Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Stability Of Silk And Collagen Protein Materials In Space, Xiao Hu, Waseem K. Raja, Bo An, Olena Tokareva, Peggy Cebe, David L. Kaplan

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Collagen and silk materials, in neat forms and as silica composites, were flown for 18 months on the International Space Station [Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE)-6] to assess the impact of space radiation on structure and function. As natural biomaterials, the impact of the space environment on films of these proteins was investigated to understand fundamental changes in structure and function related to the future utility in materials and medicine in space environments. About 15% of the film surfaces were etched by heavy ionizing particles such as atomic oxygen, the major component of the low-Earth orbit space environment. Unexpectedly, …

Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Thresholds For Nanopore Formation In Neural Cells., Caleb C Roth, Gleb P Tolstykh, Jason A Payne, Marjorie A Kuipers, Gary L. Thompson Iii, Mauris N Desilva, Bennett L Ibey

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

The persistent influx of ions through nanopores created upon cellular exposure to nanosecond pulse electric fields (nsPEF) could be used to modulate neuronal function. One ion, calcium (Ca(2+)), is important to action potential firing and regulates many ion channels. However, uncontrolled hyper-excitability of neurons leads to Ca(2+) overload and neurodegeneration. Thus, to prevent unintended consequences of nsPEF-induced neural stimulation, knowledge of optimum exposure parameters is required. We determined the relationship between nsPEF exposure parameters (pulse width and amplitude) and nanopore formation in two cell types: rodent neuroblastoma (NG108) and mouse primary hippocampal neurons (PHN). We identified thresholds for nanoporation using …

Coordinated Dynamic Gene Expression Changes In The Central Nucleus Of The Amygdala During Alcohol Withdrawal., Kate Freeman, Mary M. Staehle, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, Gregory E Gonye, Babatunde A Ogunnaike, Jan B Hoek, James S Schwaber

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

BACKGROUND: Chronic alcohol use causes widespread changes in the cellular biology of the amygdala's central nucleus (CeA), a GABAergic center that integrates autonomic physiology with the emotional aspects of motivation and learning. While alcohol-induced neurochemical changes play a role in dependence and drinking behavior, little is known about the CeA's dynamic changes during withdrawal, a period of emotional and physiologic disturbance.

METHODS: We used a qRT-PCR platform to measure 139 transcripts in 92 rat CeA samples from control (N = 33), chronically alcohol exposed (N = 26), and withdrawn rats (t = 4, 8, 18, 32, and 48 hours; N …