The concept of reducing laboratory operations in scale such that they fit on a microfluidic chip has been met with great enthusiasm. Lab-on-a-chip devices promise to be cost effective to operate due to reduced reagent consumption, have the potential to offer shorter analysis times due to their short path lengths,...
In an attempt to find a laboratory species which develops an
experimental myopathy similar to white muscle disease (WMD) in
lambs, comparative studies of nutritional muscular dystrophy of
chicks were initiated. This condition was grossly visible as white
striations running parallel with the fibers of the pectoral muscles and
was...
Studies of the use of NADH as the monitored fluorophore for enzymatic fluorescence kinetic methods are discussed. Interference studies
for the detection of NADH and the adaptation and optimization of fluorescence kinetic measurements to four serum assays are also described.
A microcomputer-controlled flow injection analysis (FIA) system was
designed and...
A microfluidic nanofiltration module has been designed, fabricated and applied to the continuous-flow, pressure-driven, post-synthetic purification of macromolecules and nanoparticles via diafiltration using a commercially available organic solvent resistant nanofiltration membrane, STARMEM 122. This module will readily interface with other microscale components within a
"nanofactory" for the rapid synthesis, purification...
In this dissertation, I present the work of developing more efficient and economical techniques for fragmenting large bio-molecules, and ultimately making mass spectrometry a more powerful tool in proteomics, DNA sequencing, and other areas of biomolecular analysis.
Aiming at lowering the installation and operating cost, and delivering electron capture dissociation...
The migration of chloride ions in concrete with steel reinforcement under cathodic protection was investigated. Mortar blocks (15 cm x 15 cm x 17 cm) of various composition (water to cement ratio, chloride ion content) were cast with an iron mesh cathode embedded along one face and a thermally sprayed...
Benzylsuccinate (BSA), methylbenzylsuccinate (methylBSA), and ethylbenzylsuccinate (ethylBSA) are unambiguous anaerobic biotransformation products from toluene, xylenes, and ethylbenzene decay, respectively, and may be used to indicate intrinsic bioremediation is occurring at hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. In order to improve upon current methods that detect and quantify anaerobic hydrocarbon metabolites in field samples, solid-phase-extraction...
Enantioenriched sp³-hybridized carbenoid reagents CR1R2MX (X = nucleofuge, M = electrofuge) of different types were investigated for the synthesis of polysubstituted alkyl chains by iterative stereospecific reagent-controlled homologation (StReCH) and for the stereospecific connective synthesis of alkenes by eliminative cross-coupling.
In the first part, putative enantioenriched α-chloroalkyllithiums (CHRLiCl) were employed...
Two related techniques, based upon ion-exchange solid phase extraction, have been
developed for the determination of arsenic speciation. The inorganic arsenic species
arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) are separated by anion-exchange and detected with
graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GFAAS) with a nickel matrix
modifier. The first separation technique, which...
In this dissertation, the spectroscopic properties and thermodynamic stability of a class of materials known as metal oxo and hydroxo clusters are studied. In aqueous solutions, many metals can aggregate into discrete clusters of metals bridged by oxo or hydroxo ligands. These clusters are of particular interest to us for...