of hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) in the ISM in 2011, a natural starting point may be found in sulfur-bearing analogs that are chemically similar to HOOH: hydrogen thioperoxide (HOSH) and hydrogen persulfide (HSSH). The present theoretical study couples the accuracy in the anharmonic fundamental vibrational frequencies from the explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory with the accurate rotational constants provided by canonical high-level coupled cluster theory to produce rovibrational spectra for use …

“Translation Of Hdac6 Pet Imaging Using [18f]Ekz-001 – Cgmp Production And Measurement Of Hdac6 Target Occupancy In Nhps” – A Review, Dania Rahal

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

The inhibition of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) has been reported to alleviate the effects of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. The brain-penetrant PET radioligand [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 has high affinity and selectivity towards HDAC6 and therefore suggests great promise in therapeutic treatment studies and development for neurodegenerative diseases. “Translation of HDAC6 PET imaging using [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 – cGMP production and measurement of HDAC6 target occupancy in NHPs” has achieved an effective, fully automated method of producing [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 in compliance with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) to support the translation of [¹⁸F]EKZ-001 PET for …

Investigation Into The Measurement Of Student Ability: Refinements, Improvements And Enhanced Understanding Of Factors That Influence Performance, David Schreurs

Theses and Dissertations

The following series of experiments were all designed and implemented with the goal of understanding and improving undergraduate students understanding of chemistry. In order to accurately access changes in student’s chemistry understanding, the first chapter focuses on how a student’s chemistry proficiency can be most effectively measured. This includes practical recommendations for the average instructor as well as advanced methods more appropriate for researchers who require highly precise scores. With a better understanding on how to measure student proficiency, the next step was working to improve student understanding through various types of feedback following assessments. On top of establishing a …

Total Synthesis Of Mansouramycin A, Abigail M. Zepeda

Theses and Dissertations

In 2009 bioactive compounds from marine Streptomyces species was isolated which resulted in deriving four isoquinoline-quinone alkaloids known as Mansouramycins A-D. There have been reports that there are 36 non-small cancer cells against cytotoxicity in Mansouramycins A-C in lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, and prostate cancer cells. Reports that have conducted total syntheses were all specific to a single compound only Mansouramycin A and D. However, in precedent methods, to obtain the derivatives with different substituents are limited when the substituents are on the fused-pyridine ring. Thus, a develop a systematic synthetic methods of isoquinoline-quinones, which are to be able …

Synthesis Of Gpr119 Interacting Drugs For Treatment Of Type Ii Diabetes, Tien M. Tran

Theses and Dissertations

Type II Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and is categorized by high blood glucose levels, insulin deficiencies, and inhibition. Located in the pancreas and intestine, the G-Protein Receptor 119 (GPR119) was noted to have an important effect on insulin secretion. Previous studies found that when the receptor is activated, insulin secretion was upregulated which is vital for type II diabetes treatment. Compounds AR437735 and AR437948 are the proposed agonist and inverse agonist pair that will be synthesized and tested for bioactivity to the receptor. It is theorized that the different double-bonded atoms …

Designing And Decoding Chemical Bonds: A Computational Pipeline Backed Up By Magnetic Criteria And Experiment, Nikita Fedik

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

You may find plenty of definitions of chemistry but all of them, explicitly or not, are centered around chemical bonds. When we say “chemical properties”, “reactivity”, “stability”, “structure” etc., we have in mind chemical bonds and their reorganization which almost completely defines the behavior of the matter. Why some materials are ultrahard and can cut through steel while others are so soft that you can form them with your bare hands? You probably have already guessed that it occurs because their chemical bonding is very different. Although the elemental composition could be the same! In this Dissertation, we report results …

Synthesis Of A Novel Ras Farnesyl Protein Transferase Inhibitor, Mark F. Mechelke, Anna Mikolchak

