Date of Award
2017-01-01
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Physics
Advisor(s)
Felicia S. Manciu
Abstract
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was applied to investigate the feasibility in the detection and monitoring of the dopamine (DA) neurotransmitter adsorbed onto silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) at 10-11 molar, a concentration far below physiological levels. In addition, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were obtained with the Gaussian-09 analytical suite software to generate the theoretical molecular configuration of DA in its neutral, cationic, anionic, and dopaminequinone states for the conversion of computer-simulated Raman spectra. Comparison of theoretical and experimental results show good agreement and imply the presence of dopamine in all of its molecular forms in the experimental setting. The dominant dopamine Raman bands at 750 cm-1 and 795 cm-1 suggest the adsorption of dopaminequinone onto the silver nanoparticle surface. The results of this experiment give good insight into the applicability of using Raman spectroscopy for the biodetection of neurotransmitters.
Language
en
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
Copyright Date
2017-05
File Size
49 pages
File Format
application/pdf
Rights Holder
Matthew Alonzo
Recommended Citation
Alonzo, Matthew, "Spectroscopic Analysis of Neurotransmitters: A Theoretical and Experimental Raman Study" (2017). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 594.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/594