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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Tumor Targeting Gold Nanoparticles For Delivery Of Rna And Dna Oligonucleotide Therapies For Glioblastoma., Nicholas Allen May 2023

Tumor Targeting Gold Nanoparticles For Delivery Of Rna And Dna Oligonucleotide Therapies For Glioblastoma., Nicholas Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumors are highly aggressive gliomas due to genetic and cellular heterogeneity. Current GBM treatment consists of surgical resection of the tumor combined with radio- or chemo-therapies. While these treatments have increased the life expectancy for GBM patients up to 20 months, they have had little effect on the 5-year survival rate. The complex cellular and genetic composition of the tumor makes current treatments less effective long term. One approach to developing more effective GBM treatments is to customize nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems that can directly target the aberrant gene expression patterns within a particular GBM tumor. Delivery …


Plga-Modified Nanoparticles For The Treatment Of Hypo-Vascularized Hpv-Related Cervical Cancers., Lee B. Sims May 2018

Plga-Modified Nanoparticles For The Treatment Of Hypo-Vascularized Hpv-Related Cervical Cancers., Lee B. Sims

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A major challenge associated with delivery of active agents in the female reproductive tract (FRT) is the ability of agents to efficiently diffuse through the cervicovaginal mucosa (CVM) and reach the underlying sub-epithelial immune cell layer and vasculature. A variety of drug delivery vehicles have been employed to improve the delivery of agents across the CVM and offer the capability to increase the longevity and retention of active agents to treat infections of the female reproductive tract. Nanoparticles (NPs) have been shown to improve retention, diffusion, and cell-specific targeting via specific surface modifications, relative to other delivery platforms. In particular, …


Mechanism Of Interaction Of Peptide Modified Nanoparticles With Porphyromonas Gingivalis., Ankita Jain Dec 2016

Mechanism Of Interaction Of Peptide Modified Nanoparticles With Porphyromonas Gingivalis., Ankita Jain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies suggest that P. gingivalis functions as a keystone pathogen and interacts with primary colonizers in the supragingival biofilm such as S. gordonii. This interaction contributes to the initial colonization of the oral cavity by P. gingivalis and thus represents a potential target for therapeutic intervention. We have identified a peptide (BAR) derived from the streptococcal SspB protein that functions to inhibit P. gingivalis adherence to S. gordonii. In addition, we showed that nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with BAR inhibit this interaction more potently than free soluble peptide, possibly by promoting interaction with P. gingivalis at higher valency than …


Synthesis And Functional Evaluation Of Peptide Modified Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) Nanoparticles To Inhibit Porphyromonas Gingivalis Biofilm Formation., Paridhi Kalia Dec 2015

Synthesis And Functional Evaluation Of Peptide Modified Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) Nanoparticles To Inhibit Porphyromonas Gingivalis Biofilm Formation., Paridhi Kalia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periodontal disease is an oral inflammatory disorder that afflicts roughly 46% of the adults in the U.S. Currently, treatment of periodontal disease involves the removal of plaque from the gingival pocket (with possible antibiotic treatment) and if necessary, gingival surgery. To our knowledge, no therapeutic approach exists that promotes host-biofilm homeostasis by limiting pathogen recolonization of the oral cavity after prophylaxis or treatment. The interaction of the pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis with commensal streptococci is critical for initiation of periodontitis and represents a target for limiting P. gingivalis colonization of the oral cavity. Previous studies showed that a synthetic peptide …


Investigation Of Stabilization Mechanisms For Colloidal Suspension Using Nanoparticles., Qingwen He Aug 2014

Investigation Of Stabilization Mechanisms For Colloidal Suspension Using Nanoparticles., Qingwen He

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, charged nanoparticles have been found to enhance the stability of colloidal suspensions. One promising explanation of this stabilization mechanism is “Nanoparticle Haloing”- the formation of a non-adsorbing nanoparticle layer surrounding neutral colloids that would induce an effective electrostatic repulsion between them. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of additional charged nanoparticles on the interaction between neural colloids in nanoparticle-regulated complex fluids. Firstly, colloidal probe Atomic Force Microscopy (CP-AFM) is used to directly measure the interaction force in such system with nanoparticle volume fractions varying from 10-6 to 10-2. It is found that …


Development Of A Light-Powered Microstructure : Enhancing Thermal Actuation With Near-Infrared Absorbent Gold Nanoparticles., Thomas Matthew Lucas May 2014

Development Of A Light-Powered Microstructure : Enhancing Thermal Actuation With Near-Infrared Absorbent Gold Nanoparticles., Thomas Matthew Lucas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Development of microscale actuating technologies has considerably added to the toolset for interacting with natural components at the cellular level. Small-scale actuators and switches have potential in areas such as microscale pumping and particle manipulation. Thermal actuation has been used with asymmetric geometry to create large deflections with high force relative to electrostatically driven systems. However, many thermally based techniques require a physical connection for power and operate outside the temperature range conducive for biological studies and medical applications. The work presented here describes the design of an out-of-plane bistable switch that responds to near-infrared light with wavelength-specific response. In …