Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Encapsulation Of Molecular Probes In Polymer Nanoparticles For Visual Detection Of Heavy Metals In Water, Kyla Dewittie

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

Heavy metal contamination is a problem worldwide, and it has dangerous effects on humans and the environment. Lead is one of the most common metal toxins due to its presence in a variety of household items including paint and pipes. Mercury is another common toxin that is dangerous due to its long half-life which causes it to buildup in not only water sources, but also inhabiting wildlife. The consumption of both metals is detrimental to human health, therefore proper detection methods are needed. Various detection methods exist but are not cost or time efficient. Molecular probes could be a solution …

Luminescence From Metal-Organic Frameworks: Structural Modification And Small Molecule Uptake, Nicholas A. Erisman, Brandon A. Molina

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are materials that contain metal centers coordinated by organic molecules that form an extended, porous lattice. These MOFs are of interest in the field of sensing for their unique properties such as high stability, high surface area, high crystallinity, and ability to perform small molecule exchange. Luminescent metal-organic frameworks (LMOFs) are of specific interest since they contain the potential to detect volatile organic compounds via adsorption into the porous framework. 1 Luminescent properties can be imparted to MOFs in several ways. Previous projects focused on the inclusion of the luminescent osmium complex Os(dcphen)(CO)2 (Cl)2 (dcphen = 1,10-phenanthroline-4,7-dicarboxylic …

Synthesis Of Asymmetrically-Substituted Tetraphenyl-Class Porphyrins, William J. Davis

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

Porphyrins are macrocyclic compounds that can be synthesized and used in photodynamic therapy (PDT), a noninvasive and selective method designed to eliminate diseased tissue (such as cancer) without killing healthy tissue. PDT involves the following three steps. A photosensitizer enters a cancerous cell, is excited by electromagnetic radiation, and transfers the energy to molecular oxygen which is then converted into singlet oxygen, which triggers cellular apoptosis. However, for a porphyrin to be utilized as a therapeutic in PDT, it must satisfy the following two criteria: the porphyrin needs to possess the correct solubility to pass through the cell membrane and …

Optimization Of The Control Line On A Lateral Flow Assay For Lead (Ii) Detection In Drinking Water, Yudeliz Sanchez

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

According to a recent survey by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are between 6 to 10 million lead (Pb2+) service lines in the country. Consumption of lead can cause brain and kidney damage. Our goal is to create a simple, inexpensive paper-based assay to make lead testing accessible. Lateral flow assays (LFAs) are rapid tests (5-30 mins) used to detect or quantify analytes in mixtures. Each LFA has a control line and a test line(s). The control line ensures the test is working. In our test, the control line is composed of neutral red polymer nanoparticles, which …

Design And Synthesis Of Hoogsteen-Binding Peptide Nucleic Acid Monomers With Extended Linkers For Triple Helical U-A Recognition In Rna, Angelina B. Giglio-Tos, Tristan L. Mabee, James A. Mackay

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

RNA provides many functions within biological systems. For example, noncoding RNA (ncRNA), a form of RNA that is not part of transcription or translation, serves a variety of unique roles, such as catalysis or gene regulation. ncRNA generally forms double helical motifs that are ripe for molecular recognition. Sequence selective recognition of double helical RNA (dhRNA) can be achieved using Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNA) through triple helical formation by Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding of PNA nucleobases in the major groove of dhRNA. However, strong, and selective recognition is typically limited to polypurine strands and pyrimidine recognition remains an unsolved problem. A …

Creation Of A Cell Line For Rapid Identification Of Potential Receptor Agonists Or Antagonists, Brandon Baxter

Summer Scholarship, Creative Arts and Research Projects (SCARP)

Developing drugs to combat disease is costly and time-consuming. Efficient methods for rapid drug screening for diseases such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus or cancer would be extremely advantageous. Diabetes effects 33.3 million people in the United States and 462 million worldwide and 17 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year. Many diseases result from the cells inability to respond to external signals that bind to receptors on the cytoplasmic membrane. This research attempted to create a cell line containing an intracellular protein fused to GFP. This protein would alter its cellular location and serve as an indicator …

Peptidomics Analysis Reveals Changes In Small Urinary Peptides In Patients With Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome, Md Shadman Ridwan Abid, Haowen Qiu, Bridget Tripp, Aline De Lima Leite, Heidi E. Roth, Jiri Adamec, Robert Powers, James W. Checco

