Biology and Biomimetic Materials Commons^™

Cdse Quantum Dots Synthesis Laboratory Course For High School Students, Danlin Zuo, Gyuseok Kim, David Jones

Protocols and Reports

Cadmium selenide quantum dot is a fascinating subject for leading high school students to the quantum world. An 8-hour laboratory course for up to 12 high school students is proposed. The 8-hour course consist of two 4-hours sections. This laboratory course includes the quantum dot syntheses, absorption and emission characterization, and data analysis. The proposes process runs at relatively lower temperature which means safe and easy, and shows apparent experimental results.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Interaction Of Dna Nucleotides And Lignin Oligomers With Small Molecules And Interfaces, Xinjie Tong

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of interaction of DNA nucleotides with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) provide valuable information that is critical to the development of a new DNA sequencing technique. We investigated the interactions and transport characteristics of mononucleotides moving through nanoslits with SAMs-covered surfaces. Our simulations focused on nanoslits in which the walls were composed of three different types of SAMs: methylformyl terminated, methyl terminated, and phenoxy terminated. The results demonstrated that the phenoxy terminated surfaces have the shortest required nanoslits length for nucleotides separation.

Using MD simulations, we also investigated the interaction of mono-lignin and oligo-lignols with lipid bilayers and …

Bioinspired Complex Nanoarchitectures By Dna Supramolecular Polymerization, Laura A. Lanier

Doctoral Dissertations

Bioinspired nanoarchitectures are of great interest for applications in fields such as nanomedicine, tissue engineering, and biosensing. With this interest, understanding how the physical properties of these complex nanostructures relate to their function is increasingly important. This dissertation describes the creation of complex nanoarchitectures with controlled structure and the investigation of the effect of nanocarrier physical properties on cell uptake for applications in nanomedicine.

DNA self-assembly by supramolecular polymerization was chosen to create complex nanostructures of controlled architectures. We demonstrated that the supramolecular polymerization of DNA known as hybridization chain reaction (HCR) is in fact a living polymerization. The living …

Engineering Nanomaterials For Imaging And Therapy Of Bacteria And Biofilm-Associated Infections, Akash Gupta

Doctoral Dissertations

Infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria pose a serious global burden of mortality, causing thousands of deaths each year. The “superbug” risk is further exacerbated by chronic infections generated from antibiotic-resistant biofilms that are highly resistant to available treatments. Synthetic macromolecules such as polymers and nanoparticles have emerged as promising antimicrobials. Moreover, ability to modulate nanomaterial interaction with bacterial cellular systems plays a pivotal role in improving the efficacy of the strategy.

In the initial studies on engineering nanoparticle surface chemistry, I investigated the role played by surface ligands in determining the antimicrobial activity of the nanoparticles. In further study, …

Design Of Cell-Instructive Biomaterial Scaffolds For Intervertebral Disc Regeneration, Nadia Sharma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Biomaterials-based therapies targeting the nucleus pulposus (NP) have the potential to promote regeneration and restore mechanical function to the intervertebral disc. This study developed composite hydrogels incorporating decellularized NP (DNP) and assessed its effects on viability, retention and differentiation of U-CH1 cells, an NP progenitor-like cell line. A minimal protocol was developed to decellularize bovine NP that reduced nuclear content while preserving key extracellular matrix components predicted to be favourable for bioactivity. The resulting DNP demonstrated cell-instructive effects, supporting U-CH1 viability and retention within the hydrogels, and promoted the differentiation of the progenitor-like cells towards an NP-like phenotype. These studies …

Investigation Of The Electrode Polarization Effect For Biosensor Applications, Anil Koklu

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

My research focuses on electrokinetic transport. Particularly, in this dissertation, we focus on fabrication and testing of micro electrodes with nanostructured surfaces to minimize the electrode polarization (EP) effects for biosensor applications. In the first study, electrochemical deposition of gold nanoparticles on to planar gold electrodes was used to generate rough surfaces. Dendritic nanostructures that reduced EP up to two orders of magnitude was obtained by optimizing the deposition conditions. These structures also enhanced dielectrophoresis (DEP) response of our bio-chips, making them usable in physiological buffers. In further studies we discovered a universal scaling of EP in the frequency domain, …

Self-Healing Concrete Using Encapsulated Bacterial Spores In A Simulated Hot Subtropical Climate, Marwa Hassan, Jose Milla, Tyson Rupnow, Ahsennur Soysal

