This thesis describes the synthesis of soluble Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1), fluoro-endcapped PIM-1 (F-PIM-1) and copolymers of F-PIM-1 with poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether (MeOPEG). The main aim of the project was to alter the porosity of microporous PIM-1 in three ways: (a) synthesis of copolymers of F-PIM-1 with MeOPEG (b) blending of PIM-1 with MeOPEG in various proportions; and (c) adsorption of MeOPEG from aqueous solution byPIM-1. PIM-1 and F-PIM-1 were synthesized by step growth polymerization of tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile (TFTPN) with 5,5',6,6'-tetrahydroxy-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-1,1'-spirobisindane (THSB), using the conventional method and a newly reported high shear mixing method. F-PIM-1 oligomers were then coupled to poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether (MeOPEG). The products were analyzed by NMR, IR, MALDI ToF MSS, TGA and polystyrene based GPC as well as multidetector GPC techniques. The high shear technique generally produced high molar mass products and yields. This method was also more successful for copolymerization.Blending of PIM-1 and MeOPEG in different proportions resulted in macrophase separation. Copolymer products were used to facilitate mixing of blends (as compatibilizers), however only 5% of MeOPEG could be solubilised into a PIM-1 phase. The effect of compatibilizer was found to be affected by interaction between PIM-1 and copolymer. However, N2 adsorption studies showed that after thermal removal of MeOPEG, PIM-1 regained stable porosity with significant BET surface area.Fluorescence studies were aimed at applications of PIM-1 and copolymers in sensors. PIM-1 and copolymers, spin-coated on the polyester-based substrate Melinex, were studied with and without methanol treatment in an environment of different solvent vapours. The effect of time and volume on wavelength shift and change in intensity was studied. Polar solvents tended to cause a red shift with decrease in intensity while less polar solvents behaved otherwise. Based on fluorescence experiments, solvent profiles for PIM-1 and copolymers were established.

M.Sc. (Chemistry) / The determination of 17 trace elements (As. Ba. Co. Cr. Cu. Mo. Nb. Ni. Pb. Rb. Sr. Th. U. V. Y. Zn and Zr) in uranium ores by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was investigated in this study. The determination of major elements. however. was also necessary for the calculation of mass absorption coefficients. Major elements were determined on borate melts and trace elements on powder briquettes pressed at 7 t with a binder in liquid form. Initially a method was developed for the determination of the elements of interest in unmineralised rocks The rhodium tube was used for the Group 1 elements (As. Mo. Nb. Pb, Bb, Sr. Th, U. Y and Zr) and the gold tube for the Group 2 elements [Ba, Co. Cr. Cu. Ni. V and Zn). Background and peak overlap corrections were made by means of background and interference factors. Corrections for absorption of radiation by the sample were made by means of mass absorption coefficients. which were calculated from the major element composition or obtained from the relation between the inverse of the mass absorption coefficient and the intensity of the Compton scattering peak. Due to various problems. only the latter method was suitable for uranium ores. The high uranium content in uranium ores mainly affected the Group 1 elements. Because of the high intensity of various UL lines. large overlap corrections were necessary. while only a few completely interference-free background positions were available. Consequently. the Feather and Willis method was used for determining the background intensity at the peak positions as well as for mass absorption coefficients. As a result of the presence of the UL absorption edges both primarx and secondary mass absorption coefficients had to be used for matrix corrections. Furthermore. it was observed that the background intensity in the region of the uranium lines increases with increasing uranium content of the sample instead of the expected decrease due to the increasing mass absorption coefficient. This effect was greater for the LiF(11 0) crystal than for the LiF(100) and was attributed to the scattering of uranium lines in the spectrometer chamber. especially from the crystal. A method was developed to correct the measured intensities for this scattering effect. Calibration lines of the contribution from the scattering of uranium lines to the measured intensity at the different 28 positions versus the uranium peak intensity were plotted by using samples with various uranium concentrations (<2 %) and for which the mass absorption coefficients and concentrations of the various elements were known. The precision of the method was less than 2.5 % at concentrations greater than 50 ppm. With the exception of barium. detection limits varied between 1 and 5 ppm. Accurate results were obtained over large concentration ranges for various unmineralised samples and for uranium ores. The results of the analysis of a number of Karoo uranium ores are given.