Chemistry Department: Faculty Publications

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a chronic and debilitating pain disorder of the bladder and urinary tract with poorly understood etiology. A definitive diagnosis of IC/BPS can be challenging because many symptoms are shared with other urological disorders. An analysis of urine presents an attractive and non-invasive resource for monitoring and diagnosing IC/BPS. The antiproliferative factor (APF) peptide has been previously identified in the urine of IC/BPS patients and is a proposed biomarker for the disorder. Nevertheless, other small urinary peptides have remained uninvestigated in IC/BPS primarily because protein biomarker discovery efforts employ protocols that remove small endogenous peptides. …

Shapes Of Molecular Aggregates Associated With A Critical Point Of Solution, James Baird

Summer Community of Scholars (RCEU and HCR) Project Proposals

No abstract provided.

Soil Health, Laini Flessner

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

My literature research topic looks at the remediation of soil, specifically through phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is a method of decontaminating soil by using plants that filter out or degrade pollutants (Rahim and Koh 2).

Soils Project, Corinne Wolf

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

There are several well known impacts of climate change on our planet, such rising sea levels or warming temperatures. However, I wanted to explore a way in which climate change could potentially impact soils.

Soil Literature Research Project, Kathryn Currey

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

TOPIC OVERVIEW : TOXINS IN SOILS AND HEALTH OF HUMANS

• Soil contamination happens all the time as a result of various causes, that can be purposeful or accidental (Soil Science Society of America, np). Some common examples of ways that soil is contaminated is through mining, waste disposal and oil drilling, (Misachi, John).

• Soil contamination and a large presence of toxins present in soils from across the world has harmed our planet, the animals and the humans on it (Soil Science Society of America, np).

• For this project I am going to discuss toxins due to soil …

Soils Project, Kelsie Pitcher

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

My primary research article discussed the importance of soil damping. The research question is "What's the importance of soil damping for tall buildings?" (Gómez et al. 1). This is a process that can create stability (Gómez et al.). Soil damping can prevent weakening of structures overtime caused by severe weather conditions. (Gómez et 3). Soil damping is a form of energy dissipation allowing the structure to be more stable when experiencing things like high winds and intense weather conditions (Gómez et al. 5).

Soil & Forensic Analysis, Devan Bianchini

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

What is forensic analysis?

• Work done by forensic scientists to analyze evidence found at crime scenes and outside evidence tied to a crime (“Forensic Science”)
• An analysis method used to aid law enforcement in criminal investigations and in a court room to prove whether a criminal suspect is innocent or guilty of committing a crime (“Forensic Science”)

How can soil be used in forensic analysis?

• By forensic scientists in trace evidence examination (“Forensic Science”), a method of forensic analysis examining microscopic traces of evidence, such as soil particles found at or on evidence from a crime scene (“Trace Evidence Analysis”) …

Soil Health, Laszlo Meredith

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

No abstract provided.

Soil Contamination Due To Nuclear Testing, Animesh Jha

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

Why this topic:

• Nuclear contamination has long term effects (cdc.gov)
• Australia and the U.S. took land from indigenous peoples to conduct nuclear tests (Rapaport, Hughes)
• Give idea of whether indigenous peoples can return to their lands safely

Soil Health And The Effects Of Nanoparticles, Elijah Mock

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

I researched the effects of soil on human health. Specifically, I was interested in nanoparticles that reside in soil and how they affect humans as well as crops that are planted in the soil. This topic is relevant because nanoparticles can be used to deliver drugs for doctors, create specific properties for material scientists, sensors for the military, and in a plethora of other fields (“What Are Nanoparticles? Definition, Size, Uses and Properties.”).

Synthesis Of Molybdenum Containing Thin Films Using Organic Reducing Agents And Synthesis Of Magnesium Silyl Intermediate Complexes For Use In Atomic Layer Deposition, Michael David Overbeek

Wayne State University Dissertations

Thin films of a variety of materials have shown great potential in the fields of microelectronics, catalysis, and energy applications. Vapor deposition methods, including PVD and CVD, have been traditionally used as the primary method to deposit these thin films. However, these methods do not provide the necessary thickness uniformity and conformality needed for future uses of these thin films as they shrink to smaller dimensions. ALD provides a high degree of uniformity and conformality due to the intrinsic nature of the self-limited reaction mechanism of an ALD process.

