@phdthesis{Wolpert2008,
  author    = {Wolpert, Daniel},
  title     = {Quantum Control of Photoinduced Chemical Reactions},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-27171},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2008},
  abstract  = {The control of quantum mechanical processes, especially the selective manipulation of photochemical reactions by shaped fs laser pulses was successfully demonstrated in many experiments in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology. In this work, attention is directed to the control of two systems that mark a bridge to real synthetic chemistry. In a liquid phase environment the outcome of the photo-induced Wolff rearrangement of an industrially relevant diazonaphthoquinone compound, normally used in photoresists (e.g. Novolak) was optimized using shaped fs laser pulses. In the second series of experiments chemical reactions on a catalyst metal surface which comprise laser induced molecular bond formation channels were selectively manipulated for the first time. The control of liquid phase reactions necessitates adequate spectroscopic signals that are characteristic for the formed product species. Therefore, a pump-probe setup for transient absorption spectroscopy in the mid-infrared for the purpose of investigating ultrafast structural changes of molecules during photoreactions was constructed. This versatile setup enables to monitor structural changes of molecules in the liquid phase and to find appropriate feedback signals for the control of these processes. Prior to quantum control experiments, the photoinduced Wolff-rearrangement reaction of 2-diazo-1-naphthoquinone (DNQ) dissolved in water and methanol was thoroughly investigated. Steady state absorption measurements in the mid-infrared in combination with quantum chemical density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed the characteristic vibrational bands of DNQ and of possible products. A mid-infrared transient absorption study was performed, to illuminate the structural dynamics of the ultrafast rearrangement reaction of DNQ. The experimental observations indicate, that the Wolff rearrangement reaction of DNQ proceeds within 300 fs. A model for the relaxation dynamics of the ketene photoproduct and DNQ after photoexcitation can be deduced that fits the measured data very well. The object of the quantum control experiments on DNQ was the improvement of the ketene yield. It was shown that the ketene formation after Wolff rearrangement of DNQ is very sensitive to the shape of the applied excitation laser pulses. The variation of single parameters, like the linear chirp as well as the pulse separation of colored double pulses lead to the conclusion that the well known intrapulse dumping mechanism is responsible for the impact of the frequency ordering within the excitation pulse on the photoproduct yield. Adaptive optimizations using a closed learning loop basically lead to the same result. Adaptive fs quantum control was also applied to surface reactions on a catalyst metal surface for the first time. Therefore, the laser-induced catalytic reactions of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) on a Pd(100) single crystal surface were studied. This photochemical reaction initiated with fs laser pulses has not been observed before. Several product molecules could be synthesized, among them also species (e.g. CH^3+) for whose formation three particles are involved. The systematic variation of different parameters showed that the reactions are sensitive to the catalyst surface, the composition of the adsorbate and to the laser properties. A pump-probe study revealed that they occur on an ultrafast time scale. These catalytic surface reactions were then investigated and improved with phaseshaped fs laser pulses. By applying a feedback optimal control scheme, the reaction outcome could be successfully manipulated and the ratio of different reaction channels could be selectively controlled. Evidence has been found that the underlying control mechanism is nontrivial and sensitive to the specific conditions on the surface. The experiments shown here represent the first successful experiment on adaptive fs quantum control of a chemical reaction between adsorbate molecules on a surface. In contrast to previous quantum control experiments, reaction channels comprising the formation of new molecular bonds rather than the cleavage of already existing bonds are controlled. This work successfully showed that quantum control can be extended to systems closer to situations encountered in synthetic chemistry as was demonstrated in the two examples of the optimization of a complicated rearrangement reaction and the selective formation of chemical bonds with shaped fs laser pulses.},
  subject      = {Nichtlineare Spektroskopie},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Simon2006,
  author    = {Simon, Karoline},
  title     = {Development and Evaluation of a Generic HPLC-Tandem MS Screening Method for the Detection of Potential Biomarkers for Reactive Intermediates},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-21916},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2006},