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Mutant RAS proteins are associated with 30% of all human cancers. Unregulated cell growth caused by mutant RAS proteins can be prevented by RAS farnesyl protein transferase (FPTase) inhibitors. A novel FPTase inhibitor has been synthesized incorporating a modified farnesyl “tail” and a customized diphosphate “head”. It is anticipated that the modified “tail”, incorporating a phenyl substituent, will bind more tightly to FPTase due to nonbonding interactions between the aromatic ring and ten aromatic amino acid residues that line the enzyme active site. The altered polar “head”, designed from L-aspartic acid, has already been shown to mimic the natural substrate’s …

Defining The Collapse Point In Colloidal Unimolecular Polymer (Cup) Formation, Ashish Zore, Peng Geng, Yuwei Zhang, Michael R. Van De Mark

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Colloidal unimolecular polymer (CUP) particles were made using polymers with different ratios of hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomers via a self-organization process known as water reduction. The water-reduction process and the collapse of the polymer chain to form a CUP were tracked using viscosity measurements as a function of composition. A vibration viscometer, which allowed for viscosity measurement as the water was being added during the water-reduction process, was utilized. The protocol was optimized and tested for factors such as temperature control, loss of material, measurement stability while stirring, and changes in the solution volume with the addition of water. The …

Defining The Collapse Point In Colloidal Unimolecular Polymer (Cup) Formation, Ashish Zore, Peng Geng, Yuwei Zhang, Michael R. Van De Mark

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Colloidal unimolecular polymer (CUP) particles were made using polymers with different ratios of hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomers via a self-organization process known as water reduction. The water-reduction process and the collapse of the polymer chain to form a CUP were tracked using viscosity measurements as a function of composition. A vibration viscometer, which allowed for viscosity measurement as the water was being added during the water-reduction process, was utilized. The protocol was optimized and tested for factors such as temperature control, loss of material, measurement stability while stirring, and changes in the solution volume with the addition of water. The …

Construction And Demonstration Of A 6–18 Ghz Microwave Three-Wave Mixing Experiment Using Multiple Synchronized Arbitrary Waveform Generators, Nicole T. Moon, Klaus Woelk, Garry S. Grubbs

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

This manuscript details the construction and demonstration of the first known microwave three-wave mixing (M3WM) experiment utilizing multiple arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs) completely operable in the 6–18 GHz frequency range for use in chirality determination and quantification. Many M3WM techniques, which involve two orthogonal, subsequent Rabi π/2 and π microwave pulses, suffer from flexibility in pulse types and timings as well as frequency due to most instruments only using one, one-channel AWG and the M3WM probability decreasing with an increasing quantum number, J. In this work, we presented an M3WM instrument that allows that flexibility by introducing multiple, synchronized AWGs …

Establishing Pteridine Metabolism In A Progressive Isogenic Breast Cancer Cell Model – Part Ii, Lindsey Rasmussen, Zachary Foulks, Jiandong Wu, Casey Burton, Honglan Shi

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Introduction: Determining the biological significance of pteridines in cancer development and progression remains an important step in understanding the altered levels of urinary pteridines seen in certain cancers. Our companion study revealed that several folate-derived pteridines and lumazines correlated with tumorigenicity in an isogenic, progressive breast cancer cell model, providing direct evidence for the tumorigenic origin of pteridines. Objectives: This study sought to elucidate the pteridine biosynthetic pathway in a progressive breast cancer model via direct pteridine dosing to determine how pteridine metabolism changes with tumorigenicity. Methods: First, MCF10AT breast cancer cells were dosed individually with 15 pteridines to determine …

Techno-Economic Feasibility Analysis Of A Fully Mobile Radiation Oncology System Using Monte Carlo Simulation, Alex T. Price, Casey I. Canfield, Geoffrey D. Hugo, James A. Kavanaugh, Lauren E. Henke, Eric Laugeman, Pamela Samson, Clair Reynolds-Kueny, Elizabeth A. Cudney

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

PURPOSEDisparities in radiation oncology (RO) can be attributed to geographic location, socioeconomic status, race, sex, and other societal factors. One potential solution is to implement a fully mobile (FM) RO system to bring radiotherapy to rural areas and reduce barriers to access. We use Monte Carlo simulation to quantify techno-economic feasibility with uncertainty, using two rural Missouri scenarios.METHODSRecently, a semimobile RO system has been developed by building an o-ring linear accelerator (linac) into a mobile coach that is used for temporary care, months at a time. Transitioning to a more FM-RO system, which changes location within a given day, presents …

