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Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Biophysical Features Of The Extracellular Matrix Direct Breast Cancer Metastasis, Alyssa Schwartz
Biophysical Features Of The Extracellular Matrix Direct Breast Cancer Metastasis, Alyssa Schwartz
Doctoral Dissertations
Breast cancer is plagued by two key clinical challenges; drug resistance and metastasis. Most work to date probes these events on an extremely rigid plastic surface, which recapitulates few aspects of these processes in humans. A malignant cell first resides in breast tissue, then likely travels to the bone, brain, liver, or lung, each of which has a distinct mechanical and biochemical profile. Cells transmit mechanical forces into intracellular tension and biochemical signaling events, and here we hypothesize that this mechanotransduction influences drug response, growth, and migration. To probe the impact of extracellular matrix on drug resistance, we defined a …
Polymeric Peptide Mimics For Protein Delivery, Coralie Backlund
Polymeric Peptide Mimics For Protein Delivery, Coralie Backlund
Doctoral Dissertations
The plasma membrane is a major obstacle in the development and use of biomacromolecules for intracellular applications. Consequently, proteins with intracellular targets represent an enormous, yet under studied avenue for therapeutics. Extended research has aimed at facilitating intracellular delivery of exogenous proteins using protein transduction domains (PTDs), which allow transport of bioactive molecules into cells. Synthetic polymers, inspired by PTDs, provide a well-controlled platform to vary molecular architecture for structure activity relationship studies. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the use of ring-opening metathesis, a facile and efficient polymerization technique, through which we can vary structural parameters to optimize delivery of …