  abstract  = {Conjugation of reactive intermediates of drugs with proteins or DNA may result in toxic effects such as hepatotoxicity, agranulocytosis, allergies, tumors, etc. From 1975 to 1999, 2.9\% of drugs were withdrawn from the market due to such severe adverse drug reactions. Thus, formation of chemically reactive intermediates is a widely discussed problem in drug development processes. Early detection of potentially toxic compounds is required for drug discovery and drug development. Conjugation of such electrophilic compounds with glutathione (GSH) is one of the most important detoxifying reactions in vivo. Processing of these GSH-conjugates ultimately leads to the formation of renally cleared mercapturic acids, which may also be oxidized to sulfoxides. Thus, mercapturic acids may be generated and detected in vitro and non-invasively in vivo in urine to assess the reactivity of a compound in early stages of drug development processes. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop and evaluate a HPLC-MS/MS screening method for simple and rapid detection and characterization of known and unknown mercapturic acids and application of the method to several different matrices. Based on the common constant neutral loss (CNL) of 129 Da of all mercapturic acids tested (in negative ion mode), a CNL survey scan was performed using a linear ion trap instrument and was combined with two enhanced product ion (EPI) scans with different collision energies to characterize the detected signals. The CNL resulted from the cleavage between the sulfur and the carbon atom in the N-acetyl-L-cysteine moiety. After optimization of the experimental parameters, the detection limits of the reference substances in rat urine ranged from 0.3 to 15.5 pmol on column (i.e. 20 ng/ml to 800 ng/ml). For in vitro evaluation of the method, the model compounds acetaminophen, diclofenac, bifonazole, clozapine, troglitazone, carbamazepine, and bisphenol A were screened for formation of reactive intermediates and, hence, detection of the corresponding mercapturic acids. To determine possible species- and tissue-specific toxicities, the model compounds were incubated with stimulated neutrophils and with liver microsomes from rats and humans. Species-specific differences were observed in incubations of acetaminophen and diclofenac with rat and human hepatic microsomes. Tissue-specific differences in biotransformation of the model compounds in incubations with human neutrophils and human liver microsomes were observed for diclofenac, carbamazepine, clozapine, and bifonazole. The developed HPLC-MS/MS method was also evaluated in vivo by analysis of rat and human urine. Drug-related mercapturic acids were detected in urine of rats orally treated with acetaminophen (20 mg/kg and 640 mg/kg b.w.) or diclofenac (10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg b.w.). Human urine samples were analyzed before and after oral administration of a clinically used dose of 500 mg and 50 mg of acetaminophen. Besides detection of the mercapturic acid of N-acetylbenzoquinoneimine (AAP-MA), a second mercapturic acid with m/z 327 occurred dose-dependently in rat and human urine samples after administration of acetaminophen. Further investigations on identification of this metabolite using authentic compounds and comparing their MS/MS mass spectra demonstrated oxidation of AAP-MA to stereoisomeric sulfoxides in vivo. For diclofenac, a novel mercapturic acid with m/z 441 was detected in rat urine samples that was identical to a metabolite obtained in incubations with human neutrophils before. The in vivo formation of this diclofenac metabolite is described here for the first time. In addition, three endogenously formed mercapturic acids were detected and identified. In conclusion, the results of the in vitro and in vivo evaluation demonstrate the advantages of the rapid and generic HPLC-MS/MS screening method for the detection of mercapturic acids, that can be obtained with a minimum of sample preparation and a high throughput in diverse matrices.},
  subject      = {Acetylcysteinderivate},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Roeder2017,
  author    = {R{\"o}der, Anja M.},
  title     = {Excited-State Dynamics in Open-Shell Molecules},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151738},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {In this thesis the excited-state dynamics of radicals and biradicals were characterized with femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. These open-shell molecules play important roles as combustion intermediates, in the formation of soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in atmospheric chemistry and in the formation of complex molecules in the interstellar medium and galactic clouds. In these processes molecules frequently occur in some excited state, excited either by thermal energy or radiation. Knowledge of the reactivity and dynamics of these excited states completes our understanding of these complex processes. These highly reactive molecules were produced via pyrolysis from suitable precursors and examined in a molecular beam under collision-free conditions. A first laser now excites the molecule, and a second laser ionizes it. