Tamara McCullen |
SCHOOL: The University of Mississippi
MAJOR: Pharmacy MENTOR: Dr. Bonnie Avery EXPECTED GRADUATION DATE: May 2002
|
ABSTRACT
Comparison of Feeding Deterrence of Tunicates
In the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Belize
| Tunicates are marine animals with chemicals that turn predators away from them called a feeding deterrent. The purpose of this research is to compare the feeding deterrence of tunicate samples from the Bahamas, Belize, and Jamaica. The three objectives of this experiment is to find the best solvent for extraction of the tunicate sample, determine if the tunicate samples are chemically identical in the three locations and at different depths of the sea. Extractions, high performance liquid chromatography using a UV detector and an evaporative light scattering detector, and a gas chromatography mass spectrometry are the three experimental methods. Dichloromethylene/methanol had a 18.2 percent extracted value when it was used as a solvent. The HPLC system gave distinct peaks and desirable data of the chemical compounds from the tunicates samples. The GCMS system gave baseline data that was undesirable. In conclusion, research will be conducted for several months. Research did conclude that DCM/MeOH was the best solvent. It also concluded that HPLC was a successful method for the separation of tunicate samples and GCMS was not a successful method. |