Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Elastin Like Polypeptides As Drug Delivery Vehicles In Regenerative Medicine Applications, Alex Leonard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Elastin like polypeptides (ELPs) are a class of naturally derived biomaterials that are non-immunogenic, genetically encodable, and biocompatible making them ideal for a variety of biomedical applications, ranging from drug delivery to tissue engineering. Also, ELPs undergo temperature-mediated inverse phase transitioning, which allows them to be purified in a relatively simple manner from bacterial expression hosts. Being able to genetically encode ELPs allows for the incorporation of bioactive peptides and functionalization of ELPs. This work utilizes ELPs for regenerative medicine and drug delivery.

The goal of the first study was to synthesize a biologically active epidermal growth factor-ELP (EGF-ELP) fusion …

Sic For Advanced Biological Applications, Joseph Register

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon carbide (SiC) has been used for centuries as an industrial abrasive and has been

actively researched since the 1960's as a robust material for power electronic applications.

Despite being the first semiconductor to emit blue light in 1907, it has only recently been

discovered that the material has crucial properties ideal for long-term, implantable biomedical

devices. This is due to the fact that the material offers superior biocompatibility and

hemocompatibility while providing rigid mechanical and chemical stability. In addition, the material

is a wide-bandgap semiconductor that can be used for optoelectronics, light delivery, and optical

sensors, which is the …

Fabricating And Characterizing Physical Properties Of Electrospun Polypeptide-Based Nanofibers, Dhan Bahadur Khadka

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation has aimed to fabricate polypeptide based biomaterial and characterize physical properties. Electrospinning is used as a tool for the sample fabrication. Project focused on determining the feasibility of electrospinning of certain synthetic polypeptides and certain elastin-like peptides from aqueous feedstocks and to characterize physical properties of polymer aqueous solution, cast film and spun fibers and fiber mats. The research involves peptide design, polymer electrospinning, fibers crosslinking, determining the extent of crosslinking, fibers protease degradation study, fibers stability and self-organization analysis, structure and composition determination by various spectroscopy and microscopy techniques and characterization of mechanical properties of individual suspended …

Cell Adhesion And Migration On Ndga Cross-Linked Fibrillar Collagen Matrices For Tendon Tissue Engineering, Ana Ysabel Rioja

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tendons, essential tissues that connect muscles to bones, are susceptible to rupture/degeneration due to their continuous use for enabling movement. Often surgical intervention is required to repair the tendon; relieving the pain and fixing the limited mobility that occurs from the damage. Unfortunately, post-surgery immobilization techniques required to restore tendon properties frequently lead to scar formation and reduced tendon range of motion. Our ultimate goal is to create an optimal tendon prosthetic that can stabilize the damaged muscle-bone connection and then be remodeled by resident cells from the surrounding tissues over time to ensure long-term function. To achieve this, we …