Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2006
Capstone Advisor
Professor Yan-Yeung Luk
Honors Reader
Dr. James Dabrowiak
Capstone Major
Biology
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Biochemistry | Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
Abstract
Traditional lyotropic liquid crystals are composed of amphiphilic molecules forming assemblies in water. Disodium cromoglycate (cromolyn or DSCG) – an antiasthmatic drug – is a novel and unusual lyotropic liquid crystal because it is not amphiphilic, and yet, it exhibits large birefringence (shininess) when dissolved in water forming lyotropic liquid crystal. In the work, DSCG liquid crystal is doped with different types of salt such as sodium chloride and sodium perchlorate, and the response in the changes of birefringence and liquid crystal transition temperature is studied. We find that addition of certain type of salts enhance the propensity of formation of liquid crystal phase of DSCG, whereas other type inhibit the formation of liquid crystal. This discovery is pleasantly perplexing because it contradicts the general observation that addition of salt often disrupts the tendency of structure formation – for example, spreading salt in the winter time to help melt the ice on the roadway. In another effort to control the structural organization of the molecules within this liquid crystal phase – so-called liquid crystal orientation, I synthesized oligo-ethylene glycol (OEG)-terminated alkanethiols and overlay them to form self-assembled monolayers (SAM) on a nanostructured gold film. We use this unique combination of chemistry and surface nanotopography to control the liquid crystal orientation. The hypothesis, promising results and interpretation will be presented. Because of DSCG is an antiasthmatic drug and has been shown not to denature protein folding at the concentrations that give rise to liquid crystal phases, this work imparts both fundamental understanding of a novel liquid crystal and explore application of detecting presence of toxic ions and protein binding events
Recommended Citation
Huang, Anny, "The Response of a Biocompatible Liquid Crystal to Ions and Chemistry on Nanostructured Surfaces" (2006). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 623.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/623
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