M.Sc. (Biochemistry) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit portent sur la synthèse et l’étude des propriétés spectroscopiques de systèmes multichromophoriques à base de Bodipy, fluorophore choisi pour ses propriétés émissives remarquables (&#61541-&#61472-et élevés, ) et pour son aptitude à donner et accepter les électrons. Notre objectif est de contrôler sa luminescence par association à un ou plusieurs chromophores de nature variée et répondant à des stimuli déterminés. L’exposé est divisé en quatre chapitres, dont le premier rappelle les méthodes de synthèse et de fonctionnalisation du noyau et détaille leur influence sur les propriétés de fluorescence. Le second chapitre présente le contrôle des propriétés d’émission intrinsèques par extension de conjugaison, au moyen d’une nouvelle réaction de type Knœvenagel. Les résultats spectroscopiques y sont notamment étudiés par modélisation quantique (DFT). Ensuite, nous démontrons qu’il est possible de contrôler la fluorescence par désagrégation de fluorophores greffés, en milieu aqueux par ajout de surfactant et par chélation d’anions. Le troisième chapitre est consacré à la modulation de la fluorescence par changement de l’état « rédox » du partenaire (électrofluorochromisme). A cet effet, deux chromophores ont été employés : la s-tétrazine et le ferrocène. Enfin, nous terminons notre étude par un quatrième chapitre qui aborde la photomodulation des propriétés émissives du Bodipy par couplage à diverses entités photochromes : les azobenzènes, les aniles et les photochromes à cyclisation péricyclique. Nous y détaillons les difficultés synthétiques rencontrées au cours de notre étude. / This work deals with the synthesis and the study of multichromophoric systems, based on Bodipy which is known for its oustanding emission properties (high &#61541- and values, ) and for both, its donating and withdrawing electronic characteristics. Our goal is to couple the fluorophore to other(s) chromophore(s) sensitive to a specific stimulus, to modulate the Bodipy’s emission. The first part, a bibliographic report, focuses on the various ways to functionalize the Bodipy core and discusses their influence on its spectroscopic properties. The second section aims at describing, first, the emission shift by extension of the core conjugation via a new Knœvenagel type reaction. DFT calculations will support experimental facts. It also focuses on external modulation factors such as disaggregation of Bodipy in aqueous media and anion chelation. The third chapter is fully devoted to the possibility of controlling the fluorescence properties by modification of the counter-chromophore “redox” state (so called electrofluorochromism). To that, two chromophores are used: the s-tetrazine and the ferrocene. Final section gathers the preliminary results of coupling reaction of photochromic species with Bodipy, in order to photocommutate its photophysics properties. Synthetic issues are largely discussed so as to highlight some general synthetic pathways that one needs to follow to succeed.

Orientador: Teresa Dib Zambon Atvars / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T18:45:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins_TatianaDuque_D.pdf: 2747473 bytes, checksum: 159c91a5fa62b3bf93683e4886562cd2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Doutorado / Físico-Química / Doutor em Ciências

Despite the ongoing “war on drugs” the seizure rates for phenethylamines and their analogues have been steadily increasing over the years. The illicit manufacture of these compounds has become big business all over the world making it all the more attractive to the inexperienced “cook”. However, as a result, the samples produced are more susceptible to contamination with reactionary byproducts and leftover reagents. These impurities are useful in the analysis of seized drugs as their identities can help to determine the synthetic pathway used to make these drugs and thus, the provenance of these analytes. In the present work two fluorescent dyes, 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzofurazan and 5-(4,6-dichlorotriazinyl)aminofluorescein, were used to label several phenethylamine analogues for electrophoretic separation with laser-induced fluorescence detection. The large scale to which law enforcement is encountering these compounds has the potential to create a tremendous backlog. In order to combat this, a rapid, sensitive method capable of full automation is required. Through the utilization of the inline derivatization method developed whereby analytes are labeled within the capillary efficiently in a minimum span of time, this can be achieved. The derivatization and separation parameters were optimized on the basis of a variety of experimentally determined factors in order to give highly resolved peaks in the fluorescence spectrum with limits of detection in the low µg/mL range.