Publications

Bacterial concrete has become one of the most promising self-healing alternatives due to its capability to seal crack widths through microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP). In this study, two bacterial strains were embedded at varying dosages (by weight of cement) in concrete. Beam specimens were used to identify the maximum crack-sealing efficiency, while cylinder samples were used to determine their effects on the intrinsic mechanical properties, as well as its stiffness recovery over time after inducing damage. The concrete specimens were cured in wet-dry cycles to determine their feasibility in Region 6. The results showed that the specimen groups with …

Stress Response To Co2 Deprivation By Arabidopsis Thaliana In Plant Cultures, Souvik Banerjee, Oskar Siemianowski, Meiling Liu, Kara R. Lind, Xinchun Tian, Dan Nettleton, Ludovico Cademartiri

Dan Nettleton

After being the standard plant propagation protocol for decades, cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana sealed with Parafilm remain common today out of practicality, habit, or necessity (as in co-cultures with microorganisms). Regardless of concerns over the aeration of these cultures, no investigation has explored the CO2 transport inside these cultures and its effect on the plants. Thereby, it was impossible to assess whether Parafilm-seals used today or in thousands of older papers in the literature constitute a treatment, and whether this treatment could potentially affect the study of other treatments.For the first time we report the CO2concentrations in Parafilm-sealed cultures of …

Novel Low Shear 3d Bioreactor For The Scaled Production Of High Purity Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Andrew Burns

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Human mesenchymal stem cells are an ideal candidate for stem cell therapies. They have been researched since the 1960’s and can differentiate into many desired functional cell types without undergoing teratogenesis. However, higher yields are needed for a marketable, successful stem cell therapy. To accomplish this, cells will have to be cultured to expand them to therapeutically relevant dosages for multiple patients. Bioreactor production is an ideal method to solve this problem.

The aim of this thesis is to test and validate a novel bioreactor for the cultivation of human mesenchymal stem cells. In this work, we investigate a novel …

Self-Healing Materials For Soft-Matter Machines And Electronics, Michael D. Bartlett, Michael D. Dickey, Carmel Majidi

Michael Bartlett

The emergence of soft machines and electronics creates new opportunities to engineer robotic systems that are mechanically compliant, deformable, and safe for physical interaction with the human body. Progress, however, depends on new classes of soft multifunctional materials that can operate outside of a hard exterior and withstand the same real-world conditions that human skin and other soft biological materials are typically subjected to. As with their natural counterparts, these materials must be capable of self-repair and healing when damaged to maintain the longevity of the host system and prevent sudden or permanent failure. Here, we provide a perspective on …

Development Of A Sonically Powered Biodegradable Nanogenerator For Bone Regeneration, Avi Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Reconstruction of bone fractures and defects remains a big challenge in orthopedic surgery. While regenerative engineering has advanced the field greatly using a combination of biomaterial scaffolds and stem cells, one matter of difficulty is inducing osteogenesis in these cells. Recent works have shown electricity’s ability to promote osteogenesis in stem cell lines when seeded in bone scaffolds; however, typical electrical stimulators are either (a) externally housed and require overcomplex percutaneous wires be connected to the implanted scaffold or (b) implanted non-degradable devices which contain toxic batteries and require invasive removal surgeries.

Objective: Here, we establish a biodegradable, piezoelectric …

Development Of A Sonically Powered Biodegradable Nanogenerator For Bone Regeneration, Avi S. Patel

University Scholar Projects

Background: Reconstruction of bone fractures and defects remains a big challenge in orthopedic surgery. While regenerative engineering has advanced the field greatly using a combination of biomaterial scaffolds and stem cells, one matter of difficulty is inducing osteogenesis in these cells. Recent works have shown electricity’s ability to promote osteogenesis in stem cell lines when seeded in bone scaffolds; however, typical electrical stimulators are either (a) externally housed and require overcomplex percutaneous wires be connected to the implanted scaffold or (b) implanted non-degradable devices which contain toxic batteries and require invasive removal surgeries.

Objective: Here, we establish a biodegradable, piezoelectric …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Collagen-Polypyrrole Constructs Using Direct-Ink Write Additive Manufacturing, Rooshan Arshad

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Current efforts in the tissue engineering field are being directed towards the creation of platforms which will facilitate in instructing cells towards biologically relevant outcomes such as stem cell differentiation and disease pathophysiology. Traditional fabrication methods serve as a limiting factor for the production of such platforms as they lack feature and geometric complexity. Additive Manufacturing (AM) offers advantage over said methods by affording designers creative freedom and great control over printed constructs. Such constructs can then be used to create appropriate models for study- ing a plethora of tissues and structures. An AM methodology for Direct-Ink Write (DIW) printing …

