Engineering Commons^™

Quantification Of Tumor-Associated Macrophages Following Immunomodulation Therapy In A Murine Allograft Model Of Colorectal Carcinoma, Caroline Spainhour

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Colorectal Carcinoma (CRC) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, with 150,000 new cases annually in the United States. Traditional treatments include chemotherapy and invasive surgery; however, research has shown that only 25% of patients that undergo traditional treatment have a positive result. Immunotherapy is an emerging form of cancer treatment that utilizes the patients’immune system to fight cancer cells by targeting inflammation, which plays a large role in the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are immune cells that affect the inflammatory microenvironment of tumors. TAMs are M1 in the early stages of tumors, …

Development And Evaluation Of Chitosan Particle Based Antigen Delivery Systems For Enhanced Antigen Specific Immune Response, Bhanuprasanth Koppolu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Particle-based vaccine delivery systems are under exploration to enhance antigen-specific immunity against safe but poorly immunogenic polypeptide antigens. Chitosan is a promising biomaterial for antigen encapsulation and delivery due to its ability to form nano- and microparticles in mild aqueous conditions thus preserving the antigenicity of loaded polypeptides. The objective of this work is to develop a chitosan particle based antigen delivery system for enhanced vaccine response. Chitosan particle sizes, which ranged from 300 nm to 3 ìm, were influenced by chitosan concentration, chitosan molecular weight and addition rate of precipitant salt. The composition of precipitant salt played a significant …