Addison Duet, Chad Thibodeaux

With the more recent increase of illicit drug use and drug misuse, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has become prevalent in population-based monitoring methods throughout the world. However, the number of studies completed in the United States are limited, and similar research has not been localized to Louisiana. This study aims to identify any presence of cocaine and methamphetamine in Natchitoches, LA. Wastewater samples from a local treatment plant were collected, solid-phase extracted, and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). No presence of either compound was identified in the GC-MS spectra. In the end, we gathered that the samples either contained minimal or no amounts of either drug, or the GC-MS equipment had a limit of detection and quantification that was incompatible with the concentrations present. Consequently, a serial dilution with these compound standards was completed, and both limits for the GC-MS were identified for only the methamphetamine. The limit of detection was 17.2 µg/mL, while the limit of quantification was 52 µg/mL. Nevertheless, this study’s purpose was a direct attempt at discovering the best method of quantification of drug use in Natchitoches, LA. This study can be pivotal for methods of monitoring drug use and its association with healthcare regulatory measures

Jenna Etheridge, Emad El-Giar

Poly(oxyphenylene) (POP) coatings were deposited onto mild steel (MS) and 17-4 stainless steel (SS) coupons using an electrochemical cell involving two platinum cathodes at varying deposition times and voltages. The POP-coated steel performances were tested against 3.5% NaCl(aq) with open-circuit potential (OCP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) at room temperature every other day until the coatings failed. An equivalent circuit for the POP-coated MS was formed modelling the EIS and OCP data. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) tests were performed using 2 mM K3Fe(CN)6 in 3.5% NaCl(aq) every other day as well until the graphs smoothened out due to the coating’s failure against corrosion. The POP-coated MS films had also undergone surface thickness analysis which measured within 3-11µm. The POP-coatings ≥5 V and ≥15 minutes deposition times were highly stable and lasted for several months. The measurements also showed a great adherence for the coating film to both the MS and SS and surfaces.

Jean Fotie, Caitlyn M. Matherne, Jordan E. Wroblewski

Silylated derivatives of oximes are important intermediates in organic synthesis, widely used in the preparation of various nitrogen-containing compounds, including nitriles, amines, nitrones, and hydroxylamines. This report explores the use of cobalt nanoparticles dispersed and stabilized in porous spherosilicates as catalysts for the hydrosilylation of oximes, converting them into their corresponding alkylsilylether derivatives.

Montel Mercier

Metal nanostructures are important because of their potential applications in sensing, catalysis, and energy storage, to name a few. Copper-cysteine (Cu-Cys) nanostructures have been of interest due to its unique properties with cancer and infectious disease treatments. Combining Methionine with the electronic properties of a metal has the potential to result in novel material with unique properties. The goal of this project is to identify interactions between copper and methionine within Cu-Met nanoparticles.

Copper-methionine (Cu-Met) nanostructures were synthesized by heating a Cu+2 solution on a hot plate to 90℃. Around 5x10⁻³ moles of the copper precursor was added to 50mL of water. NaBH4 is used as a reducing agent and water is used as a solvent. The 2% methionine solution was added to the Cu+2 solution followed by the 1% NaBH4 solution. The resulting solution changed in appearance and then centrifuged at 8,000 RPM for 20 minutes. Three samples were explored with this process: Cu-PVA (poly-vinyl alcohol), Cu-Cys, and Cu-Met.

FTIR of Cu-Met nanostructures show main peaks around 1600, 2900, 3300, and 3400 cm⁻¹. FTIR measurements show the formation of carbonyl, carboxylic, amine, and hydroxyl groups with peaks at 1620, 2920, 3310, and 3450 cm⁻¹. The Cu-Cys nanostructures were analyzed using UV-Vis absorbance. The absorbance spectrum showed strong bands from 250-400 nm that trailed off around 600 nm towards the IR region.

Prem Chanda, Devin Schwaibold

In contrast to the previous report, we have recently developed the first dialkylboron triflate (R2BOTf)-mediated aldol reactions of N, N-dialkylphenylacetamides. However, the scope of this reaction for various arylacetates remains unexplored to date. We have studied the effect of solvents to improve the diastereoselectivity and yield of the aldol product. We also examined the optimum reaction protocol to evaluate various arylacetates for syn- and anti-aldol reaction conditions. Therefore, we will discuss a progress towards the development of complementary syn- and anti-selective aldol reactions of N, N-dialkylarylacetamides.

Alexis Breaux, Casandra Saxon, Gerard Blanchard

We intend to perform an experiment to measure the variation in solar spectral irradiance across the solar disk (limb darkening) during the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse using a balloon-borne dual spectrometer payload.  In this poster, we present the results of ground-based testing of the instrument during the October 14 partial solar eclipse.  The ground-based experiment validated the performance of the instrument but did indicate a need for changes to the operational software.  We were able to recover sufficient data to validate our novel data analysis method.  Our results show that, as expected, the solar spectral irradiance from the outer 50% of the solar disk is significantly lower than that from the inner 50% of the solar disk.  The inner and outer spectra are compared to 5810 K and 5610 K blackbody spectra, respectively.  The spectra also show the effects of atmospheric absorption and scattering, thereby demonstrating the need for a balloon-borne experiment during the April 8 eclipse.

Sabina Dahal

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, accounting for approximately 10% of all cancer cases and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. This disease is poorly chemo-sensitive toward the existing medical treatments so new and more effective therapeutic agents are urgently needed and intensely sought. We have recently developed pyrazole and pyrazolone based small molecule anticancer agents via Pd-catalyzed cross coupling reactions. Cross-coupling reactions have played a critical role enabling the rapid expansion of structure–activity relationships (SAR) during the drug discovery phase to identify a potent candidate and facilitate subsequent drug development processes. Despite these attractive synthetic properties, continuous development of these coupling reactions has been the focus of ongoing efforts to improve the selectivity, efficiency, and sustainability. Our focus has been on synthesizing diverse molecular hybrids of pyrazolones via Pd-catalyzed C-C (Suzuki) and C-N (Buchwald-Hartwig) cross-coupling reactions. The Pd-cross-coupling of halo-aryl pyrazolones with various nucleophiles (organometallic nucleophiles for Suzuki coupling and primary or secondary amines for Buchwald-Hartwig coupling) creates the new C-C and C-N bond formations. Details of the optimized reaction conditions, purification, characterization and antiproliferative activity of the synthesized molecular hybrids will be presented. 

Senora Howard, Thomas Sommerfeld

If the bond distance of the diatomic molecule LiF is changed, both its electron binding energy (EBE) and the character of the orbital occupied by the excess electron change dramatically. At infinite separation, the EBE is equal to the electron affinity of the fluorine atom of 3.4 eV. As the distance is reduced, the EBE decreases, and at the equilibrium geometry (1.56 Å) it shows values of about 0.5 eV. At even smaller distances, the EBE decreases further and vanishes at a distance of about 1 Å. The trends in the EBE are reflected in an evolution of the excess electron orbital from valance to non-valance bound and from localized on the fluorine atom to delocalized off the lithium atom. These changes in EBE and binding motif were studied using the coupled-cluster methods (EA and IP variants of EOM-CCSD) and the associated natural orbitals.