The overarching theme of this thesis is the development of non-natural oligomers for use in biological applications. Chapter I details the synthesis and studies of modified peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers. PNA is a synthetic oligonucleotide mimic that binds to natural nucleic acids with extremely high affinity and specificity, making...
The first section of this thesis focuses on applications of DNA-modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) while the second part addresses the fundamental properties that arise from conjugating DNA to inorganic AuNPs. Two types of applications are discussed. The first application utilizes the colorimetric properties of AuNPs to screen duplex and triplex...
The work presented in this thesis describes investigations into linear and nonlinear optical properties of two-dimensional silver nanoparticle arrays. The linear optical measurements - extinction measurements were performed on two-dimensional square arrays of L-shaped silver nanoparticles fabricated by electron beam lithography in order to study the effect of dipole coupling...
This dissertation describes the use of alkanethiols and polymers for the development of lithographic affinity and resist array templates that can be utilized for directing the assembly of biological molecules, for building up multilayered polyelectrolyte thin films, and for fabricating metal solid-state nanostructures. The first two chapters of the work...
Theoretical analysis of DNA bridge-mediated electron transfer (ET) led to the proposal that photoinduced ET might occur via either superexchange or hopping mechanisms. Electron transfer has been proposed to occur via a superexchange mechanism at short distances and via a hopping mechanism at longer distances. However, a crossover in mechanism...
Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are fabricated and characterized on anodes modified by a variety of surface treatments. OLED performance response is correlated to the treatment conditions with current-voltage (I-V) measurements and impedance spectroscopy. Small-scale OLED arrays are fabricated using a novel shadow mask approach and are characterized with electrical...
The need for readily synthesized scaffold architectures to build monodisperse, high molar mass mobility modifiers or "drag-tags" in end-labeled free solution electrophoresis (ELFSE) led to the development of a novel class of multivalent molecular tools. Poly-N-substituted glycines (peptoids) were created with evenly spaced amino groups as branching points along the...
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an advanced imaging modality that is experiencing increasing popularity in clinical and experimental settings. MRI enjoys the benefit of high-resolution, the use of non-ionizing radiation, and the ability to distinguish between soft tissues. MR imaging is enhanced with the use of Gd3+ chelated contrast agents;...
Assembly of the large and small subunits of the <em>E. coli</em> ribosome is a complicated process that involves transcription, processing, and modifying of the ribosomal RNA, the binding of ribosomal proteins, and the folding of the particles into complex structures. A number of ribosome assembly factors, including maturation factors, GTPases,...