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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Talens: Genome Surgery, Carson Harms, Serena Lerkantitham Jun 2014

Talens: Genome Surgery, Carson Harms, Serena Lerkantitham

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Genetic engineering has always held great opportunity for the field of gene therapy. If the cause of a genetic disease can be determined, correction of this gene would allow for an efficient and permanent cure. However, current technologies utilizing engineered retroviruses have serious drawbacks that significantly limit their practical applications for gene therapy. In this project we investigate a novel genetic editing technology called TALENs. By utilizing a modular protein isolated from a plant pathogen that can be quickly and efficiently redesigned to recognize and bind to any desired sequence of DNA combined with a nuclease, we can target a …


Engineering An In Vitro Metastasis Platform, Justus Carlisle, Mark-Phillip Pebworth Jun 2014

Engineering An In Vitro Metastasis Platform, Justus Carlisle, Mark-Phillip Pebworth

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Although metastasis is the primary cause of cancer deaths and results in 90% of all cancer fatalities currently, all attempts to discover anti-metastatic drugs have failed. Many of the traditional methods of studying cell migration, using two-dimensional (2D) platforms, only study two-dimensional migration, which is fundamentally different and more multifaceted than the three-dimensional migration that occurs in vivo. To more accurately capture this in vivo variation, we developed a two-and-a-half-dimensional (2.5D) cell culture platform to better study three-dimensional (3D) migration. This platform consists of a layer of alginate on top of a monolayer of cells grown on tissue culture polystyrene …


Reverse Protein Engineering Of Firefly Luciferase, Kahler Bugtong, Skyler Herczeg, Abraham Munoz, Alexandra Obata Jun 2014

Reverse Protein Engineering Of Firefly Luciferase, Kahler Bugtong, Skyler Herczeg, Abraham Munoz, Alexandra Obata

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Firefly luciferase is a bioluminescent protein commonly used as a bioluminescent tag in biological studies and applications. However, because the protein is fairly large in size, it is sometimes larger than the molecules it is intended to measure and is therefore not a sufficient tag in smaller applications. The active site of firely luciferase is also not well understood, making it difficult to engineer the protein without affecting its bioluminescent activity. In this paper, we discuss the experimental methods of Reverse Protein Engineering: a bioengineering technology that reduces the size of a protein while retaining its original function. This involves …


Genome Editing Of Human Ipscs Using The Cas9 System, Cade Ellis Ito, Nick Wolfe Jun 2014

Genome Editing Of Human Ipscs Using The Cas9 System, Cade Ellis Ito, Nick Wolfe

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Recent research advancements in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have broadened their capacity for research in specific disease models3 need for effective and robust techniques to detect cell differentiation. Two techniques currently exist to determine cell type; morphology and immunostaining. Although they have been used by researchers for many years, these methods can be unreliable, time-consuming, and very uneconomical. We seek to create a technology that will be more accurate and efficient in detecting differentiation of iPSCs. This will allow researchers greater speed in screening for specific differentiation products, further increasing the utility of iPSCs in medical research. We will …


Molecular And Device Engineering Towards The Study Of Potential Anti-Mrsa Agents, Powell Fansler, Karla Geisse, Ryan Marshall Jun 2014

Molecular And Device Engineering Towards The Study Of Potential Anti-Mrsa Agents, Powell Fansler, Karla Geisse, Ryan Marshall

Bioengineering Senior Theses

At the intersection of bio-device engineering and bio-pharmaceutical studies, our project involved the design of a hydraulic manifold to be used in isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), with the ultimate goal of using ITC to study the thermodynamic binding parameters of potential anti-Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) agents to our drug target, Sortase A. The hydraulic manifold redesign included the analysis of materials such as high density polyethylene (HDPE), polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE, ‘Teflon’), and polycarbonate as well as the implementation of a new construct of the manifold itself. Sortase A is a transpeptidase found in Gram-positive bacteria and catalyses the attachment of …