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry allowed a first identification of the molecule, photoelectron spectroscopy a complete characterization of the molecule - under the condition that the mass spectrum was dominated by only one mass. The photoelectron spectrum was obtained via velocity-map imaging, providing an insight in the electronic states involved. Ion velocity map imaging allowed separation of signal from direct ionization of the radical in the molecular beam and dissociative photoionization of the precursor. During this thesis a modified pBasex algorithm was developed and implemented in python, providing an image inversion tool without interpolation of data points. Especially for noisy photoelectron images this new algorithm delivers better results. Some highlighted results: • The 2-methylallyl radical was excited in the ππ*-state with different internal energies using three different pump wavelengths (240.6 , 238.0 and 236.0 nm). Ionized with 800 nm multi-photon probe, the photoelectron spectra shows a s-Rydberg fingerprint spectrum, a highly positive photoelectron anisotropy of 1.5 and a bi-exponential decay ( τ1= 141\pm43 fs, τ2= 4.0\pm0.2 ps for 240.6 nm pump), where the second time-constant shortens for lower wavelengths. Field-induced surface hopping dynamics calculations confirm that the initially excited ππ*-state relaxes very fast to an s-Rydberg state (first experimentally observed time-constant), and then more slowly to the first excited state/ground state (second time-constant). With higher excitation energies the conical intersection between the s-Rydberg-state and the first excited state is reached faster, resulting in shorter life-times. • The benzyl radical was excited yith 265 nm and probed with two wavelengths, 798 nm and 398 nm. Probed with 798 nm it shows a bi-exponential decay (\tau_{1}=84\pm5 fs, \tau_{2}=1.55\pm0.12 ps), whereas with 398 nm probe only the first time-constant is observed (\tau_{1}=89\pm5 fs). The photoelectron spectra with 798 nm probe is comparable to the spectrum with 398 nm probe during the first 60 fs, at longer times an additional band appears. This band is due to a [1+3']-process, whereas with 398 nm only signal from a [1+1']-process can be observed. Non-adiabatic dynamic on the fly calculations show that the initially excited, nearly degenerate ππ/p-Rydberg-states relax very fast (first time-constant) to an s-Rydberg state. This s-Rydberg state can no longer be ionized with 398 nm, but with 798 nm ionization via intermediate resonances is still possible. The s-Rydberg state then decays to the first excited state (second time-constant), which is long-lived. • Para-xylylene, excited with 266 nm into the S2-state and probed with 800 nm, shows a bi-exponential decay (\tau_{1}=38\pm7 fs, \tau_{2}=407\pm9 fs). The initially excited S2-state decays quickly to S1-state, which shows dissociative photoionization. The population of the S1-state is directly visible in the masses of the dissociative photoionization products, benzene and the para-xylylene -H. • Ortho-benzyne, produced via pyrolysis from benzocyclobutendione, was excited with 266 nm in the S2 state and probed with 800 nm. In its time-resolved mass spectra the dynamic of the ortho-benzyne signal was superposed with the dynamics from dissociative photoionization of the precursor and of the ortho-benzyne-dimer. With time-resolved ion imaging gated on the ortho-benzyne these processes could be seperated, showing that the S2-state of ortho-benzyne relaxes within 50 fs to the S1-state.},
  subject      = {Radikal <Chemie>},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Nuwal2010,
  author    = {Nuwal, Tulip},
  title     = {Characterization of Synapsin, Tubulin-Binding Chaperone E-like, And Their Putative Interactions With Synapse Associated Protein Of 47 kDa In Drosophila melanogaster},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-51683},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2010},
  abstract  = {In this thesis we have used Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to investigate proteins and their putative interacting partners that are directly or indirectly involved in the release of neurotransmitters at the synapse. We have used molecular techniques to investigate conserved synaptic proteins, synapsin and synapse associated protein of 47 kD (SAP47), and a putative interaction partner of SAP47, tubulin binding chaperone E-like (TBCEL). SAP47 and synapsins are highly conserved synaptic vesicle associated proteins in Drosophila melanogaster. To further investigate the role and function of Sap47 and Syn genes, we had earlier generated the null mutants by P-element mutagenesis (Funk et al., 2004; Godenschwege et al., 2004). Western blots and ELISA of brain homogenates from Sap47156 null mutants showed the presence of up-regulated phospho-synapsin in comparison to wild-type (CS) and the presence of up-regulated phospho-synapsin was partially abolished when a pan-neuronal rescue of SAP47 was performed by the Gal4- UAS technique. Thus, the results suggest a qualitative and quantitative modulation of synapsin by SAP47. At the transcript level, we did not observe any difference in content of Syn transcript in Sap47156 and wild-type CS flies. The question of a direct molecular interaction between SAP47 and synapsin was investigated by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) experiments and we did not find any stable interactions under the several IP conditions we tested. The possibility of Sap47 as a modifier of Syn at the genetic level was investigated by generating and testing homozygous double null mutants of Sap47 and Syn. The Syn97, Sap47156 double mutants are viable but have a reduced life span and decreased locomotion when compared to CS. In 2D-PAGE analysis of synapsins we identified trains of spots corresponding to synapsins, suggesting that synapsin has several isoforms and each one of them is posttranslationally modified. In an analysis by Blue native-SDS-PAGE (BN-SDS-2D- PAGE) and Western blot we observed