Estudamos as propriedades eletrônicas, estruturais e hiperfinas, nos sítios de nitrogênio, para o composto imidazol nas fases gasosa e sólida. Utilizamos o método PAW que é um método ab initio all-electron, dentro da Teoria do Funcional da Densidade, através do código computacional CP-PAW. Nossos valores, tanto para a fase gasosa quanto para a fase cristalina do gradiente de campo elétrico no núcleo, de freqüência de acoplamento quadrupolar (ν) e parâmetro de assimetria (η) estão em ótima concordância com os resultados experimentais da literatura e são os primeiros resultados obtidos, por método ab initio no espaço recíproco, para os átomos de nitrogênio no imidazol cristalino. Utilizamos resultados da literatura e também aqui calculados para estudar a tendência de comportamento tanto de ν quanto de η para diferentes meros (um, dois, três, cadeia infinita) e cristal investigando, assim, a estreita influência das ligações de hidrogênio sobre os valores do Gradiente de Campo Elétrico nos núcleos de nitrogênio. / Here we study structural, electronic and hyperfine properties at the Nitrogen sites in imidazole in the gas and the crystal phases. We use the PAW method which is an ab initio all electron method in the framework of the Density Functional Theory, as embodied in the computer code CP-PAW. The results for quadrupole coupling (ν) and asymmetry parameter (η) at the gas and at the crystal phases are in excellent agreement with the experimental values in the literature. This is the first time that such calculations are performed for the crystalline imidazole through a reciprocal space approach. We also study the behavior of both ν and η trends studing diferent meres (one, two, three and infinite chain) and cristal to investigate the influence of hydrogen bonding on the Electric Field Gradient at the nucleus.

Estudamos as propriedades eletrônicas, estruturais e hiperfinas, nos sítios de nitrogênio, para o composto imidazol nas fases gasosa e sólida. Utilizamos o método PAW que é um método ab initio all-electron, dentro da Teoria do Funcional da Densidade, através do código computacional CP-PAW. Nossos valores, tanto para a fase gasosa quanto para a fase cristalina do gradiente de campo elétrico no núcleo, de freqüência de acoplamento quadrupolar (ν) e parâmetro de assimetria (η) estão em ótima concordância com os resultados experimentais da literatura e são os primeiros resultados obtidos, por método ab initio no espaço recíproco, para os átomos de nitrogênio no imidazol cristalino. Utilizamos resultados da literatura e também aqui calculados para estudar a tendência de comportamento tanto de ν quanto de η para diferentes meros (um, dois, três, cadeia infinita) e cristal investigando, assim, a estreita influência das ligações de hidrogênio sobre os valores do Gradiente de Campo Elétrico nos núcleos de nitrogênio. / Here we study structural, electronic and hyperfine properties at the Nitrogen sites in imidazole in the gas and the crystal phases. We use the PAW method which is an ab initio all electron method in the framework of the Density Functional Theory, as embodied in the computer code CP-PAW. The results for quadrupole coupling (ν) and asymmetry parameter (η) at the gas and at the crystal phases are in excellent agreement with the experimental values in the literature. This is the first time that such calculations are performed for the crystalline imidazole through a reciprocal space approach. We also study the behavior of both ν and η trends studing diferent meres (one, two, three and infinite chain) and cristal to investigate the influence of hydrogen bonding on the Electric Field Gradient at the nucleus.

Polymeric microchips have received increasing attention in chemical analysis because polymers have attractive properties, such as low cost, ease of fabrication, biocompatibility and high flexibility. However, commercial polymers usually exhibit analyte adsorption on their surfaces, which can interfere with microfluidic transport in, for example, chemical separations such as chromatography or electrophoresis. Usually, surface modification is required to eliminate this problem. To perform stable and durable surface modification, a new polymer, poly(methyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMAMMA) was prepared for microchip fabrication, which provides epoxy groups on the surface. Whole surface atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and in-channel ATRP approaches were employed to create uniform and dense poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-functionalized polymer brush channel surfaces for capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation of biomolecules, such as peptides and proteins. In addition, a novel microchip material was developed for bioanalysis, which does not require surface modification, made from a PEG-functionalized copolymer. The fabrication is easy and fast, and the bonding is strong. Microchips fabricated from this material have been applied for CE separation of small molecules, peptides, proteins and enantiomers. Electric field gradient focusing (EFGF) is an attractive technique, which depends on an electric field gradient and a counter-flow to focus, concentrate and separate charged analytes, such as peptides and proteins. I used the PEG-functionalized copolymer to fabricate EFGF substrates. The separation channel was formed in an ionically conductive and protein resistant PEG-functionalized hydrogel, which was cast in a changing cross-sectional cavity in the plastic substrate. The hydrogel shape was designed to create linear or non-linear gradients. These EFGF devices were successfully used for protein focusing, and their performance was optimized. Use of buffers containing small electrolyte ions promoted rapid ion transport in the hydrogel for achieving the designed gradients. A PEG-functionalized monolith was incorporated in the EFGF separation channel to reduce dispersion and improve focusing performance. Improvement in peak capacity was proposed using a bilinear EFGF device. Protein concentration exceeding 10,000-fold was demonstrated using such devices.

