University of the Pacific View Institution's Website 6 articles published in JoVE Chemistry Synthesis and Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Oligo-peptoids Jianhua Ren1, Yadwinder S. Mann1, Yuntao Zhang1, Michael D. Browne1 1Department of Chemistry, University of the Pacific A protocol is described for the manual synthesis of oligo-peptoids followed by sequence analysis by mass spectrometry. Chemistry Preparation and Characterization of Individual and Multi-drug Loaded Physically Entrapped Polymeric Micelles Deepa A. Rao1, Duc X. Nguyen2, Gyan P. Mishra2, Bhuvana Shyam Doddapaneni2, Adam W. G. Alani2 1School of Pharmacy, Pacific University, 2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University The goal of this protocol is to describe the preparation and characterization of physically entrapped, poorly water soluble drugs in micellar drug delivery systems composed of amphiphilic block copolymers. Behavior Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations Gabriella Musacchia1,2,3, Silvia Ortiz-Mantilla1, Teresa Realpe-Bonilla1, Cynthia P. Roesler1, April A. Benasich1 1Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, State University of New Jersey, Newark, 2Department of Audiology, University of the Pacific, 3Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Stanford University High-density electroencephalography (dEEG) is being used increasingly to study brain development and plasticity in the early years of life. Here we present an application of sophisticated analysis techniques that builds on traditional EEG recording to understand the oscillatory dynamics of rapid auditory processing in the infant brain. Chemistry Determination of the Gas-phase Acidities of Oligopeptides Jianhua Ren1, Ashish Sawhney1, Yuan Tian1, Bhupinder Padda1, Patrick Batoon1 1Department of Chemistry, University of the Pacific The determination of the gas-phase acidities of cysteine-containing oligopeptides is described. The experiments are performed using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The relative acidities of the peptides are measured using collision-induced dissociation experiments, and the quantitative acidities are determined using the extended Cooks kinetic method. Bioengineering Synthetic Spider Silk Production on a Laboratory Scale Yang Hsia1, Eric Gnesa1, Ryan Pacheco1, Kristin Kohler1, Felicia Jeffery1, Craig Vierra1 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific Despite the outstanding mechanical and biochemical properties of spider silks, this material cannot be harvested in large quantities by conventional means. Here we describe an efficient strategy to spin artificial spider silk fibers, which is an important process for investigators studying spider silk production and their use as next-generation biomaterials. Biology Microdissection of Black Widow Spider Silk-producing Glands Felicia Jeffery*1, Coby La Mattina*1, Tiffany Tuton-Blasingame*1, Yang Hsia1, Eric Gnesa1, Liang Zhao1, Andreas Franz1, Craig Vierra1 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific Here we describe an efficient strategy to remove the silk-producing glands from the abdomen of female black widow spiders. This procedure allows the rapid isolation of the seven distinct silk-producing glands in a highly purified fashion, an important process for investigators studying spider silk production and fiber assembly.