Orientador: Konradin Metze / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T20:44:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ferro_DanielaPeixoto_D.pdf: 2964245 bytes, checksum: 202d309cf65f632d47c7811d4958535d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A aplicação integrada de técnicas modernas, como a Geração do Segundo Harmônico (SHG) e os tempos de vida da fluorescência (FLIM), com análise de imagens matemáticas nos permitem visualizar detalhes não vistos por microscopia de luz convencional. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar se isto também pode ser aplicado para a investigação de tecido cicatricial. Foram estudados 28 casos de preparações histológicas de rotina, de quelóides, cicatrizes hipertróficas e normais. A Fluorescência de dois fótons e SHG foram obtidas por um microscópio multifóton (LSM 780 NLO-Zeiss), em objetiva de 40X e excitados por um laser Mai Tai de Ti: Safira (comprimento de onda de 940 nm). Foram adquiridas imagens em 3D e foram criadas imagens justapostas a fim de comparar diferentes cicatrizes ou várias regiões no interior da mesma cicatriz com análise de imagens informatizadas. Variáveis de Textura derivadas a partir da matriz de coocorrência das imagens de fluorescência mostraram diferenças significativas entre as cicatrizes normais, cicatrizes hipertróficas e quelóides. Para a análise do FLIM, foi utilizado um sistema composto por um microscópio confocal (LSM780-NLO- Zeiss), com objetiva de 40x e um sistema FLIM acoplado. As amostras foram excitadas por um laser de diodo a 405nm. Estudamos secções não coradas de 32 casos processados rotineiramente de tecido cicatricial incluídos em parafina. As áreas das regiões centrais e periféricas foram selecionadas aleatoriamente e comparadas. Os tempos de vida de fluorescência das hemácias serviram como padrão interno. Os tempos de vida do colágeno em áreas centrais em todos os tipos de cicatrizes foram significativamente mais longo do que em áreas periféricas. Houve correlação positiva entre os tempos de vida de fluorescência das hemácias e as fibras de colágeno entre os casos. Em resumo, o SHG e a técnica Flim revelam em cicatrizes rotineiramente processadas, características morfológicas dos tecidos, que não podem ser detectadas por microscopia de luz convencional / Abstract: The integrated application of modern techniques such as Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) with mathematical image analysis enable us to visualize details not seen by conventional light microscopy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this could also be true for the investigation of scar tissue. 28 routine histological preparations of keloids, hypertrophic and normal scars were studied. Two-photon fluorescence and SHG was obtained by a multiphoton microscope (LSM 780 NLO-Zeiss (at 40X objective magnification) and a Mai Tai Ti: Sapphire laser with excitation at 940 nm wavelength. 3D reconstructed patchwork images were created in order to compare different scars or various regions inside the same scar with computerized image analysis. Texture variables derived from the co- occurrence matrix of the fluorescence images showed significant differences between normal scars, hypertrophic scars and keloids. For FLIM analysis we used a system composed of a confocal microscope Zeiss LSM780 Upright-NLO with the 40x objective and a FLIM detection system. The samples were excited by a laser diode at 405nm. We studied unstained sections of 32 routinely processed and paraffin-embedded cases of scar tissue. Randomly selected areas of the central and peripheral regions were compared. The fluorescence lifetimes of red blood cells served as internal standard. Lifetimes of collagen in central areas of all scar types were significantly longer than in the periphery. There was a significant positive correlation between the fluorescence lifetimes of red blood cells and collagen fibers among the cases. In summary, SHG and FLIM techniques reveal in routinely processed scar tissue morphological characteristics, which cannot be detected by conventional light microscopy / Doutorado / Biologia Estrutural, Celular, Molecular e do Desenvolvimento / Doutora em Fisiopatologia Médica

Clostridium difficile is a strictly anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium that is linked to over 250,000 infections annually in the United States. One of the greatest challenges facing C. difficile research has been the lack of genetic tools. This limited repertoire is due, in part, to the anaerobic nature of C. difficile. For example, most fluorescent protein reporters require O2 for chromophore maturation. Here, we demonstrate that O2-dependent fluorescent proteins produced anaerobically can acquire fluorescence after cells are fixed with cross-linkers to preserve native patterns of protein localization. This was shown using the blue and the red codon-optimized fluorescent proteins, CFPopt and mCherryOpt, respectively. Little is known about cell division in C. difficile. Here we identify and characterize a three-gene operon encoding cell division proteins found only in C. difficile and a small number of closely related bacteria. These proteins were named MldA, MldB, and MldC, for midcell localizing division proteins. MldA is predicted to be a membrane protein with coiled-coil domains and a peptidoglycan-binding SPOR domain. MldB and MldC are predicted to be cytoplasmic proteins; MldB has two predicted coiled-coil domains, while MldC lacks obvious conserved domains or sequence motifs. Mutants of mldA or mldB had morphological defects, including loss of rod shape (a curved cell phenotype) and inefficient separation of daughter cells (a chaining phenotype). Fusions of CFPopt to MldA, MldB, and MldC revealed that all three proteins localize sharply to the division site. Mutants lacking the Mld proteins are severely attenuated for pathogenesis in a hamster model of C. difficile infection. Because all three Mld proteins are essentially unique to C. difficile, they could be exploited as targets for antibiotics that combat C. difficile without disrupting the intestinal microbiome. C. difficile pathogenesis is mediated primarily by two large exotoxins called Toxin A (TcdA) and Toxin B (TcdB). Transcription of tcdA and tcdB depends on TcdR, an alternative sigma factor for RNA polymerase. Previous studies have shown both toxins are produced upon entry into stationary phase, and that this response is mediated in part by the CodY repressor, which senses GTP and branched chain amino acids. Here we used mCherryOpt as a reporter of gene expression to visualize toxin expression at the level of individual cells. This approach led to the unexpected discovery that only a subset of cells in the population induces expression of tcdA (and tcdB under specific conditions). In other words, toxin production is a “bistable” phenotype. Further experiments indicated TcdR plays a central role in mediating bistability, while CodY makes a minor but still significant contribution to bistability. Why it is advantageous for only a subset of C. difficile cells to produce toxin is not known, but one interesting possibility is related to conflicting requirements for transmission to a new host. Some cells produce toxin to provoke diarrhea while other cells differentiate into spores that can survive exposure to air.