The results of a solid-state 11B NMR study of a series of boronic acids, boronic esters, and boronic acid catechol cyclic esters with aromatic substituents are reported in this thesis. Boron-11 electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical shift (CS) tensors obtained from analyses of spectra acquired in magnetic fields of 9.4 T and 21.1 T are demonstrated to be useful for gaining insight into the molecular and electronic structure about the boron nucleus. It can be concluded that when adequate electronic variation is present in the compounds being studied, Ω is generally the most characteristic boron NMR parameter of the molecular and electronic environment for boronic acids and esters. Importantly, these data are only reliably accessible in ultrahigh magnetic fields. The experimental span values result from a delicate interplay of several competing factors, including hydrogen bonding, the value of the dihedral angle, and the type of aromatic ring system present.

The results of a solid-state 11B NMR study of a series of boronic acids, boronic esters, and boronic acid catechol cyclic esters with aromatic substituents are reported in this thesis. Boron-11 electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical shift (CS) tensors obtained from analyses of spectra acquired in magnetic fields of 9.4 T and 21.1 T are demonstrated to be useful for gaining insight into the molecular and electronic structure about the boron nucleus. It can be concluded that when adequate electronic variation is present in the compounds being studied, Ω is generally the most characteristic boron NMR parameter of the molecular and electronic environment for boronic acids and esters. Importantly, these data are only reliably accessible in ultrahigh magnetic fields. The experimental span values result from a delicate interplay of several competing factors, including hydrogen bonding, the value of the dihedral angle, and the type of aromatic ring system present.

The results of a solid-state 11B NMR study of a series of boronic acids, boronic esters, and boronic acid catechol cyclic esters with aromatic substituents are reported in this thesis. Boron-11 electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical shift (CS) tensors obtained from analyses of spectra acquired in magnetic fields of 9.4 T and 21.1 T are demonstrated to be useful for gaining insight into the molecular and electronic structure about the boron nucleus. It can be concluded that when adequate electronic variation is present in the compounds being studied, Ω is generally the most characteristic boron NMR parameter of the molecular and electronic environment for boronic acids and esters. Importantly, these data are only reliably accessible in ultrahigh magnetic fields. The experimental span values result from a delicate interplay of several competing factors, including hydrogen bonding, the value of the dihedral angle, and the type of aromatic ring system present.

The results of a solid-state 11B NMR study of a series of boronic acids, boronic esters, and boronic acid catechol cyclic esters with aromatic substituents are reported in this thesis. Boron-11 electric field gradient (EFG) and chemical shift (CS) tensors obtained from analyses of spectra acquired in magnetic fields of 9.4 T and 21.1 T are demonstrated to be useful for gaining insight into the molecular and electronic structure about the boron nucleus. It can be concluded that when adequate electronic variation is present in the compounds being studied, Ω is generally the most characteristic boron NMR parameter of the molecular and electronic environment for boronic acids and esters. Importantly, these data are only reliably accessible in ultrahigh magnetic fields. The experimental span values result from a delicate interplay of several competing factors, including hydrogen bonding, the value of the dihedral angle, and the type of aromatic ring system present.

