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,...
Nanostructured ZnO films were obtained via thermal oxidation of thin films formed with metallic Zn-nanoparticle dispersions. Commercial zinc nanoparticles used for this work were characterized by microscopic and thermal analysis methods to analyze the Zn-ZnO core shell structure, surface morphology and oxidation characteristics. These dispersions were spin-coated on SiO₂/Si substrates...
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have the potential to de-repress epigenetically silenced genes in cancer cells, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Dietary HDAC inhibitors derived from natural phytochemicals are promising anticancer agents. In this thesis, metabolites from natural organosulfur and organoselenium compounds, i.e. allyl mercaptan (AM), β-methylselenopyruvate (MSP) and...
The dissertation focuses on the engineering of light-matter interaction using plasmonic nanoparticles and metamaterials to achieve enhanced luminescence and based on which to improve the performance of biosensing and light-emitting technologies. We designed and fabricated a spectrum of nanostructures to exhibit particular dispersion relations capable of controlling the spontaneous emission...
Water electrolysis plays a pivotal role in achieving a green hydrogen economy by sourcing electricity from intermittent renewable sources. However, the efficiency of the electrolysis process is limited by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics, whereas the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are more facile. This thesis...
Atmospheric pressure plasma is non-thermal at millimeter to micrometer separations. It represents an alternative low exergy initiator of many chemical reactions. In many instances heat, light or sound are not efficient providers of the necessary energy to overcome chemical activation barriers. The focus of this research is applying dc nonthermal...
In the second chapter, a foam-core meniscus coating process was developed for retrofitting 100 nm-scale sol-gel anti-reflective coatings onto in-field solar panels through the deposition, evaporation, and curing of wet films.Advantages of this technique include the means to control fluid flow relative to substrate motion and the ability to conform...
The interactions of chemical species with a solid surface play a role in many everyday applications such as heterogeneous catalysis, corrosion, and degradation reactions. Understanding the reaction kinetics and thermodynamics via rate constants and equilibrium constants, which require knowledge of the adsorbed species’ entropy, is essential for tuning these surface...
Torrubiella is a genus of entomopathogenic fungi in the Clavicipitaceae
(Ascomycota). Species of the genus produce superficial perithecia on a loose mat of
hyphae that forms directly on the host. The genus is estimated to contain about 70
species. Torrubiella is hypothesized to be a close relative of Cordyceps because...