This paper reports the syntheses of acetylene-terminated smallmolecule
cores. Also reported are successful attempts at “click”
coupling the core molecules with azide-terminated oligonucleotides to
construct stable small-molecule DNA hybrids (SMDH). Once these
click-based small-molecule DNA hybrids are formed, melting studies
will be done that study how the geometry of SMDH...
"This paper describes the development of an efficient transfection
vehicle for nucleic acids using surface-functionalized gold nanoparticles
(AuNPs) with a mixed-monolayer of biological molecules—a hybrid
approach that combines two previously investigated models. The
objective is to improve upon previously described nanoparticles used to
introduce nucleic acids to cells—oligonucleotide-functionalized AuNPs
and...
Semiconductor nanowires show promise for application in nanoscale
electronics, but the difficulty of forming low-resistance ohmic contacts
provides a challenge to their implementation. To improve the electrical
performance of lithographically defined nickel contacts, nickel-silicide/
silicon axial nanowire heterostructures were formed by controlled
partial silicidation. Prior to annealing, two-terminal silicon nanowire...
Small, soluble, self-assembling peptide Aβ-oligomers, known as ADDLs
(amyloid-derived diffusible ligands), accumulate in the Alzheimer’s
disease (AD) brain as Aβ 12-mers and are thought to contribute to AD
neuropathological conditions. Unlike plaques, which were once thought
to cause neuronal death due to insoluble amyloid plaque deposits,
ADDLs initiate abnormal changes...
In the field of clinical diagnostics, biosensors are used to identify genetic
disorders by hybridizing a surface-bound DNA sequence with the
patient’s DNA. To further improve biosensor design, two nonlinear
optical techniques, sum frequency generation (SFG) and second
harmonic generation (SHG), were used to probe the orientation,
chirality, and surface...
The formation of organic layers on hydrogen-passivated silicon (HPS)
surfaces via (UV) ultraviolet treatment was completed for three styrene
derivatives with different conjugated lengths. The styrene molecules
were synthesized and characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
(GC-MS). Layer formation on silicon was then accomplished through...
Polymer nanoparticles (PNPs) were formed from amphiphilic diblock
copolymers consisting of a hydrophilic block with pendant polyethylene
glycol tosylate (PEG-OTs) groups and a hydrophobic block with pendant
terthiophene (TTT) groups. The resulting PNPs were characterized
using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) to determine size, shape, and...
The formation of covalently grafted polymer brushes on silica (SiO2)
nanoparticles was achieved by surface-initiated reversible additionfragmentation
chain transfer (si-RAFT) polymerization. RAFT initiator
was first attached onto the surface of silica nanoparticles and then
examined by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) analysis. From the
resulting RAFT initiator-modified SiO2 nanoparticles, polymer chains
can...
Bone-related problems have always been a concern in the medical field,
particularly how to heal and rebuild bones more rapidly when injuries
occur. A path to solving such problems might be to examine the
processes when bone develops in nature. This project aims at discovering
the chemical reactions that occur...