Major
Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Anticipated Graduation Year
2021
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Among its many functions, magnesium is of critical importance in maintaining the mineral homeostasis in the lens of the human eye. Cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, is a disease which occurs due to a loss of transparency in the lens. This loss of transparency may have causes rooted in the onset of an imbalance in intracellular ionic concentrations, especially including magnesium. Therefore, developing a reliable and accurate method for the quantification of magnesium in cataracts samples would allow for further insights into the process of cataract formation. The method that has been developed in this project utilized xylidyl blue I as the indicator, as well as E. Coli samples to mimic the biological matrix of cataracts samples in order to optimize the parameters for quantification. This method has so far been found to have a limit of detection of 0.785 ppm.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Martina Schmeling, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry; Michelle Lund, Graduate Student, Chemistry Department
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Detection and Quantification of Magnesium in Biological Samples
Among its many functions, magnesium is of critical importance in maintaining the mineral homeostasis in the lens of the human eye. Cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, is a disease which occurs due to a loss of transparency in the lens. This loss of transparency may have causes rooted in the onset of an imbalance in intracellular ionic concentrations, especially including magnesium. Therefore, developing a reliable and accurate method for the quantification of magnesium in cataracts samples would allow for further insights into the process of cataract formation. The method that has been developed in this project utilized xylidyl blue I as the indicator, as well as E. Coli samples to mimic the biological matrix of cataracts samples in order to optimize the parameters for quantification. This method has so far been found to have a limit of detection of 0.785 ppm.