Engineering Commons^™

Sustained Dual Drug Delivery Of Anti-Inhibitory Molecules For Spinal Cord Injury Treatment, Thomas Wilems

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Regeneration of lost synaptic connections following spinal cord injury (SCI) is limited due to local ischemia, cell death, and an excitotoxic environment, which leads to the development of an inhibitory glial scar surrounding a cystic cavity. Myelin-associated inhibitors (MAIs) and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are major inhibitors to axon growth inhibition found within the glial scar and limit functional recovery. The NEP1-40 peptide competitively binds the Nogo receptor and partially blocks inhibition from MAIs, while chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) enzymatically digests CSPGs, which are upregulated at the site of injury. The first part of this work develops drug delivery systems which …

Thrombin-Inhibiting Perfluorocarbon Nanoparticles: A New Class Of Therapeutic For Acute Thrombosis Treatment And Diagnosis, Jacob Wheatley Myerson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Optimization of the mediation of acute thrombi remains a significant research challenge in the treatment of emergency conditions including heart attack and ischemic stroke. We have demonstrated that a nanoparticle carrying potent direct thrombin inhibitors can advance the treatment of acute thrombosis arising from various cardiovascular pathologies. The thrombin-inhibiting nanoparticles presented herein are designed to focus the antithrombotic impact of direct thrombin inhibitors at the site of thrombus formation and to provide imaging contrast to highlight the formation or the abatement and eventual disintegration of the thrombus.

Perfluorocarbon nanoparticles were functionalized by covalent addition of PPACK or bivalirudin to carboxy-PEG …