The objectives of this research were to identify the individual ionization constants (pKa values) of lipopeptide (daptomycin), evaluate the factors of pH, concentration, temperature, and calcium ions on daptomycin aggregation in aqueous solutions, and elucidate the effects of conformation and aggregation on ionization and the interaction mechanism between polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and daptomycin. Daptomycin is a cyclic anionic lipopeptide antibiotic. It is composed of 13 amino acids with six ionizable groups, four side-chain carboxylic acids and two side-chain amine residues. The pKa values for individual daptomycin residues have not been elucidated. The sequence-specific pKa values for the four acidic residues and one aromatic amine (Kyn-13) in daptomycin were determined in the monomeric state by TOCSY 2D 1H NMR. From the NMR pH titration, the estimated pKa values for Asp-3, Asp-9, and mGlu-12 were determined to be 4.15, 3.85, and 4.55 in the absence of salt, and 4.07, 3.83, and 4.39 in the presence of 150 mM NaCl, respectively. The pKa value for Asp-7 is estimated to be ~1.01 in the absence of salt and 1.31 in the presence of salt. The estimated Hill coefficients for Asp-7 were 0.72 and 1.31 in the absence and presence of salt, respectively. The increase in Hill coefficients from 0.72 to 1.31 with increasing salt concentration is consistent with the estimated lower pKa in the absence of salt and suggests that a salt bridge is formed in solution possibly between Asp-7 acidic group and the neighboring Orn-6 basic group. The pKa value of the aromatic amine (Kyn-13) was confirmed using UV and fluorescence spectroscopic titrations. Aggregation behavior and critical aggregation concentration (CAC) values of daptomycin were evaluated in the different pH aqueous solutions by using the complementary analytical techniques, fluorescence, dynamic and static light scattering, and NMR spectroscopy. Based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from donor Trp-1 to acceptor Kyn-13, the CAC values were determined by an upward inflection of the intrinsic fluorescence emission from Kyn-13 at 460 nm as a function of increasing daptomycin concentration. The pH-dependent CAC values were determined to be 0.14 mM at pH 3.0, 0.12 mM 4.0, and 0.20 mM at pH 2.5 and 5.0. The CAC values obtained by fluorescence spectroscopy were confirmed by dynamic light scattering and NMR spectroscopy. The effects of temperature and calcium ion on daptomycin aggregation were also discussed. The interaction mechanism between daptomycin and PAMAM dendrimers generation 5 and 6 was studied using fluorescence spectroscopy. The shapes of binding isotherms daptomycin were quantitatively described by one- and two-site binding models to estimate binding capacity and dissociation constants. Both solvent pH values and PAMAM generation size were shown to affect the binding model and parameters. The interaction between daptomycin and PAMAM dendrimer was proposed wherein the ionized Asp-3 and Asp-9 residues of daptomycin interact with PAMAM cationic surface amine.

Nuisance odor levels produced by solid waste management operations are subject to regulatory standards due to their impacts on the quality of life of the residents living nearby the facility. Failure to meet regulatory standards may result in fines, litigation, inability to acquire permits, mitigation, and re-siting operations. Since measurement of environmental nuisance odors is currently limited to subjective techniques, monitoring odor levels to meet such standards is often problematic. This is becoming more acute as increasing residential populations begin to encroach on properties adjacent to landfills. In order to ensure that nuisance odor issues are minimized, it is necessary to provide an objective measurement. The objective of the current research is to develop a biosensor for providing an objective, standard measurement of odors. The approach is to modify the human odorant binding protein (hOBPIIa), isolated using published biomolecular techniques, by fluorescently tagging it with a chromophore functional group. When this protein is tagged with a fluorophore marker and excited in a spectrofluorometer, it emits light of a certain wavelength that can be detected and quantified. Once odorant molecules are exposed to this complex, they start replacing the fluorophore, and as a result, the emitted light intensity decreases in proportion to the number of odorant molecules. Since the protein response depends on odorant concentration, following an inverse Beer’s Law relationship, the odorants can be quantified accurately and rapidly using fluorometric measurements. The results establish quantitation ranges for different pure and mixture of odorant gases as well as the amount of gas that can be quantified across various flow rates. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection