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Affecting intracellular iron and copper via transmetalation and study of drug delivery systems to improve the specificity of Ti(IV)-based anticancer compounds
(2022-04-27)
Cancer is the principal cause of death globally, and research and how it works have become crucial. Iron (Fe) and Copper (Cu) are essential metals present in many critical biological processes in the human body. These ...
Cross-linked cytochrome c-based nanoparticles for targeted and controlled cancer therapy
(2022-05-06)
Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide and is the second leading cause of death in the United States. The persistent need to develop cancer therapeutics with improved safety and efficacy provides constant fuel ...
Synthesis, characterization and structural properties of fluorinated metal phthalocyanine chemiresistors for environmental parts-per-billion detection of toxic gases
(2022-05-13)
The doctoral thesis presented herein starts with an outline of the rich chemistry of MPc semiconducting platforms, presented in Chapter 1. The synthesis of numerous phthalocyanine semiconducting platforms is described in ...
Effect of critical material attributes and process parameters on polymorph selection in crystalline solid dispersions
(2022-04-29)
The inadvertent occurrence of polymorphic phase transformations during the formulation of crystalline solid dispersions (CSDs) hinders the implementation of continuous polymer-based formulation processes. Although polymorphic ...
Bisphosphonate-based coordination complexes and immobilization thereof in titanium dioxide nanoparticles
(2022-05-02)
Coordination complexes (CCs), as well as inorganic nanoparticles, present several advantages towards nanotechnology-based cancer therapy applications. Both types of materials provide stability, specificity, low cytotoxicity, ...
Pt-based electrocatalysts for energy conversion reactions: an electrochemical In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy approach in alkaline medium
(2022-04-26)
It is well established that energy use via fossil fuels can be related to global warming; this renders higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The migration to renewable energy technologies has proven to be an alternative to mitigate the contamination associated with fossil fuels. However, an overpotential is associated with the energy conversion reactions in renewable technologies (e.g., batteries and fuel cells (FC)). This overpotential can be minimized by incorporating effective electrocatalysts considering cost, abundance, and durability. The Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays a crucial role in FCs; it has been demonstrated that at a low pH (Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)), the ORR has sluggish kinetics. However, higher pH levels have been demonstrated to enhance the ORR (Alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs))—opening the opportunity to explore different electrocatalysts as low-loading Platinum group metals (PGM) alloyed with first transition metals, metal oxides and non-precious metals.<br />
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In this thesis, we presented the synthesis, characterization, and performance measurements of PGM electrocatalysts alloyed to first-row transition metals for the electroreduction of oxygen in an alkaline medium. A new approach was taken to synthesizing PtNi-Nanowires (NWs) supported on Vulcan XC-72R (V) by hydrothermal synthesis and spontaneous galvanic displacement (SGD). The rotating disk-slurry electrodeposition (RoDSE) technique was used for the first time to synthesize Ni/V, Co/V and Cu/V nanoparticles and by the SGD PtNi/V, PtCo/ V and PtCu/V nanoparticles were obtained. The catalysts were submitted to durability experiments showing similar behavior to Pt/C commercial catalyst after 10,000 and 30,000 cycles. In situ electrochemical X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used to test these nanowires and nanoparticles, confirming their testing capability in an alkaline medium for the ORR and providing evidence for alloy interaction.<br />
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The Pb electroless (e-less) deposition method was explored with Au, Nb and Cu catalysts as monocrystals and nanoparticles. The PdCu (100) catalysts were obtained by the Pb e-less method. The Pd monolayer (ML) formation on Cu (100) was proven by charge density calculations on the Pb underpotential deposition (UPD) region. The PdCu (100) were submitted to ORR testing and showed better performance than Pd (hkl) electrocatalyst in an alkaline medium. These results suggest that the synthesis of low PGM loadings electrocatalyst can drive the ORR in an alkaline medium with enhanced performance compared to commercial Pt/C catalysts....
Elucidation of the composition of Photosystem I Light-Harvesting Complex I from the green microalga Botryococcus braunii and its cytotoxic evaluation in breast cancer cells
(2022-04-28)
Natural products have contributed to the development of protein formulations currently used as biotherapeutic agents. The topic of this thesis investigates the green microalga Botryococcus braunii (B. braunii) Photosystem I light-harvesting antenna complex I (PSI-LHCI) and its delivery to one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer with fewer treatment options, triple-negative breast cancer cells (TNBC), exhibiting notable anticancer activity. The PSI-LHCI multiprotein supercomplex plays a significant role in the highly efficient photosynthetic conversion of light energy to chemical energy while generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). Intracellular ROS-regulating anticancer therapeutic strategies emphasize ROS's ability to trigger programmed cell death by selectively killing cancer cells after inducing oxidative stress and exceeding cytotoxic thresholds. In Chapter 3, PSI-LHCI isolation, purification and characterization will be introduced, followed by Chapter 4, an investigation of the role and cell death mechanism determined after the delivery of B. braunii PSI-LHCI to TNBC MDA-MB-231 cells. A discontinuous sucrose density gradient by ultracentrifugation produced PSI-LHCI complex, and in vitro experiments were conducted by incubating MDA-MB-231 cells under serum starvation conditions with PSI-LHCI. In the absence of an LED light source, we conclude that B. braunii PSI-LHCI naturally generates intracellular ROS, significantly reducing cell viability compared to typical positive controls while inducing necrosis by autophagy cell death mechanism....
Development of a combinational drug delivery system for synergistic lung cancer treatment
(2022-12-16)
Proteins are a key component in cell regulation while playing various cell roles. Among their many roles, transporter functions are considered a vital part of cell functionality. Thus, the incorporation of proteins in ...
Assessing the performance of polymer/enzyme structures for liquid molecular separations
(2022-11-04)
Inadequate wastewater infrastructure has led to the development of alternative, more efficient, sustainable separation methods. The thesis research focused on developing separation material for liquid molecular separations ...