Investigation Of The Binding Domain Interfaces Of The C-Terminus Of The Albino3 Insertase And The 43kda Chloroplast Signal Recognition Particle Subunit Via Single Molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer, Amanda Tomanek

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fluorescent labeling is a technique used for visualizing functional groups contained in biomolecules by fluorescence imaging. This technique was used in this project to analyze post-translational targeting of light-harvesting chlorophyll-binding proteins (LHCP), which are the core complexes that harvest sunlight to drive photosynthetic electron transfer. This protein is synthesized in the cytosol and post-translationally targeted to the stroma of chloroplasts. CpSRP43 is a signal recognition particle (SRP) subunit unique to chloroplasts, which has been shown to interact with the stroma-soluble C-terminus of the thylakoid-bound Albino3 insertase (Alb3-Cterm). In the chloroplast stroma, targeting to thylakoids is performed via the cpSRP pathway …

Study Of The Chemical Fabrication Process Of Nsom Probes And The Modification Of The Probe Surface, Muhammad Nazmul Hussain

Theses and Dissertations

Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) merges scanning probe technology with the power of high-resolution optical microscopy and provides a natural view into the nanoworld. NSOM requires tapered probes with subwavelength optical apertures and wide cone angles to efficiently channel the illumination light to the tip apex so that it can acquire optical images beyond the diffraction limit. Tapered probes with a range of cone angles can be fabricated through chemical etching of optical fibers using hydrofluoric acid (HF) by varying the etching time. Apart from their use for NSOM imaging, such optical probes can also be transformed into nanosensors by …

Physicochemical Properties, Pharmacokinetics And Biodistribution Of Arm14988, An Acid Ceramidase Inhibitor, And Its Potential As Chemotherapeutic Agent For Glioblastoma, Vilashini Rajaratnam

Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most common and detrimental forms of brain tumor. While there are few FDA-approved chemotherapeutic treatments, the overall survival is still poor leading to many studies dedicated to developing more effective treatment options. Previous studies have identified acid ceramidase (ASAH1) as a potential therapeutic target for this disease. ARN14988, an ASAH1 inhibitor, has shown to be highly cytotoxic compared to the FDA-approved chemotherapy agent, temozolomide, in GBM cell lines. This initial finding makes ARN14988 a desired candidate for further drug discovery studies. Herein, the objective of this thesis is to study the pharmacological properties of …

Theoretical Studies Of Benzoquinone Reactivity In Acidic And Basic Environments, Natali Majoras

Honors Theses

Quinones are a class of organic compounds containing a six-membered unsaturated ring with two carbonyl groups. They are biologically relevant mostly due to their ability to participate in redox reactions. Prior experiments in our lab showed that quinones can induce protein modifications that are pH dependent. In an acidic environment the modifications were less significant than in a basic environment. Previous computational studies have also been carried out to model, in neutral solutions, the reaction between various quinones and various amines. Various amine groups are used as a model for the amino group of lysine to represent protein modification. The …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Organometallic Complexes For Biological Imaging, Emily Stumbo

Honors Theses

Luminescent transition metal complexes are of interest for biological imaging applications due to their unique photophysical properties including large Stokes shift, long fluorescence lifetimes, and tunable emission. Altering ligand structure is a useful way to manipulate the charge transfer (CT) and mixed character states that give these complexes their photophysical properties. A series of organometallic complexes containing ligands with externally facing nitrogens has been prepared and synthesized. Complexes of the form Pt (II)(tbbpy)(C2-py), Re(CO)3(N^N), Ir(C^N)2(N^N), and Ir(C^N)2(N^O) have been studied for their potential application as biological imaging agents. The goal of this project is to compare the properties of these …

Diffusion Of A Salt In An Aqueous Media, Aldaly Pineda Hernandez

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Diffusion is defined as the net transfer of a molecule from a high concentration region to a low concentration region. The concept of diffusion is used in a very important process called "desalination." Desalination is a separation process used to reduce the salt content dissolved in brackish water to make it suitable for human consumption, irrigation, and industrial use.

