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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Nanoformulation For Anticancer Drug Delivery: Enhanced Pharmacokinetics And Circulation, Gaurav Parekh Jul 2015

Nanoformulation For Anticancer Drug Delivery: Enhanced Pharmacokinetics And Circulation, Gaurav Parekh

Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, we have explored the application of the Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assembly technique for improving injectable drug delivery systems of low soluble anticancer drugs (e.g. Camptothecin (CPT), Paclitaxel (PTX) or Doxorubicin (DOX)). For this study, a polyelectrolyte shell encapsulates different types of drug nanocores (e.g. soft core, nanomicelle or solid lipid nanocores).The low soluble drugs tend to crystallize and precipitate in an aqueous medium. This is the reason they cannot be injected and may have low concentrations and low circulation time in the blood. Even though these drugs when present in the cancer microenvironment have high anti-tumor inhibition, the …


Nano Scale Mechanical Analysis Of Biomaterials Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Diganta Dutta Jul 2015

Nano Scale Mechanical Analysis Of Biomaterials Using Atomic Force Microscopy, Diganta Dutta

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a probe-based microscope that uses nanoscale and structural imaging where high resolution is desired. AFM has also been used in mechanical, electrical, and thermal engineering applications. This unique technique provides vital local material properties like the modulus of elasticity, hardness, surface potential, Hamaker constant, and the surface charge density from force versus displacement curve. Therefore, AFM was used to measure both the diameter and mechanical properties of the collagen nanostraws in human costal cartilage. Human costal cartilage forms a bridge between the sternum and bony ribs. The chest wall of some humans is deformed …


Freezing-Induced Deformation Of Biomaterials In Cryomedicine, Altug Ozcelikkale Apr 2015

Freezing-Induced Deformation Of Biomaterials In Cryomedicine, Altug Ozcelikkale

Open Access Dissertations

Cryomedicine utilizes low temperature treatments of biological proteins, cells and tissues for cryopreservation, materials processing and cryotherapy. Lack of proper understanding of cryodamage that occurs during these applications remains to be the primary bottleneck for development of successful tissue cryopreservation and cryosurgery procedures. An engineering approach based on a view of biological systems as functional biomaterials can help identify, predict and control the primary cryodamage mechanisms by developing an understanding of underlying freezing-induced biophysical processes. In particular, freezing constitutes the main structural/mechanical origin of cryodamage and results in significant deformation of biomaterials at multiple length scales. Understanding of these freezing-induced …


Improving Practices In Nanomedicine Through Near Real-Time Pharmacokinetic Analysis, Isidro B. Magana Jan 2015

Improving Practices In Nanomedicine Through Near Real-Time Pharmacokinetic Analysis, Isidro B. Magana

Doctoral Dissertations

More than a decade into the development of gold nanoparticles, with multiple clinical trials underway, ongoing pre-clinical research continues towards better understanding in vivo interactions. The goal is treatment optimization through improved best practices. In an effort to collect information for healthcare providers enabling informed decisions in a relevant time frame, instrumentation for real-time plasma concentration (multi-wavelength photoplethysmography) and protocols for rapid elemental analysis (energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence) of biopsied tumor tissue have been developed in a murine model. An initial analysis, designed to demonstrate the robust nature and utility of the techniques, revealed that area under the bioavailability curve …


Biomimetic Oral Mucin From Polymer Micelle Networks, Sundar Prasanth Authimoolam Jan 2015

Biomimetic Oral Mucin From Polymer Micelle Networks, Sundar Prasanth Authimoolam

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Mucin networks are formed by the complexation of bottlebrush-like mucin glycoprotein with other small molecule glycoproteins. These glycoproteins create nanoscale strands that then arrange into a nanoporous mesh. These networks play an important role in ensuring surface hydration, lubricity and barrier protection. In order to understand the functional behavior in mucin networks, it is important to decouple their chemical and physical effects responsible for generating the fundamental property-function relationship. To achieve this goal, we propose to develop a synthetic biomimetic mucin using a layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition approach. In this work, a hierarchical 3-dimensional structures resembling natural mucin networks was generated …


Comparison Of Glucose, Fructose And Sucrose Amperometric And Thermal Sensors For Detection Of Carbohydrates In Living Plant Tissue, Scott Mcadoo Jan 2015

Comparison Of Glucose, Fructose And Sucrose Amperometric And Thermal Sensors For Detection Of Carbohydrates In Living Plant Tissue, Scott Mcadoo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ecologists currently cannot test concentrations of carbohydrates in sap in vivo. Testing carbohydrates with current technology would require destructive tissue sampling. The tissue sampling involves large amounts of time and money to collect and test. Aphids are an insect that can bypass a tree’s passive immune system and feed off a phloem region for weeks. A series of enzymatic biosensors could be used to detect the concentration changes of specific carbohydrates. A calcium chelant can be added to defeat a tree’s immune system like an aphid. The detection of three carbohydrates, fructose, glucose and sucrose are involved in this study. …


Creation Of A 3d Construct To Aid Cell Migration And Promote Cell Capture, Joseph Michael Sanders Jan 2015

Creation Of A 3d Construct To Aid Cell Migration And Promote Cell Capture, Joseph Michael Sanders

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Most cancer-related deaths are attributed to metastasis. The tumor microenvironment is a complex environment which is not fully understood. The Nano Intravital Device (NANIVID) is a versatile, biocompatible device that allows for the manipulation of the tumor microenvironment in vitro and in vivo, providing a platform to study various aspects of tumor progression. The purpose of this study is to modify the NANIVID to resemble the tumor microenvironment in order to allow for a seamless transition from the in vivo environment into the engineered environment within the NANIVID. This engineered microenvironment will promote cell migration and cell capture. It has …


Bioengineering In Vitro Human Trabecular Meshwork Models For Glaucoma Therapeutic Screening, Karen Yud Torrejon Jan 2015

Bioengineering In Vitro Human Trabecular Meshwork Models For Glaucoma Therapeutic Screening, Karen Yud Torrejon

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Glaucoma refers to a group of slowly progressing eye disorders that lead to damage to the optic nerve, resulting in irreversible vision loss. Recent statistics by the World Health Organization places glaucoma as a leading cause of blindness worldwide, affecting nearly 80 million people. Lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) is currently the only effective target for therapeutic intervention in glaucoma. IOP is mostly controlled by the outflow of the aqueous humor (AH) through the trabecular meshwork (TM). The TM and adjacent endothelium of Schlemm’s canal, known as the conventional outflow-tract, control AH outflow and thus determine IOP.


Brown Adipogenesis Of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells In Alginate Microstrands, Andrea Mannarino Unser Jan 2015

Brown Adipogenesis Of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells In Alginate Microstrands, Andrea Mannarino Unser

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The ability of brown adipocytes (fat cells) to dissipate energy as heat shows great promise for the treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders. Employing pluripotent stem cells, with an emphasis on directed differentiation, may overcome many issues currently associated with primary fat cell cultures. However, brown adipocytes are difficult to transplant in vivo due to the instability of fat, in terms of necrosis and neovascularization, once injected. Thus, 3D cell culture systems that have the potential to mimic adipogenic microenvironments are needed, not only to advance brown fat implantation, but also to better understand the role of brown adipocytes …