The research herein focuses on two metals that have untapped potential …

The Development Of Fundamental Insights Into The Electronic Behaviors Of Next-Generation Materials, Sydney Lavan

Wayne State University Dissertations

We develop the fundamental mechanistic understanding of the microscopic behavior of three next generation materials: antiferroelectrics, hybrid perovskites and metal organic frameworks. These materials have the potential to be used in energy and light related applications which could provide a solution for the energy efficiency challenges we face in todays society. Ideally we need to begin to bridge the gap of developing candidate materials that possess high power density and high energy density. The first step in bridging this gap is understanding how the material influ- ences its structure and thus the properties and performance. We leverage vibrational spectroscopy and …

Kinase-Catalyzed Labeling To Identify Kinase-Substrate Pairs Using Γ-Phosphate Modified Atp Analogs, Rachel Beltman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are responsible for a variety of cellular processes. One such PTM is protein phosphorylation, which is catalyzed by kinases. Kinase enzymes play important roles in cellular signaling pathways, but dysregulation of kinase-mediated events results in the formation of diseases, which make kinases favorable drug targets. To uncover the role kinases play in the development of diseases, kinase-mediated cellular events need to be better understood. The current gap in the field is the lack of tools available to identify the kinase that is responsible for specific phosphorylation events within the cell. To improve the gap in the field, …

Finding Combinations Of Objects Within Categories Using Edges Software, Erin M. Thorpe, Ehab Rizek, Yan Xu

Chemistry Software

Edges Software can be used to find the combinations of any objects within different categories. A combination is an arrangement of objects where order does not matter. The original intent of this software was to provide the combinations of proteins within different pathways to aid in building a protein-(target)-protein network where protein nodes are connected to each other through their common pathway edges. This software can analyze tens of thousands of rows of excel data in just a few minutes and provide an excel output that contains all the combinations of objects within the different categories. This output can then …

Sequential Assembly Of 1-D And 2-D Origami Arrays, Nathan Shin

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

DNA origami, invented by Paul Rothemund in 2006, provides many possible routes for the synthesis of complex macromolecular assemblies. This project involves the creation of 1-D and 2-D arrays of cross origami to support the development of DNA detection devices by providing precise platforms for these devices. The M13 plasmid is the most commonly used scaffold in DNA nanotechnology, limiting the size and complexity of an individual DNA origami construct. However, by creating larger assemblies, the dimensions can be multiplied. For example, by alternating two different types of cross origami, optical reporters can be separated by 200 nm, which is …

Extremophilic Fungi From Marine Environments: Underexplored Sources Of Antitumor, Anti-Infective And Other Biologically Active Agents, Lesley Ann Giddings, David J. Newman

Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Marine environments are underexplored terrains containing fungi that produce a diversity of natural products given unique environmental pressures and nutrients. While bacteria are commonly the most studied microorganism for natural products in the marine world, marine fungi are also abundant but remain an untapped source of bioactive metabolites. Given that their terrestrial counterparts have been a source of many blockbuster antitumor agents and anti-infectives, including camptothecin, the penicillins, and cyclosporin A, marine fungi also have the potential to produce new chemical scaffolds as leads to potential drugs. Fungi are more phylogenetically diverse than bacteria and have larger genomes that contain …

A Kinetic Analysis Of Bleaching Synthetic Indigo In Solution, Emily Fry

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Indigo's ability to dye a wide variety of fabric types gives it a prominent place in the textile industry. As a vat dye, indigo must be reduced to leuco-indigo to dissolve in water and dye fabric. It is common practice in the textile industry to bleach indigo-dyed denim to alter the final appearance of the garment. This research aims to determine the kinetic order of this bleaching process, using hydrogen peroxide as a bleaching agent for synthetic indigo. Vat solutions of synthetic indigo were made using fructose as the reducing agent and sodium hydroxide to create a reducing environment. Four …

Soils Project, Teagan Wuethrich

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

With the mass production of plastic materials throughout the world there is not only significant impacts towards marine life, but also terrestrial environments because of plastic pollution. These plastic products are non-biodegradable and only break down into tiny microscopic pieces of plastic. These microscopic plastics pollute the grounds and soils us humans depend on.

Soil Project, Gabriella Hopkins

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

What are soil-borne diseases?

- Soil-borne diseases are diseases that can infect plants, animals, and human via soil.

