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Full-Text Articles in Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering

Ontogenetic Scaling Patterns And Functional Anatomy Of The Pelvic Limb Musculature In Emus (Dromaius Novaehollandiae), Luis P. Lamas, Russell P. Main, John R. Hutchinson Dec 2014

Ontogenetic Scaling Patterns And Functional Anatomy Of The Pelvic Limb Musculature In Emus (Dromaius Novaehollandiae), Luis P. Lamas, Russell P. Main, John R. Hutchinson

Department of Basic Medical Sciences Faculty Publications

Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) are exclusively terrestrial, bipedal and cursorial ratites with some similar biomechanical characteristics to humans. Their growth rates are impressive, as their body mass increases eighty-fold from hatching to adulthood whilst maintaining the same mode of locomotion throughout life. These ontogenetic characteristics stimulate biomechanical questions about the strategies that allow emus to cope with their rapid growth and locomotion, which can be partly addressed via scaling (allometric) analysis of morphology. In this study we have collected pelvic limb anatomical data (muscle architecture, tendon length, tendon mass and bone lengths) and calculated muscle physiological cross sectional area …


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 …


Mobile Audiometry Application, Kevin Nguyen, Shweta Panditrao Jun 2014

Mobile Audiometry Application, Kevin Nguyen, Shweta Panditrao

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

The Mobile Audiometry Application hopes to utilize the ubiquity of the mobile device by providing a means of healthcare focused on audiometry. This application enables a mobile device to perform audiometric testing to detect a user's hearing range, and notify the user whether he or she is suffering from hearing loss. This project seeks to fulfill a social need for increased access to hearing testing by providing a portable, affordable, and reliable screening tool that is accurate. The result was sleek application that provided a calibration method, executed an audiometry test using accurate and calibrated files, displayed the results graphically, …


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 …


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 …


Bioengineered Hearts, Rivky Loeb Jan 2014

Bioengineered Hearts, Rivky Loeb

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Heart disease is one of the highest causes for fatality in the world. Although many such diseases can be treated by a heart transplant, this in itself can cause countless problems. Aside from the high demand for donor hearts, there is the risk of the patient’s immune system rejecting the transplanted heart. A bioengineered heart would reduce the need for donor hearts, and thus save countless lives. Finding a suitable scaffold, obtaining appropriate cells, and ensuring that the tissue will function properly are the main focuses in creating an artificial heart. While most of the studies done have been concentrated …