Electric field gradient focusing (EFGF) utilizes a hydrodynamic flow and an electric field gradient to focus and concentrate charged analytes and order them in a separation channel according to electrophoretic mobility. Elution can be achieved by decreasing the applied voltage or increasing the hydrodynamic flow. EFGF has the advantages of concentrating a large volume (100 micro-L) of target proteins without significant band broadening and simultaneously removing unwanted components from the sample. Two types of EFGF devices have been investigated to concentrate and separate proteins: a fiber-based EFGF device and a hydrogel-based EFGF device. Using fiber-based EFGF with UV detection, a concentration factor as high as 15,000 and a concentration limit of detection as low as 30 pM were achieved using bovine serum albumin as a model protein. I also demonstrated the potential of using fiber-based EFGF for quantitative protein analysis. Simultaneous desalting and protein concentration as well as online concentration of ferritin and simultaneous removal of albumin from a sample matrix were also performed using this fiber-based EFGF system. In the approach of utilizing hydrogel-based EFGF, online concentration of amyloglucosidase indicated a concentration limit of detection of approximately 20 ng/mL (200 pM) from a sample volume of 100 micro-L. Both voltage-controlled and flow-controlled elution methods were demonstrated using a 3-component protein mixture. Concentration of human α1-acid glycoprotein with simultaneous removal of human serum albumin was also described. A tandem EFGF system, which integrates fiber-based and hydrogel-based EFGF sections, was also investigated to selectively concentrate and separate proteins in a mixture. By carefully controlling the voltages applied to both sections, charged analytes with high mobilities were trapped in the fiber-based section, analytes with intermediate mobilities in the hydrogel-based section, and analytes with low mobilities not at all. A 3-way switching valve was incorporated in the system to purge the analytes with high mobilities periodically. Selective concentration and separation of myoglobin from a mixture were performed using the tandem EFGF system. Based on the experimental results described in this dissertation, EFGF shows potential for selective isolation, concentration, and quantitation of trace analytes such as proteins in biomedical samples.

The results of a systematic 35Cl, 81Br, and 127I SSNMR spectroscopic study of a series of halogen-substituted anilinium halide salts are presented. Solid-state NMR of these nuclides, bromine-/81 and iodine-127 in particular, is not well established. Twenty-one compounds thought to exhibit halogen bonding were prepared based on modified literature procedures, and two crystal structures were solved. Experiments show that collection of SSNMR spectra of the anions is feasible, though ultrahigh magnetic fields (21.1 T) and variable offset data acquisition were found to be essential. Electric field gradient and chemical shift tensors are measured experimentally for all 21 compounds, significantly expanding the body of data for the quadrupolar halogen nuclei. Quadrupolar coupling constants for chlorine-35 ranged from 2.12 to 6.04 MHz, for bromine-81 from 12.3 to 45.3 MHz, and for iodine-127 from 57.50 to 152.50 MHz. Gauge-including projector-augmented wave density functional theory (GIPAW-DFT) calculations were used to provide insight as to how the NMR parameters vary with local environment and long-range crystal packing. Overall, calculations reproduced the experimental trends in quadrupolar coupling constants and chemical shift tensor span (Ω) but failed to provide quantitative agreement within experimental error. Experimental and computational data were analyzed in order to provide insight into how halogen bonding influences NMR parameters. Several trends were elucidated from this study, including an inverse correlation between Ω and the length of the shortest halogen-halide contact (d). In selected bromine compounds, for example, Ω (81Br) was measured to increase from 120 to 240 ppm as d decreased from 3.838 to 3.443 Å. In summary, this study has demonstrated the feasibility and utility of quadrupolar halogen SSNMR, and that these techniques may prove useful in characterizing halogen bonding interactions in solids.

The results of a systematic 35Cl, 81Br, and 127I SSNMR spectroscopic study of a series of halogen-substituted anilinium halide salts are presented. Solid-state NMR of these nuclides, bromine-/81 and iodine-127 in particular, is not well established. Twenty-one compounds thought to exhibit halogen bonding were prepared based on modified literature procedures, and two crystal structures were solved. Experiments show that collection of SSNMR spectra of the anions is feasible, though ultrahigh magnetic fields (21.1 T) and variable offset data acquisition were found to be essential. Electric field gradient and chemical shift tensors are measured experimentally for all 21 compounds, significantly expanding the body of data for the quadrupolar halogen nuclei. Quadrupolar coupling constants for chlorine-35 ranged from 2.12 to 6.04 MHz, for bromine-81 from 12.3 to 45.3 MHz, and for iodine-127 from 57.50 to 152.50 MHz. Gauge-including projector-augmented wave density functional theory (GIPAW-DFT) calculations were used to provide insight as to how the NMR parameters vary with local environment and long-range crystal packing. Overall, calculations reproduced the experimental trends in quadrupolar coupling constants and chemical shift tensor span (Ω) but failed to provide quantitative agreement within experimental error. Experimental and computational data were analyzed in order to provide insight into how halogen bonding influences NMR parameters. Several trends were elucidated from this study, including an inverse correlation between Ω and the length of the shortest halogen-halide contact (d). In selected bromine compounds, for example, Ω (81Br) was measured to increase from 120 to 240 ppm as d decreased from 3.838 to 3.443 Å. In summary, this study has demonstrated the feasibility and utility of quadrupolar halogen SSNMR, and that these techniques may prove useful in characterizing halogen bonding interactions in solids.