synapsin and SAP47 signals to be present at 700-900 kDa and 200-250 kDa, respectively, suggesting that they are part of large but different complexes. We also report the possibility of Drosophila synapsin forming homo- and heteromultimers, which has also been reported for synapsins of vertebrates. In parallel to the above experiments, phosphorylation of synapsins in Drosophila was studied by IP techniques followed by 1D-SDS gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry (in collaboration with S. Heo and G. Lubec). We identified and verified 5 unique phosphorylation sites in Drosophila synapsin from our MS analysis. Apart from phosphorylation modifications we identified several other PTMs which have not been verified. The significance of these phosphorylations and other identified PTMs needs to be investigated further and their implications for synapsin function and Drosophila behavior has to be elucidated by further experiments. In a collaborative project with S. Kneitz and N. Nuwal, we investigated the effects of Sap156 and Syn97 mutations by performing a whole Drosophila transcriptome microarray analysis of the individual null mutants and the double mutants (V2 and V3). We obtained several candidates which were significantly altered in the mutants. These genes need to be investigated further to elucidate their interactions with Sap47 and Syn. In another project, we investigated the role and function of Drosophila tubulin- binding chaperone E-like (Tbcel, CG12214). The TBCEL protein has high homology to vertebrate TBCE-like (or E-like) which has high sequence similarity to tubulin-binding chaperone E (TBCE) (hence the name TBCE-Like). We generated an anti-TBCEL polyclonal antiserum (in collaboration with G. Krohne). According to flybase, the Tbcel gene has only one exon and codes for two different transcripts by alternative transcription start sites. The longer transcript RB is present only in males whereas the shorter transcript RA is present only in females. In order to study the gene function we performed P- element jump-out mutagenesis to generate deletion mutants. We used the NP4786 (NP) stock which has a P(GawB) insertion in the 5' UTR of the Tbcel gene. NP4786 flies are homozygous lethal due to a second-site lethality as the flies are viable over a deficiency (Df) chromosome (a deletion of genomic region spanning the Tbcel gene and other upstream and downstream genes). We performed the P-element mutagenesis twice. In the first trial we obtained only revertants and the second experiment is still in progress. In the second attempt, jump-out was performed over the deficiency chromosome to prevent homologous chromosome mediated double stranded DNA repair. During the second mutagenesis an insertion stock G18151 became available. These flies had a P-element insertion in the open reading frame (ORF) of the Tbcel gene but was homozygous viable. Western blots of fresh tissue homogenates of NP/Df and G18151 flies probed with anti-TBCEL antiserum showed no TBCEL signal, suggesting that these flies are Tbcel null mutants. We used these flies for further immunohistochemical analyses and found that TBCEL is specifically expressed in the cytoplasm of cyst cells of the testes and is associated with the tubulin of spermatid tails in wild-type CS, whereas in NP/Df and G18151 flies the TBCEL staining in the cyst cells was absent and there was a disruption of actin investment cones. We also found enrichment of TBCEL staining around the actin investment cone. These results are also supported by the observation that the enhancer trap expression of the NP4786 line is localised to the cyst cells, similar to TBCEL expression. Also, male fertility of NP/Df and G18151 flies was tested and they were found to be sterile with few escapers. Thus, these results suggest that TBCEL is involved in Drosophila spermatogenesis with a possible role in the spermatid elongation and individualisation process.},
  subject      = {Taufliege},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Jaud2023,
  author    = {Jaud, Tobias Armin},
  title     = {Application based personalized food choices and health sustainment: scientific background and investigation of biomarkers in human tissue specimens},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-29864},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-298646},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Dietary fatty acids serve as objective biomarkers for the estimation of habitual diet mainly because biomarkers are free of memory bias or inaccuracies of food databases. The aim of the present work encompassed the implementation of a gas chromatographical method coupled with a mass spectrometrical and flame-ionization detector for analysis of fatty acid biomarkers in human biospecimens, their analytical determination and statistical evaluation in two different study populations and different biospecimens as well as the elaboration of adverse reactions to food ingredients with special focus on food allergies and food intolerances in the context of a possible implementation into an application for consumer health. The first aim was the identification of potential influence of fatty acid biomarkers on desaturase and elongase indexes (Δ9DI, Δ6DI, Δ5DI and ELOVLI5), which are factors in type 2 diabetes risk, in breast adipose tissue from healthy women. Influence of further variables on respective indexes was also investigated. 