A specific tyrosine post-translational modification, called 3-nitro-tyrosine (nitroTyr), has been known to be present on an essential calcium signaling protein called calmodulin (CaM) during oxidative stress. While protein-bound 3-nitro-tyrosine has long been considered a biomarker of OS, it is also hypothesized to be a mechanism for protein signaling. However, purification...
Plastic packaging is a cost-effective solution for housing RF and microwave integrated circuits in low cost communication devices. While enabling low cost packaging of integrated circuits, plastic packages including the circuit ground patch (paddle) inside the package can have a significant parasitic effect on circuit performance. The purpose of this...
In this dissertation, I describe the experimental investigation of electron diffraction of neutral and ionic clusters doped into superfluid helium droplets. The project is aimed at contributing to the development of an overall approach called ‘serial single molecule electron diffraction imaging (ss-EDI), a potential approach to solve macromolecule structures bypassing...
Obtaining high-resolution structures of biological macromolecules has become one of the biggest challenges in the scientific world. Dr. Wei Kong’s lab is currently working to overcome the limitations of current structure resolution techniques, such as x-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Kong’s group hopes to develop a new protein...
There is no shortage of challenges in modern science, including the task of obtaining high resolution images of biomolecular structures, such as proteins. Current atomic-resolution structure determination methods include x-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which present issues like protein crystallization and loss of resolution with increasing size. Dr....
In this dissertation, I present electronic spectra of a few polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): tetracene, pentacene, pyrene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene and benzo[a]pyrene using resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy. The work of tetracene and pentacene also combine a laser desorption source with a ZEKE spectrometer, demonstrating...
In this dissertation, I present experimental observations of multiply charged atomic ions (MCAI) generated from interactions of atomic/molecular clusters with moderately intense nanosecond laser pulses. This process is also known as Coulomb explosion (CE) and it has been extensively studied in intense laser fields using ultrashort pulses. Several prevailing theories...
The central purpose of this dissertation was to explore and expand the use of
an uniform electric field for orientation and for subsequent spectroscopic investigation of asymmetric polar molecules in the gas phase. The systems of study were nitrobenzene (NB) and the nitrotoluene (NT) isomers. We were able to quantitatively...