Date of Award

2011-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Physics

Advisor(s)

Dr Felicia Manciu

Abstract

Formation of calculi in urinary tract leads to kidney stones. This process is known as Urolithiasis. Some of the causes of urolithiasis are metabolic disorders, genetic factors, and anatomic abnormalities in the urinary system. Nowadays, urolithiasis is very common disease in population of all over the world. The present study strives to understand calcium oxalate calculi formation as well as its inhibition by using Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), which is a chemical extract of the Larrea Tridentata bush, a plant that is traditionally employed in the El paso region as a natural treatment for kidney stones and bladder diseases. Thus, in this current study, the crystals were synthesized without and with NDGA. This research is a continuation of previous efforts, which have demonstrated that the use of infusion from Larrea Tridentata decreases the sizes of calcium oxalate crystals and also changes their structure from a monohydrate for pure crystals to a dihydrate for crystals grown with different amounts of inhibitor. However, in the current study, both Raman and infrared absorption spectroscopic techniques, which are the methods of analysis employed in this work, reveal that NDGA is not responsible for the change in the morphology of calcium oxalate crystals and do not contribute significantly to the inhibition process. The presence of NDGA slightly affects the structure of the crystals by modifying the strength and length of the C-C bonds as seen in the Raman data. Also, the current infrared absorption results demonstrate the presence of NDGA in the samples through a strong absorption line that corresponds to the double bond between carbon atoms of the ester group of NDGA.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

71 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Preethi Dacha

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Included in

Biophysics Commons

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