| dc.description.abstract | In these studies, three different problems are looked at: the need for new compounds to treat infections caused by the Trichomonas vaginalis parasite, the development of methodology to induce production of new metabolites, and the development of methods to screen for compounds that protect or repair damage caused by traumatic injury.
In the first set of studies, the extraction, isolation, and elucidation of compounds from three different fungi was done. Dinapinones AB1/2, dinapinone A2, microsphaerin D, and a xanthoquinodin were found to show activity against the T. vaginalis parasite. The compounds were characterized using a combination of 1D and 2D NMR, mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and polarimetry. In the second set of studies, methodology was developed to try to induce production of new metabolites in fungi. Protocols to use new instrumentation capable of vaporizing microbial volatile oils over fungi were developed. Experiments to quantify the amounts of oil being delivered to fungal flasks were done as well. In the last study, a new assay to screen fungal extracts for activities in repairing or preventing damage from a traumatic injury was developed. In the development, multiple variables including, organism used, the pressure the cannon was fired at, and the distance the cannon was from the target were determined as part of the protocol for the assay. Initial results using pure compounds and fungal extracts were obtained and analyzed as well. | en_US |
