348— Establishment of peptide aggregation process

The adsorption of alpha-synuclein (a-syn) was studied by attempting the adsorption over the surface of nano-gold colloidal particles as a function of concentration of the a-syn. The change in surface property caused by the degree of peptide coverage was hypothesized to reflect the aggregation formation channels. As the concentration of the a-syn increased, the aggregation size had increased in a non-linear fashion. Currently, we hypothesize two different aggregation channels and one is a gradual growth and the other is a step function type of behavior which holds a certain threshold to form an aggregate

071— Geneseo COVID-19 Study Group V: Long-Term Pharmaceutical Strategies and Prevention of COVID-19

A vaccine is a form of weakened or killed virus that is inserted in the body in the method of an injection. Some vaccines, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, contain only a part of the virus. This stimulates the immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease instead of first experiencing the disease to build that protection. The COVID-19 vaccine is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine that directs our cells how to make a specific protein (“spike protein”) to trigger an immune response inside our body, thus producing antibodies which protect us against COVID-19 particles. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are the authorized vaccines currently in distribution. Looking ahead, public health structures worldwide will continue to implement safety measures and track disease trends in order to protect the health of the human population. There are many steps being taken in the right direction with regards to vaccine distribution, testing, pharmaceuticals, treatment and policy. However, it will take the cooperation of all people to choose healthy behaviors such as masking, social distancing, and getting vaccinated, in order to achieve a state in which we may be safe to continue our lives as normal

062— Nano-size Dependence in Aggregation Process of Beta 2 Microglobulin Coated Gold Colloids

The formation of the aggregates of the beta 2 microglobulin (b2m) coated nano-gold colloids were investigated for various nanogold colloid sizes ranging between 10 nm and 100 nm. The aggregation process was considered to be initiated by the selfassembly of b2m by transforming the folded to the unfolded structure under highly acidic condition (pH \u3c 4). The formation of the aggregates were monitored by a peak shift of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band as a function of number of free b2m available. As for relatively smaller size of gold colloid diameter a gradual aggregation process was observed. The size of the aggregates was considered to increase monotonically as the b2m was added. On the other hand, as for relatively larger diameter of gold colloid, stepwise aggregation process was observed. So that the aggregates of a particular size was formed at a certain threshold of the concentration of available free b2m. The majority of the gold surface of the smaller gold size was easily covered and support the aggregation even at the lower concentration of b2m