Left Atrial Model, Borna Sobati, Sarah Porello, Tess Pate

Biomedical Engineering

The objective is to produce an electrophysiological model of an adult human left atrium. This model will be used to test mapping probe catheters used for locating cardiac arrhythmias against current technology used in practice. Dr. Chris Porterfield requested this model and other physicians or probe catheter manufacturers may also use this product in the future. Dr. Porterfield also discussed the possibility of future senior project groups using the model as a bench test for designing new catheter tips. The model will precisely simulate electrical behaviors of the heart in normal as well as arrhythmic conditions. Ideally, the model will …

The Effect Of Defects And Surface Modification On Biomolecular Assembly And Transport, Haneen Martinez

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Nanoscale transport using the kinesin-microtubule (MT) biomolecular system has been successfully used in a wide range of nanotechnological applications including self-assembly, nanofluidic transport, and biosensing. Most of these applications use the ‘gliding motility geometry’, in which surface-adhered kinesin motors attach and propel MT filaments across the surface, a process driven by ATP hydrolysis. It has been demonstrated that active assembly facilitated by these biomolecular motors results in complex, non-equilibrium nanostructures currently unattainable through conventional self-assembly methods. In particular, MTs functionalized with biotin assemble into rings and spools upon introduction of streptavidin and/or streptavidin-coated nanoparticles. Upon closer examination of these structures …

Evaluation Of Guar Gum As A Novel Adsorbent, Philicia Geiser

Theses and Dissertations

Guar gum (GG) is a promising product increasingly used in a variety of industries. It is nontoxic, inexpensive, and biodegradable. This research evaluated novel approaches using GG as an adsorbent for aromatic organic water contaminants. The application of GG demonstrated some effectiveness against all contaminants tested. Two brands of GG were tested using 5 different GG treatment strategies. Various experiments demonstrated nearly complete removal of Allura Red dye, Brilliant Blue dye, Erythrosine B dye, Methylene Blue dye, Tartrazine dye, and 2,4-dinitrotoluene; additionally, 78% adsorption was observed for Fast Green dye. GG typically removed less than 10% of toluene, which rapidly …

Development Of Functional Biomaterials Using Protein Building Blocks, Li-Sheng Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Proteins have intrinsic molecular properties that are highly useful for materials applications, especially for biomaterials. My research has focused on translating these molecular properties to materials surface behavior. In one approach, I developed a fluorous-based thermal treatment strategy to generate stable thin films from a variety of naturally abundant proteins. The different surface properties generated from the choice of protein were utilized to modulate cell-surface interactions, prevent bacterial adhesions, and control drug loading/release. I have used nanoimprint lithography to generate patterned protein films for cell alignment. Coupling with inkjet printing deposition, I have fabricated mixed protein films with spatial and …

Direct Patterning Of Nature-Inspired Surfaces For Biointerfacial Applications, Feyza Dundar

Doctoral Dissertations

There are three major challenges for the design of patterned surfaces for biointerfacial applications: (i) durability of antibacterial/antifouling mechanisms, (ii) mechanical durability, and (iii) lifetime of the master mold for mass production of patterned surfaces. In this dissertation, we describe our contribution for the development of each of these challenges.

The bioinspired surface, Sharklet AF^TM, has been shown to reduce bacterial attachment via a biocide-free structure-property relationship effectively. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of polymer-based sharkskin surfaces is challenged over the long term by both eventual bacteria accumulation and a lack of mechanical durability. To address these common modes of …

The Effect Of Proteome And Lipidome On The Behavior Of Membrane Bound Systems In Thermally-Assisted Acoustophoresis, Elnaz Mirtaheri

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Changes in the biomechanical properties of cells accompanying the development of various pathological conditions have been increasingly reported as biomarkers for various diseases, including cancers. In cancer cells, the membrane properties have been altered compared to their healthy counterparts primarily due to proteomic and lipidomic dysregulations conferred by the underlying pathology. The separation and selective recovery of these cells or extracellular vesicles secreted from such cells is of high diagnostic and prognostic value.

In this dissertation, the research builds on thermally-assisted acoustophoresis technique which was developed in our laboratory for the separation of vesicles of the same size, charge and …

Nanoharvesting And Delivery Of Bioactive Materials Using Engineered Silica Nanoparticles, Md Arif Khan

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) possess large surface areas and ample pore space that can be readily modified with specific functional groups for targeted binding of bioactive materials to be transported through cellular barriers. Engineered silica nanoparticles (ESNP) have been used extensively to deliver bio-active materials to target intracellular sites, including as non-viral vectors for nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) delivery such as for siRNA induced interference. The reverse process guided by the same principles is called “nanoharvesting”, where valuable biomolecules are carried out and separated from living and functioning organisms using nano-carriers. This dissertation focuses on ESNP design principles for both applications. …