2008 Proceedings - St. Cloud State University

Abstracts
Session A All Disciplines Ballroom
Development of Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography Methods for the
Detection of Ethylene Glycol Ethers
Ethylene glycol ethers (EGEs), especially 2-ethnoxyethanol and 2-butoxyethanol (BE) are excellent solvents. Accordingly, they are used in
many industrial and commercial products. Upon human use, these solvents are discharged into waterways. Given the use and discharge
of EGEs, both humans, as well as aquatic animals are exposed to EGEs. Exposure to EGEs results in various toxicities including
encephalopathy, hemolysis and metabolic acidosis in humans. In addition to these toxicities, carcinogenesis and mutagenesis is also
observed in animal models. Actual concentrations of EGEs in waste water discharges are not clearly established accordingly. The
objective of this research project is to develop a method to determine the presence of butoxyethanol (BE), one of the most common EGEs
used, and its possible metabolites butoxyacetaldehyde (BAL) and butoxyacetic acid (BAA) in waste water sample. The group is currently
standardizing a gas chromatography mass spectrometry method for this purpose and is in the process of developing a high performance
liquid chromatography method.
Presentation Index: A57
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Department: Chemistry
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Cheng, Shiang Kai
Sreerama, Lakshmaiah
Mechanism of Action of Alzheimer’s Disease Drugs on the Aggregation of Amyloid Beta Peptide
Alzheimer‘s disease (AD) is characterized by the deposition of amyloid â peptide (Aâ) plaques in the brain. Aâ is physiologically produced
from enzymatic cleavage of the larger precursor called amyloid precursor protein (APP). Aâ in its soluble form is not toxic to brain cells
(neurons); however its aggregation into insoluble fibrils which then combines with cell debris to form plaques causes neurotoxicity. Since
the aggregation of Aâ peptide to insoluble fibrils is due to their hydrophobic interaction, it is proposed that small chemical compounds
which are hydrophobic might inhibit the hydrophobic interaction between amyloid peptides, hence inhibiting the formation of insoluble fibrils
which precedes the plaque formation. The proposed research is to see how hydrophobic drugs, which are currently used for treating AD
patients, such as Galantamine, Memantine and Tacrine affect the formation of amyloid aggregates. Thioflavin T (ThT) dye will be used to
study the aggregation of peptides as the dye has very good affinity with aggregated peptide. It is proposed that greater the aggregation of
amyloid peptide greater will be the fluorescence intensity of the dye and in the presence of drugs that inhibit the aggregation of the peptide
fluorescence intensity of the dye will decrease. The study of fluorescence intensity as a function of different concentration of drug will show
which drug is most effective in inhibiting aggregation of amyloid peptide. The most effective drug could be used as a potential molecular
framework for designing new improved drugs with fewer side effects to treat AD.
Presentation Index: A58
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Department: Chemistry
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Henning, Phillip; Bhattarai, Nirjal
Ramakrishnan, Latha
Mad Protein Under-Regulation or Over-Expression Outside The Nucleus: A Possible Cause for Adenocarcinoma Breast Cancer
Cell Resistance to Ottelione A
In the world, breast cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer related death after lung, stomach, liver and colon cancer. By the end of this
year, breast cancer is expected to cause 40,910 deaths (7% of all cancer deaths, almost 2% of all deaths) in the U.S alone. One of the
biggest problems in the treatment of cancer today is drug resistance. Therefore, research on anti-cancer drug resistance is very important
in finding treatment for cancer. This research will focus on finding out why cancer cells, breast cancer cells in particular, are resistant to the
anti-cancer drug, Ottelione A (OttA). Recent research has shown that Ottelione A is a very potent anticancer drug that inhibits tubulin
polymerization. OttA blocks cell division at the metaphase/anaphase junction of mitosis and triggers the signal cascade, prompting
programmed cell death (apoptosis). The mechanism by which OttA inhibits tubulin polymerization is unknown. Human breast
adenocarcinoma MCF 7/0 cells are wild type tumor cells sensitive to OttA. MCF 7/OttA cells (sub-line of human breast adenocarcinoma
MCF 7/0) are relatively insensitive to OttA. Genomic Analysis of MCF 7/O and MCF 7/OttA cells have shown that > 50 genes are differently
expressed in MCF 7/OttA cells compared to MCF 7/0 cells. This observation has further led to the hypothesis that OttA drug resistance is
due to the down-regulation and/or over-expression of mitotic arrest deficient (MAD) proteins, MAD1 and MAD2 outside the nuclei.
Therefore, this research will investigate the mis-localization of MAD1 and MAD2 proteins outside the nuclei.
Presentation Index: A59
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Department: Chemistry
Project Sponsor(s):
Student Presenter(s): Mususu, Muchima
Sreerama, Lakshmaiah
St. Cloud State University Student Research Colloquium 34
April 22, 2008