- There are multiple different pathogens that contaminate soil and cause disease including bacteria, fungi, and helminths (parasitic worms). Most of these lay dormant (inactive) in the soil until they come in contact with a host.

- A host such as an animal can become infected by inhaling dormant spores or eggs in the case of helminths or by the pathogen coming in contact with an open wound. These situations are also the case for humans, but humans can also become infected …

Analysis Of Sex-Specific Prostanoid Production Using A Mouse Model Of Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition, Rita K. Upmacis, Wendy L. Becker, Donna M. Rattendi, Raven S. Bell, Kelsey D. Jordan, Shayan Saniei, Elena Mejia

Faculty Papers and Publications

Background: Prostanoids are a family of lipid mediators formed from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase enzymes and serve as biomarkers of vascular function. Prostanoid production may be different in males and females indicating that different therapeutic approaches may be required during disease.

Objecti ves: We examined sex-dependent differences in COX-related metabolites in genetically modified mice that produce a cyclooxygenase- 2 (COX2) enzyme containing a tyrosine 385 to phenylalanine (Y385F) mutation. This mutation renders the COX2 enzyme unable to form a key intermediate radical required for complete arachidonic acid metabolism and provides a model of selective COX2 inhibition.

Design and …

Synthesis And Characterization Of New Benzimidazole-Nitrone Derivatives And Study Of Their Effect As Anti-Fungal, Meaad A. Fadel, Dawood S. Ali, Hanaa K. Mousa

Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Pure Science

New benzimidazole derivatives (benzimidazole-nitrone) were synthesized from the condensation of o-phenylene diamine with p-amino benzaldehyde in the presence of (P-TSOH\EtOH) then the benzimidazole compounds that containing an imine group were oxidized to obtain a nitrone group by used peracetic acid and identified by FT-IR, H1-NMR spectra, and elemental analysis. all compounds applied to the candida and aspergillus fungi gave a different result. The compounds have Ph, OH and N(CH3)2 groups as substituted in synthesized benzimidazole derivatives were showed reactivity as anti-fungal.

Chapter 3.2: Why Batteries Deliver A Fairly Constant Voltage Until They Suddenly Die: An Application Of Nernst Topo Surfaces, Garon C. Smith, Md Mainul Hossain, Patrick Maccarthy

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

Two characteristics of batteries, their delivery of nearly constant voltage and their rapid failure, are explained through a visual examination of the Nernst equation. Two Galvanic cells are described in detail: (1) a wet cell involving iron and copper salts and (2) a mercury oxide dry cell. A complete description of the wet cell requires a three-dimensional Nernst surface because the potential is a function of two variables: the activities of both the oxidized and reduced forms in each redox couple. Dry cell potentials, which utilize solid or pure liquid species, are functions of only one variable and can be …

Assembly Of Quantum Dots Into Porous Architectures: Methods, Mechanisms, And Applications, Karunamuni Lakmini Samantha Silva

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT ASSEMBLY OF QUANTUM DOTS INTO POROUS ARCHITECTURES: METHODS, MECHANISMS, AND APPLICATIONS by KARUNAMUNI LAKMINI SAMANTHA SILVA May 2022 Advisor: Prof. Stephanie L. Brock Major: Chemistry Degree: Doctor of Philosophy The dissertation research is focused on achieving two main goals: (1) identifying the chemical parameters that govern the oxidative assembly method of semiconductor metal chalcogenide nanocrystals (NCs) to tune the properties of resultant gel structures of multicomponent systems, and (2) developing new assembly techniques to improve properties associated with their quantum-confined structures. NC assembly plays a key role in determining the performance of solid-state devices and the oxidative assembly method …

Development Of Terpyridine-Based Metallosurfactants For Directional Electron Tunneling, Samudra Subashini Amunugama

Wayne State University Dissertations

The molecular electronics field is a multidisciplinary area that addresses the utilization of molecules as the basic unit of electronic components. Depending on the characteristics of the molecules, they can function as transistors, wires, switches, and memory cells. This field has attracted significant interest from the scientific community due to the increasing number of issues associated with the miniaturization process of microelectronic devices and the desirability of using molecules in electronic circuits. The research work discussed in this dissertation thesis is focused on the design and development of terpyridine-based metallosurfactant as prospective candidates for molecular electronics. Since rectifiers are pivotal …