Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-4-2022
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
First Advisor
Randy Wadkins
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The overall goal of this thesis was to investigate the environmental conditions that induce i-Motif folding of the DNA strand DUX4L22, a cytosine-rich segment of DNA found in the human genome. Cellular conditions were simulated using sodium cacodylate buffer and multiple weights of polyethylene glycol as a crowding agent. The presence of i-motifs were confirmed by Circular Dichroism spectroscopy. I found that DUX4L22 does form i-motifs under these physiological simulations at both acidic and neutral pHs. DUX4L22 therefore shows potential for use in studies of a wide variety of biotechnological advances, such as regulatory switches in nanomachines or drug-delivery systems.
Recommended Citation
Turner, Courtney, "The Effects of Crowding Agents on the pKa of Physiologically Stable i-Motif DNA" (2022). Honors Theses. 2580.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2580
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