Engineering Commons^™

Designing Predictive Mathematical Models For The Metabolic Pathways Associated With Polyhydroxybutyrate Synthesis In Escherichia Coli, Angela Dixon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plastics are a versatile and widely used material. However, traditional plastics are derived from petrochemicals and are not biodegradable. Polymers synthesized from microorganisms that have similar properties to plastic are potential biodegradable replacements. The objective of this project is to use mathematical modeling as a tool to engineer a strain of bacteria optimized for the production of bio-plastics.

Production costs can be reduced by using a bacterial strain specifically optimized for bio-plastic production. By reducing production costs, bio-plastics will be able to commercially compete with traditional plastics. Society will benefit as bio-plastics replace traditional plastics. Fossil fuels will not be …

A Study On The Applications And Toxicity Assessments Of Carbon Nanotubes In Tissue Engineering, Rena Baktur

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most popular nanomaterials. There has been increasing interest in the development and applications of carbon nanotubes due to their huge potential in industrial and medical applications. Recent applications of carbon nanotubes include development of scaffolds and drug delivery systems. Despite rapidly emerging applications of CNTs, little is known about the impact of CNTs on cellular processes, especially mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)'s differentiation. Also, the effects of nanoparticle exposure under different conditions on cellular responses have not been well characterized yet.

To characterize the effects of CNTs on creating nanoscale scaffolds for tissue engineering, …

Fluoro-Silane As A Functional Monomer For Protein Conformational Imprinting, Yun Peng

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

By using the technology of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), we propose to synthesize a protein conformational imprint that also acts as a plastic enzyme, inducing protein structural transitions. The imprint aims at MIP-induced stabilization and / or formation of bound protein secondary structure and the applications associated with analysis and correction of misfolded proteins. The screening of polymeric functional monomers being able to induce the conformational transitions in proteins is investigated in this report.

The fluoro-silanes (3-heptafluoroisopropoxy)propalethoxysilane (7F) and 3,3,3-trifluoropropylmethoxysilane (3F) were employed as functional monomers for synthesis of this catalytic protein conformational imprint via sol-gel reactions. 3F was demonstrated …

Characterization And Application Of Dynamic In Vitro Models Of Human Airway, Hemangkumar J. Patel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In recent years, respiratory diseases have emerged as a leading cause of mortality across the globe. In the United States alone respiratory diseases are the fourth leading cause of deaths annually. Moreover, with the rapid increase of industrialization and urbanization, the occurrences of respiratory diseases are expected to remain high with strong chances of increasing in the future. To ameliorate the epidemic of respiratory disease, it is first important to understand its underlying mechanisms.

Respiratory research studies in animals have elucidated the chronological order of the pathological events and systemic responses inside the lung, but understanding the response of individual …

Algal Biofilm Production And Harvesting System For Wastewater Treatment With Biofuels By-Products, Logan Christenson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Excess nitrogen and phosphorus in discharged wastewaters can lead to downstream eutrophication, ecosystem damage, and impaired water quality that may affect human health. Chemical-based and physical-based technologies are available to remove these nutrients; however, they often consume significant amounts of energy and chemicals, greatly increasing treatment costs. Algae are capable of removing these pollutants through biomass assimilation, and if harvested, can be utilized as a feedstock for biomethane or biodiesel production. Currently, difficulties in harvesting, concentrating, and dewatering algae have limited the development of an economically feasible treatment and production process. When algae are grown as surface-attached biofilms, the biomass …