When the Aß peptides aggregate into
soluble oligomeric clusters, they form
central nervous system neurotoxins known
as amyloid-ß-derived diffusible ligands
(ADDLs). The assembly of ADDLs is
currently thought to be a pathogenic
process in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Understanding the molecular structure and
properties of ADDLs could prove useful in
the...
Numerous studies have been structured to
investigate magnetoelectric multiferroic
materials, which possess simultaneous
ferroelectric and (anti)ferromagnetic
ordering. Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), referred
to as BFO, has drawn special attention
because of its unique ability to maintain both
electric and magnetic dipole moments at
room temperature. BFO shows great
potential to revolutionize...
A self-assembled monolayer of an alkene or
alkyne can be applied to a hydrogenpassivated
silicon surface using UV hydrosilylation.
This research shows that
field-induced oxides can be used as a
negative resist to selectively prevent
bromostyrene attachment, providing a
means of nanopatterning organic molecules
on silicon. The negative resist effects...
Pressure-assisted densification was used
by way of a hot press to optimize the
conditions of heat and pressure when
applied to anatase (TiO2). This study
optimized hot-pressing conditions, which
will be helpful when doping TiO2 because it
will allow optimization of bulk anatase for
transparent conductive oxide (TCO)
applications. Lessons...
Magnetic tweezers are a simple yet
powerful tool for the micromanipulation of
single molecules. In this study, a vertical
magnetic tweezer apparatus was
constructed for research on the micromechanics
of DNA, DNA supercoiling, and
DNA-protein interactions. By joining DNA
molecules to magnetic beads and attaching
these tethers to the wall...
This research explored the optical
properties of metal nanoparticles using the
discrete dipole approximation (DDA). A
method was developed to define nanoparticle
structures of arbitrary shapes, and this
method was interfaced with the preexisting
DDA code, DDSCAT 6.1. For each structure
and material, the scattering properties and
near electric-field enhancements...
This paper reports the synthesis of an
azide-functionalized deoxynucleoside as a
precursor for azide-terminated oligonucleotides.
Also reported is the synthesis of an
acetylene-terminated precursor, which can
be used to make a diverse array of
silyl-protected acetylene-terminated small
molecule cores. Both of these precursors
serve as basic building blocks en route...
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a
powerful technique used in clinical
medicine and biomedical research to
conduct noninvasive imaging of tissues and
organisms. Chelated gadolinium is often
used as an MRI contrast agent to improve
the spatial resolution of these images.
Recently developed “smart” MRI contrast
agents respond to specific...
The need for high-performance, solid-state
H2 gas sensors is one research effort aimed
at enabling the future hydrogen economy.
Improving the gas-sensing properties of
semiconducting oxide materials such as tin
oxide, zinc oxide, etc., necessitates the
control microstructure and composition.
This study compares the effect of
dimensionality with the effect...
This research illustrates the modification of
an iodostyrene layer on a Si(111) surface
using a Sonogashira reaction. This was
accomplished by applying UV irradiation
(254 nm) to a hydrogen-passivated silicon
surface in a solution of iodostyrene in
benzene, followed by a Sonogashira
coupling between the iodine group from
iodostyrene and...
This research investigated the feasibility of
patterning with sol-gels using a nanofountain
probe in an atomic force microscope.
Two oxide sols — barium titanate and
cobalt ferrite — were used as inks in
patterning tests using fountain-pen
nanolithography (FPN). This was shown to
be a suitable method of depositing sol-gels...
In this study, particle sorting and transportation
in Brownian liquids were explored by
translating an optical standing wave. The
standing wave is produced by crossing two
coherent beams of light, and determining
the resulting period by the angle of the
intersection. Adjusting the period and
velocity of wave ridges allows...
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are highly
promising in the miniaturization of
electronic devices. However, there are
currently many limitations in mass
producing devices that involve the
application of CNTs, one of which is the
ability to physically pattern CNTs in specific
locations on a wafer, which is what this
study aims...
Weak, noncovalent interactions (dipoledipole
interactions, hydrogen bonding, and
Van der Waals forces) in ligand-receptor
pairs play a very important role in living
systems. A new way to study these
interactions is by using electron transfer
theory. The rate of electron transfer
between redox centers is dependent on
several factors, including...
Weak, noncovalent interactions (dipoledipole
interactions, hydrogen bonding, and
Van der Waals forces) in ligand-receptor
pairs play a very important role in living
systems. A new way to study these
interactions is by using electron transfer
theory. The rate of electron transfer
between redox centers is dependent on
several factors, including...
Antibiotin was labeled with colloidal Au
nanoparticles as a method of amplifying the
localized surface plasmon resonance
(LSPR) extinction maximum shift. This shift
allows for the monitoring of binding events
on the surface of nanosphere nithography
(NSL) fabricated silver nanoparticles. A
shift of +2.9 nm was observed for the
colloidal...
Magnetic nanostructures are of great
interest as platforms for medical applications,
including biomedical imaging and
targeted cancer therapy. However, current
magnetic nanostructures are limited by
magnetic strength and insufficient
biocompatibility. In this research project,
significant progress was made to address
these confines, including 1) increasing
magnetic responsiveness by replacing the...
Amyloid-β oligomers, also known as
amyloid-β derived diffusible ligands
(ADDLs), have been implicated in numerous
studies as being a possible cause for
Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The goal of this
study was to investigate the kinetics of the
oligomerization of the monomer amyloid-β
(Aβ) into ADDLs in various ratios of
dimethyl...
Surface patterns, formed by the coassembly
of cationic-anionic amphiphiles into
cylindrical micelles, were analyzed. The
competition between electrostatic forces
and the net incompatibility χ arising from
the different chemical natures of those
oppositely charged amphiphiles resulted in
the formation of segregated domains. These
surface domains are not macroscopically
segregated due...
The purpose of this study is to characterize
the nanometer-scale structure of an Al2O3-
W-Ge multilayer utilizing x-ray reflectivity.
Attributes such as layer thickness, density,
surface, and interface roughness are
determined and explained. The reasons for
using this particular multilayer are also
reviewed, as well as the benefits to science...