Identifier

etd-01262010-121648

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Chemistry

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Tesfai, Aaron, B.S., B.A., University of Missouri, Columbia, 2003 Doctor of Philosophy, Spring Commencement 2010 Major: Chemistry Studies of Nanoparticles from a Group of Uniform Materials Based on Organic Salts (GUMBOS) Dissertation directed by Professor Isiah M. Warner Pages in dissertation, 101. Words in abstract, 271. Ionic liquids (ILs) are defined as organic salts composed of ions with melting points at or below 100 °C. ILs have gained considerable attention because of their desirable properties such as low volatility, high thermal stability, and tunability. GUMBOS are an emergent class of organic salts, many of which are ionic liquids (ILs). However, some have melting points above 100 °C. The synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles derived from GUMBOS (nanoGUMBOS) is investigated in the first part of this dissertation. NanoGUMBOS are more advantageous than traditional nanoparticles because they possess the inherent desirable characteristics of ILs. In addition to the attractive properties of ILs, nanoGUMBOS can be easily tuned for potential applications by altering the constituent components. The second part of this dissertation investigates the synthesis and characterization of task specific nanoGUMBOS. More specifically, magnetic and fluorescent nanoparticles derived from GUMBOS were investigated in this section. The magnetic nanoGUMBOS were synthesized using an oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion preparation method. These nanoparticles are advantageous because they are uniformly magnetic due to the magnetic functional component built into the nanoparticle. Magnetic nanoGUMBOS synthesized in this section have potential applications in the biomedical field including drug delivery and hyperthermia cancer treatment. Fluorescent nanoGUMBOS were synthesized using different particle fabrication techniques: reprecipitation, o/w emulsion, and a hydrogel preparation method. These particles that are derived from fluorophore based cations are uniformly fluorescent because the GUMBOS synthesized contain the fluorophore. Both fluorescent and magnetic nanoGUMBOS offer many advantages as compared to traditional nanoparticles because their synthetic procedures are rapid, facile, and do not require laborious steps. In addition, these novel fluorescent nanoGUMBOS have potential applications in biomedical imaging.

Date

2010

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Warner, Isiah M.

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1618

Included in

Chemistry Commons

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