Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Chemistry
Committee Chair
Aaron T. Timperman.
Abstract
Typically, Al3+ is bound to minerals, but its toxicity towards vascular plants increases with increasing soil acidity. Ectomycorrhizal fungi often confer Al3+ resistance to host plants by unknown mechanisms. The objective of this research was to develop a method for the successful separation of Al3+ binding fungal exudates produced by the fungus Pisolithus tinctorius. A novel Al3+ immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) technique was developed to extract exudates involved in Al3+ binding. Recovery of exudates from the IMAC column was dependent on elutor type and pH, with ammonium hydroxide being most effective. Exudates exhibited strong binding with Al3+, allowing their selective enrichment and collection. Because IMAC strongly binds Al3+ that forms an Al3+-ligand complex, isolation of Al3+ ligands was possible. Exudates are also separated using reversed phase in order to differentiate between closely related compounds. Utilizing these techniques results in a simpler sample to be characterized with mass spectrometry.
Recommended Citation
Baldwin, Carson, "Isolation and preparation of naturally occurring aluminum ligands using immobilized metal affinity chromatography for analysis by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry" (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 2210.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/2210
