Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Poly(Ester Amide) And Poly(Ethyl Glyoxylate) Nanoparticles For Controlled Drug Release, Amira Mohamed Moustafa

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The objective of this research was to develop polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) having improved drug release properties for drug delivery. Poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) are promising biodegradable polymers. PEA NPs were prepared via emulsification-evaporation and salting-out methods and optimized through by varying different processing parameters. Polymer-model drug conjugates based on PEAs containing L-aspartic acid and rhodamine B were synthesized and used for NP preparation. Release behavior was studied and compared to a control system with physically encapsulated rhodamine B. It was shown that the release of rhodamine B from the covalent system did not show the burst effect and exhibited a slower …

Advances In Image Acquisition And Filtering For Mri Neuroimaging At 7 Tesla, Andrew T. Curtis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Performing magnetic resonance imaging at high magnetic field strength promises many improvements over low fields that are of direct benefit in functional neuroimaging. This includes the possibility of improved signal-to-noise levels, and increased BOLD functional contrast and spatial specificity. However, human MRI at 7T and above suffers from unique engineering challenges that limit the achievable gains. In this thesis, three technological developments are introduced, all of which address separate issues associated with functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging at very high magnetic field strengths.

First, the image homogeneity problem is addressed by investigating methods of RF shimming — modifying the excitation portion …

Plasmonic Optical Sensors: Performance Analysis And Engineering Towards Biosensing, Peipei Jia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing for quantitative analysis of chemical reactions and biological interactions has become one of the most promising applications of plasmonics. This thesis focuses on performance analysis for plasmonic sensors and implementation of plamonic optical sensors with novel nanofabrication techniques.

A universal performance analysis model is established for general two-dimensional plasmonic sensors. This model is based on the fundamental facts of surface plasmon theory. The sensitivity only depends on excitation light wavelength as well as dielectric properties of metal and dielectrics. The expression involves no structure-specified parameters, which validates this formula in broad cases of periodic, quasiperiodic …

Surface Functionalization And Bioconjugation Of Nanoparticles For Biomedical Applications, Longyan Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Colloidal inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) have been attracting considerable interest in biomedicine, from drug and gene delivery to imaging, sensing and diagnostics. It is essential to modify the surface of nanoparticles to have enhanced biocompatibility and functionality for the in vitro and in vivo applications, especially in delivering locally and recognizing biomolecules. Herein, the goal of this research work is to develop advanced NPs with well-tailored surface functionalities and/or bio-functionality for the applications in cell tracking and analytes detection.

In the first project, quantum dots incorporating with gelatin nanoparticles (QDs-GNPs) have been developed for bioimaging applications. Two different approaches have been …

Image Fusion And Axial Labeling Of The Spine, Brandon Miles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In order to improve radiological diagnosis of back pain and spine disease, two new algorithms have been developed to aid the 75% of Canadians who will suffer from back pain in a given year. With the associated medical imaging required for many of these patients, there is a potential for improvement in both patient care and healthcare economics by increasing the accuracy and efficiency of spine diagnosis. A real-time spine image fusion system and an automatic vertebra/disc labeling system have been developed to address this. Both magnetic resonance (MR) images and computed tomography (CT) images are often acquired for patients. …