Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Effects Of Cell Adhesion Peptides, Ph, And Matrix Shape On Maintenance Of Breast Cancer Stem Cells In An Engineered Hydrogel Matrix, Leily Daneshian

Theses and Dissertations

Metastasis, resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy, and eventual relapse has been attributed to a tumor subpopulation known as cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs are regulated in their tumor microenvironment by various factors. Synthetic hydrogels can be used to investigate the effects of individual environmental factors on CSCs by providing inert 3D matrices. In this thesis, poly ethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel with 5kpa modulus has been used as a culture system to study the effect of; I) integrin and heparin binding peptides, 2) pH, and 3) the shape of the microenvironment on breast CSCs maintenance and tumorsphere formation in PEGDA. …

New Design Of Nasogastric Decompression Tube That Incorporates A Self-Cleaning Brushing Mechanism, Nichole Abla, Lindsay Rucker, Paige Schroder

Senior Theses

Many hospitalized patients require the removal of secretions that accumulate in the stomach and must be removed by a nasogastric tube, which unfortunately clogs often. This project outlines the redesign of the nasogastric tube that will ideally prevent nasogastric tube clogging by incorporating a brush mechanism and a contracting tip mechanism, to act as preventative measures against clogging.

Material Considerations For Development Of 3d Printed Bronchial And Tracheal Stents, Nidah M. Hussain

Theses and Dissertations

Tracheobronchial malacia is a commonly under-diagnosed condition that results in difficulty breathing. The use of a tracheobronchial stent is the best course of treatment for patients whose quality of life has deteriorated due to malacia; unfortunately stents need replacing after issues with inflammation, migration, or eventual stent-breakdown resulting in fistula formation.

The purpose of this thesis is to use three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to improve on existing stents through designing and printing a bioresorbable/biodegradable tracheobronchial stent that can treat tracheobronchial malacia. This was undertaken by testing three biologically favorable materials, type I collagen, polycaprolactone (PCL), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), with …

Design And Development Of A Ventilation Chamber For Testing Efficacy Of Tracheal Stents, Caroline N. Horton

Theses and Dissertations

Tracheobronchial malacia results in a weakening of the tracheal walls, leading to increased difficulty breathing. Stents are used to reopen the lumen of the trachea, however, current models are not personalized to each patient, leading to migration, inflammation, and breakage of the stents. In order to successfully test novel stent designs, a ventilation chamber is needed to recreate the breathing conditions of the body.

The following describes the iterative development of a ventilation chamber, which allows inflation and deflation of lungs via negative pressure ventilation, as representative of an actual body undergoing respiration. Previous work shows that lungs are not …