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Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Preparation And Characterization Of Functionalized Heparin-Loaded Poly-Ɛ-Caprolactone Fibrous Mats To Prevent Infection With Human Papillomaviruses, Daniela Gonzalez, Jorge Ragusa, Peter C. Angeletti, Gustavo F. Larsen Jul 2018

Preparation And Characterization Of Functionalized Heparin-Loaded Poly-Ɛ-Caprolactone Fibrous Mats To Prevent Infection With Human Papillomaviruses, Daniela Gonzalez, Jorge Ragusa, Peter C. Angeletti, Gustavo F. Larsen

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this study, heparin-loaded poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) fibrous mats were prepared and characterized based on their physical, cytotoxic, thermal, and biological properties. The main objective of the work described here was to test the hypothesis that incorporation of heparin into a PCL carrier could serve as bio-compatible material capable of inhibiting Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The idea of firmly anchoring heparin to capture soluble virus, vs. a slow heparin release to inhibit a virus in solution was tested. Thus, one material was produced via conventional heparin matrix encapsulation and electrohydrodynamic fiber processing in one step. A second type of material was …


Using Synthetic Lethality To Sensitize Pediatric Brain Cancer Cells To The Dna Damaging Effects Of Radiation Therapy, Megan Ruckman, Rose Nelson, Forrest Kievit Jul 2018

Using Synthetic Lethality To Sensitize Pediatric Brain Cancer Cells To The Dna Damaging Effects Of Radiation Therapy, Megan Ruckman, Rose Nelson, Forrest Kievit

UCARE Research Products

Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer related deaths in children. As a treatment, radiotherapy is very effective, but it also comes with many severe side effects, such as radiation-induced adverse developmental and psychosocial effects.2 Cancer, because it is a mutagenic disease, is by definition a disease of DNA repair pathways. Here we utilize drugs to inhibit various DNA repair pathways with the purpose of sensitizing cancer cells to radiotherapy so that lower doses may be used. Hopefully this would improve the lifelong outcomes of patients that would otherwise not survive or would be left with lifelong neurocognitive …


Eigenstrain As A Mechanical Set-Point Of Cells, Shengmao Lin, Marsha C. Lampi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, Gary C.P. Tsui, Jian Wang, Carl A. Nelson, Linxia Gu Feb 2018

Eigenstrain As A Mechanical Set-Point Of Cells, Shengmao Lin, Marsha C. Lampi, Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, Gary C.P. Tsui, Jian Wang, Carl A. Nelson, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Cell contraction regulates how cells sense their mechanical environment. We sought to identify the set-point of cell contraction, also referred to as tensional homeostasis. In this work, bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs), cultured on substrates with different stiffness, were characterized using traction force microscopy (TFM). Numerical models were developed to provide insights into the mechanics of cell–substrate interactions. Cell contraction was modeled as eigenstrain which could induce isometric cell contraction without external forces. The predicted traction stresses matched well with TFM measurements. Furthermore, our numerical model provided cell stress and displacement maps for inspecting the fundamental regulating mechanism of cell …