Electrochemical Detection Of Arsenic Using A Microfluidic Sensing Platform, Ben Demaree, Allie Sibole, Jessica Vandergiessen Jun 2014

Electrochemical Detection Of Arsenic Using A Microfluidic Sensing Platform, Ben Demaree, Allie Sibole, Jessica Vandergiessen

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a global health problem affecting millions of people. Long-term exposure to arsenic has been linked to a variety of cancerous and non-cancerous health effects. Current diagnostic technologies for arsenic quantification are limited to either inaccurate colorimetric methods or expensive, off-site lab assays, which are unsuitable for resource-limited settings. To address this need for an affordable and rapid means of sensitive arsenic detection, our design project focuses on the design and fabrication of the first point-of-use microfluidic device capable of electrochemical detection and quantification of arsenic levels in groundwater sources. We fabricate our device rapidly and …


Design Of A Methane-To-Methanol Conversion Device, Pankti Doshi, Jessica Garcia Jun 2014

Design Of A Methane-To-Methanol Conversion Device, Pankti Doshi, Jessica Garcia

Bioengineering Senior Theses

The purpose of this project was to develop a device that will make natural gas, primarily methane, an efficient and economical fuel alternative as the world’s petroleum supply is diminished. Presently, methane gas is too costly and dangerous to convert to methanol. The direct oxidation of methane can reduce the processing and transportation costs creating a competitive alternative to petroleum. This device will be marketable to companies interested in alternative fuel sources competitive with petroleum. Entrepreneurs are then expected step in and develop a global market. With the development of our prototypes and running methane and oxygen (or atmospheric oxygen) …


Protein Engineering Of Luciferase To Enhance Bioluminescent Properties, Charles Schwab, Peter Wittig Jun 2014

Protein Engineering Of Luciferase To Enhance Bioluminescent Properties, Charles Schwab, Peter Wittig

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Bioluminescence is the ability of naturally occurring organisms to emit light. Many instances of bioluminescence have been identified ranging from fireflies to bacteria. The protein responsible for bioluminescence in all of these organisms is luciferase. The exact function and structure of this protein are still unknown to this day. This project aims at better understanding luciferase as well as enhancing its bioluminescent properties. In order to work with luciferase, we had to isolate all of the genes necessary for bioluminescence. The six genes necessary for bioluminescence are Lux A,B,C,D,E,G. We isolated each of these genes from original bacterial DNA. We …


Designing A Biomimetic Primary Cell-Based 3d Culture System For Neurotoxicity Screening, Teresa Cauvel, Jessca Kosit, Nicolo Mendoza Jun 2014

Designing A Biomimetic Primary Cell-Based 3d Culture System For Neurotoxicity Screening, Teresa Cauvel, Jessca Kosit, Nicolo Mendoza

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Culturing neurons in vitro is a challenging task because they are a highly specialized cell type that reside in a complex and unique environment in the body. The aim of the research presented in the following thesis was to design a biomimetic, three-dimensional scaffold capable of (1) promoting primary neuron maturation and axonal outgrowth and (2) serving as a system for toxicology screening. In the system presented here, neurons were cultured in three-dimensional hydrogels, simulating the physiological environment that these cells experience within the body. In doing so, a biologically relevant response was elicited upon their exposure to acrylamide, a …


Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis, Scott Hardy, Daniel Schull, Mark Vinopal Jun 2014

Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis, Scott Hardy, Daniel Schull, Mark Vinopal

Bioengineering Senior Theses

For the study of neuromodulation in Cancer borealis we have designed a microfluidic device to separate and detect bioamine concentrations with a high temporal resolution. Our goal is to use this device to measure the concentration of continuous bioamine microdialysis samples directly from the pericardial cavity (the area surrounding the heart) of Cancer borealis. The microfluidic device that we designed is made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and exhibits an off-channel configuration of capillary electrophoresis (CE) by incorporating micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). CE is used to separate bioamines based on charge and size due to the applied electrical potential. In the off-channel …