Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Scaffold And Tissue Based Therapies To Improve Skeletal Muscle Regeneration After Volumetric Muscle Loss, Benjamin Kasukonis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is an injury to skeletal muscle characterized by a loss of more than 20% of a muscles volume. The combination of the bulk loss of tissue, transection and separation of myofibers proximal and distal to the injury, loss of innervation and blood supply, and the depletion of muscle progenitor cells results in permanent fibrosis and functional deficits due to loss of contractile tissue. Scaffolds, cells, and engineered constructs have been explored as potential therapeutic interventions to induce myogenesis at the site of a VML injury in animal models, in addition to limited clinical trials. This dissertation …

Modulation Of Valve Interstitial Cell Function Through Cell Shape And Phenotype, Atefeh Razavi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aortic valve is a highly dynamic structure responding to actively to the chemical, mechanical and physical cues of the valve microenvironment. Valve interstitial cells are dispersed throughout the valve tissue and play an important role in maintaining the integrity and optimum function of the valve. They are a heterogeneous population composed of various phenotype. These phenotypes have specific functions characteristic of valve physiological and pathological conditions. The effect of mechanical loading and chemical modulators on the behavior of the valve interstitial cells have largely been studied. However the role of valve interstitial cell shape as an intrinsic physical cue …

Capillary Electrophoresis For Analysis Of Aβ1-42 Adsorption And Photo-Crosslinking, Jennifer Lynn Kurtz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) oligomers is believed to be the driving force behind Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. Due to the metastable nature of Aβ oligomers, the knowledge of Aβ aggregation and accumulation is not well understood. Here, we use capillary electrophoresis (CE) and photo-induced crosslinking of unmodified proteins (PICUP) to learn about the aggregation of Aβ.

First, we explore the effect of capillary coating on Aβ1-42 protein loss using CE. The dynamic coatings tested were PHEA and 50 kDa, 2000 kDa, 5000 kDa, and 8000 kDa PEO. The covalent coating tested was PVA. The results indicated that 2000 kDa …

Characterization Of Human Muscle Extracellular Matrix, Lauren Klaire Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The performance of extracellular matrix (ECM) biological scaffolds for the treatment of volumetric muscle loss (VML) has shown promising results with regenerating native muscle in animal models and human patients. However, the limitations of these scaffolds include non-specific characteristics based on the original parameters of the muscle that is lost and this is why our group chose to characterize human skeletal ECM. By understanding the characteristics of the native human skeletal ECM, more desired queues for the biological scaffolds being used to treat VML can be provided. Upper limb and lower limb skeletal muscles were commercially obtained, decellularized using common …

Thermoelectric Elisa For Quantification Of 8ohdg In A Microfluidic Device, Gergana Nestorova

Doctoral Dissertations

This research demonstrates the feasibility of a novel method for performing thermoelectric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in a microfluidic device. The feasibility of the thermoelectric ELISA is demonstrated by measuring the concentration of 8-hydroxy 2-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) in urine samples from amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice. The detection method is based on formation of a complex between 8OHdG and anti-8OHdG capture antibody conjugated to biotin. The complex is immobilized over the measuring junctions of a thermopile via biotin streptavidin interaction. The concentration of the analyte is determined by using enzyme linked secondary IgG antibody specific to the primary one. The …

Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofiber Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering, Andreas Haukas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stem cell and tissue engineering offer us with a unique opportunity to research and develop new therapies for treating various diseases that are otherwise incurable using traditional medicines. However, development of these new therapies replies upon the establishment of in vitro cell culture and differentiation systems that mimic in vivo microenvironments required for cell-cell and cell-ECM interaction. The development of these cell culture systems depends upon the identification of appropriate biomaterials and cell sources. Biomaterials should be carefully selected and fabricated into scaffolds for supporting cell growth and differentiation. In this study, we explored the fabrication of 3D electrospun nanofiber …

Development Of A Microfluidic Device Coupled To Microdialysis Sampling For The Pre-Concentration Of Cytokines, Randy Francisco Espinal Cabrera

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A proof-of-concept microfluidic device combined with heparin-immobilized magnetic beads was created to concentrate cytokine proteins collected from microdialysis samples. Cytokines are known to be related to several diseases such as cancer, and Parkinson's diseases, so to be able to develop more effective diseases treatments their interactions have to be well understood. Amine-functionalized polystyrene and carboxyl-functionalized magnetic microspheres of ~6.0 ìm in diameter were used to immobilize heparin. The amount of heparin immobilized on polystyrene beads was 5.82 x 10-8 ± 0.36 x 10-8 M per 1.0 x 106 beads and for magnetic beads was 0.64 x 10-8 ± 0.01 x …