40 samples were investigated and potential variables were either collected by questionnaire or determined. Principle component analysis was applied for fatty acid biomarkers (PCdiet1, PCdiet2 and PCdiet3 representative for the dietary intake of vegetable oils/nuts, fish and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils), endogenous estrogens (PCE1) and oxysterols (PCOxy1). Multiple linear regression models were applied. Δ9DI and Δ6DI were influenced non-significantly and significantly negatively by PCdiet2 supporting a putative beneficial effect of vegetable oils and nuts on type 2 diabetes risk factors. ELOVLI5 and Δ5DI were influenced significantly and non-significantly positively by PCdiet1 supporting a putative beneficial effect of fish consumption on type 2 diabetes risk factors. On the other hand, PCdiet1 also significantly and non-significantly positively influenced Δ9DI and Δ6DI supporting a putative adverse effect of fish biomarkers on type 2 diabetes risk factors. The opposing influences of PCdiet1 suggesting an ambivalent role of dietary intake of fish on investigated indexes. Δ6DI was significantly positively influenced by PCdiet3 and number of pregnancies supporting a putative adverse effect of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and pregnancies on type 2 diabetes risk factors. Lifestyle factors like smoking significantly and non-significantly influenced Δ9DI and Δ6DI putatively adversely. Δ5DI was influenced significantly positively by estrogen active drugs suggesting a putative beneficial effect on type 2 diabetes risk factors. It must be considered that a variation coefficient of up to 0.44 only explained 44\% of variance of the respective indexes, suggesting other influencing factors might play a role. The second aim was the implementation of a gas chromatographical method coupled with a mass spectrometrical and flame-ionization detector for analysis of fatty acid biomarkers in human biospecimens. The method was optimized for separation and detection of 40 fatty acids. Mean recovery for tridecanoic acid was x(tridecanoic acid) = 90.51\% and for nonadecanoic acid x(nonadecanoic acid) = 96.21\%. Thus, there was no significant loss of fatty acids with shorter and longer carbon chains over the extraction process to be expected. Limit of detections were calculated in adipose tissue samples and ranged from 0.007 to 0.077\% of the proportion of the respective fatty acid to total fatty acids. The third aim was the investigation if differentiation between breast glandular and adipose tissue had a relevant impact on the analysis of dietary fatty acid biomarkers or if contamination of breast glandular with breast adipose tissue and vice versa was neglectable for the analysis of dietary fatty acid biomarkers. No statistical significant differences were observed for all investigated fatty acid biomarkers (pentadecanoic-, heptadecanoic-, trans palmitoleic-, eicosapentaenoic-, docosahexaenoic-, linoleic and α-linolenic acid) between breast glandular and adipose tissue. Thus, differentiation between breast glandular and adipose tissue seems not to be necessary for the analysis of fatty acids serving as biomarkers for the intake of specific food groups. Potential influence of mixed breast tissue on fatty acid biomarkers analysis seems to be neglectable. The fourth aim was the determination of fatty acid biomarkers in adipose tissue in another study population from healthy participants. 27 adipose tissue samples were analyzed. Milk and ruminant fat biomarkers exhibited proportions of 0.47\% for pentadecanoic acid, 0.34\% for heptadecanoic acid and 0.25\% for trans palmitoleic acid. Fish fatty acid biomarkers revealed proportions of 0.034\% for eicosapentaenoic acid and 0.061\% for docosahexaenoic acid. The mean proportion of vegetable oils and nuts biomarkers were 9.58\% for linoleic acid and 0.48\% for α-linolenic acid in all adipose tissues. Principle component analysis was applied for the fatty acid biomarkers to provide objective markers of habitual diet for this study population. PCdiet1 was mainly characterized by pentadecanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid and trans palmitoleic acid and therefore served as a principle component for the dietary intake of milk and ruminant fat. PCdiet2 and PCdiet3 only exhibited pattern for ω3 and ω6 fatty acids but not for dietary intake of specific food groups and could therefore not used as objective marker. PCdiet1, 2 and 3 explained 82.76\% of variance. The last aim of this thesis was the elaboration of adverse reactions to food ingredients with special focus on food allergies and food intolerances in the context of a possible implementation into an application for consumer health. Scientific information on adverse reactions to food ingredients and trigger substances was provided in this thesis and possible implementation strategies were evaluated. For food allergens, which have regulatory requirements in the context of labelling, a strategy was elaborated, where it is necessary to provide information on the list of ingredients, the nexus 'contain' and the respective food allergen as well as information on the name of the product. For food intolerances, which do not have regulatory requirements, limits were shown in the context of the application. If the elaborated food intolerances shall be implemented into the application, a professional dietary concept has to be developed for every food intolerance because of the complexity of the implementation.},
  subject      = {Lebensmittelchemie},
  language  = {en}
}