Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Enhancement Of Cancer Vaccine Efficacy Via Nanoparticle Or Molecular-Based Adjuvants, Myunggi An

Wayne State University Theses

Adjuvants are immunomodulators which enhance immune responses to vaccines. However, parenteral administration of unformulated adjuvants fails to reach lymph nodes (LNs), the anatomic organ where the primary functions of immune cells are orchestrated. The LN-targeting delivery plays the key roles in promoting immune activation and has the great potential to transform disease treatment. The main goal of this thesis is to develop efficient vaccine delivery systems to target therapeutics into draining lymph nodes (dLNs) for ensuring their immunostimulatory activity. We introduced therapeutic applications of activating TLR9 with synthetic CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) agonists in nanoparticle or molecular form to activate immune …

Quantitative Assessment Of Brain Iron Content As A Function Of Age Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Kiarash Ghassaban

Wayne State University Theses

As the most abundant transition metal in the brain, iron is known to play a key role in a variety of functional and cellular processes. Recent in vivo and post-mortem studies have shown that the levels of iron deposition in the brain, particularly in deep gray matter nuclei, vary as a function of age. On the other hand, elevated iron has also been associated with some neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) among others.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a widely used non-invasive and non-ionizing imaging modality which is sensitive to magnetic properties of materials …