In desalination plants, it is important to monitor the constantly changing salt content of water, partly due to the diffusive effect. The main purpose of this experiment was to study the diffusion of NaCl in water at two NaCl concentrations. The …

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Image-Guided Intervention: Quantitative Characterization Of Reagents For Thermochemical Ablation, Emily A. Thompson

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Thermochemical ablation (TCA) is a minimally invasive therapy under development for hepatocellular carcinoma, a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. TCA utilizes acid-base chemistry delivered simultaneously to induce local ablation when administered. When delivered via a mixing catheter placed directly into the tumor, acid (e.g., AcOH) and base (e.g., NaOH) react to completion at the catheter tip, producing the acetate salt, water, and releasing heat (Δ>50°C) in sufficient quantities to induce lethal osmotic and thermal stress in tumor cells. However, these two reagents are not distinguishable from tissues with noninvasive imaging modalities, which makes monitoring the delivery of TCA …

The Design Of A Efficient Production And Purification Of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2, Mandeep Kaur

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic wounds pose a major problem in the United States with an estimate of twenty-five million dollars a year spent on associated treatments. Growth factors can be used as a potential treatment for chronic wounds since they promote cell proliferation and angiogenesis. This study employs one specific growth factor, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) so that it could potentially be used in future treatment. Wild-type FGF2 is thermally unstable, and it has a mean elimination time of 7.6 hours. This study attempted to improve upon its stability through a mutation on the heparin binding loop. The mutation performed was K134E. …

Long-Term Trends And Variability Of Pm₂.₅ Mass, Chemical Components, And Sources Over Nys, Hesham Abdelmonem Hassan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Eighteen years of ambient PM2.5 mass and major components are used in this study to harmonize the carbonaceous fraction of PM2.5 data, and to examine long-term trends and seasonal variability changes. The major decreasing trend of PM2.5 mass and major inorganic ions reflects the ambient concentration response to clean air regulations and policies.Although elemental carbon shows a decreasing trend in agreement with most other PM2.5 components, organic carbon shows a different behavior of no-trend to slightly increasing trend in some sites. Organic carbon behavior indicates the growing role of non-combustion sources at the expense of decreasing combustion sources. Seasonal trends …

An Entropic Approach To Dynamics, Pedro Henrique Moreira Pessoa

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present thesis deals with different aspects of probability, the method of maximum entropy, information geometry, and dynamical systems and their applications to statistical physics and complex systems. Those topics come together in the framework for dynamics termed entropic dynamics. Work on the topic was initiated by my PhD advisor Professor Ariel Caticha and many colleagues at University at Albany as a method for explaining the dynamical processes in quantum mechanics from first principles of probability theory.

Gas-Phase Proton Affinities For Twenty Of The Proline-Containing Dipeptides, Henry Cardwell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Peptide fragmentation plays a crucial role in the analysis of proteins through mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Most proteomics experiments take place in the low-energy regime and are governed by the mobile proton model which predicts random cleavages along the peptide backbone; however, there sometimes arise circumstances where the mobile proton model fails causing sequencing algorithms to misidentify peptides. One such example is noted in the “proline effect” wherein proline-containing peptides preferentially fragment N-terminal. While it has been established that the “proline effect” is due to the rigidity and basicity of the proline N-terminus, a further understanding of the factors influencing the …

Chemical Analysis Of Organic Compounds In Dew Water, Monica Dibley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Water films on outdoor surfaces, such as dew, can act as a reservoir for organic molecules deposited from the atmosphere and they present a potential reactive medium for chemical transformations. To better understand the flux of volatile organic compounds from evaporating films, the composition and reactivity of the complex mixture of dissolved organic material (DOM) found in these films need to be characterized. Previous studies have measured the salts and the small organic molecules in dew collected on clean Teflon surfaces or condensers. Here, we expand on this by probing the organic chemicals found on natural outdoor surfaces covered in …