Scholars' Mine Masters Theses Student Theses and Dissertations 2008 A rapid method for determination of alpha hydroxy acids in seawater and biological fluids at trace levels Ryan Lee Schwiderski Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses Part of the Chemistry Commons Department: Recommended Citation Schwiderski, Ryan Lee, "A rapid method for determination of alpha hydroxy acids in seawater and biological fluids at trace levels" (2008). Masters Theses. 7140. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/7140 This thesis is brought to you by Scholars' Mine, a service of the Missouri S&T Library and Learning Resources. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A RAPID METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF ALPHA HYDROXY ACIDS IN SEAWATER AND BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS AT TRACE LEVELS by RYAN SCHWIDERSKI A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CHEMISTRY 2008 Approved by Shubhender Kapila Advisor Paul K. Nam Virgil J. Flanigan iii ABSTRACT Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) – carboxylic acids with a hydroxyl substitution on the alpha carbon are an important class of molecules. Hydroxy Methyl Thiobutanoic Acid (HMTBA) is an α-hydroxy analog of essential amino acid methionine; it finds extensive use as a feed supplement for avian and bovine species. Efficacy of alpha hydroxy acid uptake is important for nutritional studies and such studies rely on accurate and precise methods for determination of these chemicals in biological samples.