Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Atherosclerosis: Pathology, Role Of Sd-Ldl, Particle Size Characterization Of Sd-Ldl With Multiangle Light Scattering, Akshay Sudhakar Ukey

Masters Theses

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease due to the accumulation of lipids in the inner wall of arteries. As per the report of Center of Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in every 4 deaths is due to heart diseases each year. Atherosclerosis occurs when artery walls harden by the buildup of cholesterol, forming multiple atherosclerotic plaques within the aorta (4). Out of the modern medicines available to control cholesterol, statin is amongst the foremost widely used because it is both safe and effective in lowering high risk patients (9). However, usage of high statins dosage typically leads to some mild …

Incorporation Of Lignin In Natural And Synthetic Biomaterials To Alter Mechanical And Biochemical Properties For Enhanced Wound Healing, Jorge Alfonso Belgodere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

It is estimated that chronic, non-healing wounds affect more than 6.5 million Americans annually, with an estimated healthcare cost beyond $14 billion. Here, we attempted to create composites of natural (collagen type I or gelatin-methacrylate) or synthetic (poly(ethylene glycol) polymers incorporating a natural plant component, lignin, to combat the costs and limitations current wound healing methods face. Three-dimensional matrices of collagen type I (Col I) are widely used in tissue engineering applications for its abundance in many tissues, bioactivity with many cell types, and excellent biocompatibility. Inspired by the structural role of lignin in plant tissue, we found that sodium …

Thermostabilization Of Viruses Via Complex Coacervation, Xue Mi, Whitney C. Blocher Mctigue, Pratik Umesh Joshi, Mallory K. Bunker, Caryn L. Heldt, Sarah L. Perry

Michigan Tech Publications

Widespread vaccine coverage for viral diseases could save the lives of millions of people each year. For viral vaccines to be effective, they must be transported and stored in a narrow temperature range of 2–8 °C. If temperatures are not maintained, the vaccine may lose its potency and would no longer be effective in fighting disease; this is called the cold storage problem. Finding a way to thermally stabilize a virus and end the need to transport and store vaccines at refrigeration temperatures will increase access to life-saving vaccines. We explore the use of polymer-rich complex coacervates to stabilize viruses. …

Novel Application Of Graphene Oxide Based-Biosensor Utilizing Crispr/Dcas9 For Rapid Detection Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Joel Omage

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges globally. To combat this threat, we have designed a method for the facile and rapid detection of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) in bacteria. We utilized an emerging tool termed the clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) in complex with deactivated CRISPR associated proteins (dCas9) on conjugated 2-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) sheets. Nuclease-deactivated Cas9 in complex with customized single guided RNA (sgRNA) was used for the target DNA recognition. The sgRNA was easy to design and we demonstrated that it is complementary to its target sequence by performing a …

Nanoceria Distribution And Effects Are Mouse-Strain Dependent, Robert A. Yokel, Michael T. Tseng, D. Allan Butterfield, Matthew L. Hancock, Eric A. Grulke, Jason M. Unrine, Arnold J. Stromberg, Alan K. Dozier, Uschi M. Graham

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Prior studies showed nanoparticle clearance was different in C57BL/6 versus BALB/c mice, strains prone to Th1 and Th2 immune responses, respectively. Objective: Assess nanoceria (cerium oxide, CeO₂ nanoparticle) uptake time course and organ distribution, cellular and oxidative stress, and bioprocessing as a function of mouse strain. Methods: C57BL/6 and BALB/c female mice were i.p. injected with 10 mg/kg nanoceria or vehicle and terminated 0.5 to 24 h later. Organs were collected for cerium analysis; light and electron microscopy with elemental mapping; and protein carbonyl, IL-1β, and caspase-1 determination. Results: Peripheral organ cerium significantly increased, generally more …

Plasma And Serum Proteins Bound To Nanoceria: Insights Into Pathways By Which Nanoceria May Exert Its Beneficial And Deleterious Effects In Vivo, D. Allan Butterfield, Binghui Wang, Peng Wu, Sarita S. Hardas, Jason M. Unrine, Eric A. Grulke, Jian Cai, Jon B. Klein, William M. Pierce, Robert A. Yokel, Rukhsana Sultana

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Nanoceria (CeO2, cerium oxide nanoparticles) is proposed as a therapeutic for multiple disorders. In blood, nanoceria becomes protein-coated, changing its surface properties to yield a different presentation to cells. There is little information on the interaction of nanoceria with blood proteins. The current study is the first to report the proteomics identification of plasma and serum proteins adsorbed to nanoceria. The results identify a number of plasma and serum proteins interacting with nanoceria, proteins whose normal activities regulate numerous cell functions: antioxidant/detoxification, energy regulation, lipoproteins, signaling, complement, immune function, coagulation, iron homeostasis, proteolysis, inflammation, protein folding, protease inhibition, adhesion, protein/RNA …

Study Of Temperature Profile In Drying Process, Shaxnoza Abduvaxitovna Sultanova, Jasur Esirgapovich Safarov, Tojiniso Tursunboyevna Raxmanova

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

The article describes the simulation of the temperature field in a wide range of structural and operational parameters of the drying process. A qualitatively new representation of the temperature field profile in the chamber is revealed. As a result of the experiments, criteria were found for the unevenness of the temperature profiles on the pallets of the dispersion of the temperature of the material and the slope of the approximating line at fixed values of the average temperature of the substance. In the course of the work, an interrelation between the criteria of unevenness was revealed, which is clearly manifested …

Nature-Inspired Electrode Materials For Next Generation Sustainable Energy Storage, Mikhail Miroshnikov

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Despite revolutionizing the world of portable electronics, the contemporary lithium-ion battery (LIB) suffers from challenges associated with the cost, safety, and environmental impact of transition metal oxide-based intercalation cathodes. To alleviate these issues, naturally occurring organic molecules may serve as sustainable alternatives to traditional inorganic cathode materials. The electrochemical properties of organic compounds are derived from redox-active functional groups containing oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. Additionally, these functional groups are capable of coordinating metal ions beyond lithium, allowing for compatibility with sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and other earth abundant metal-based energy storage systems. However, despite competitive performance against commercialized cathode materials, much …

Peptoid And Antibody-Based Gfp Sensors, Solomon Isu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we have made and characterized a pair of immunobiosensors for detecting the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in an aqueous matrix. An anti-GFP antibody-based biosensor was assembled to detect GFP, while a novel peptoid (N-substituted oligomers of glycine designated as IOS-1) biosensor was also assembled for GFP detection. A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) gold sensor was used as the supporting substrate for self-assembly of the immunobiosensors. Gravimetric measurements of the QCM gold sensor during immunobiosensor construction and operation were available in real-time using a QCM instrument. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Fluorescence microscopy were used …

Current Status Of Magnetic Resonance On Saliva For Oral And Dental Health Early Diagnosis, Anastasia Katsavochristou, Dimitrios Koumoulis

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of biomolecules has recently gained attention for clinical diagnosis. Its combination with saliva collection and analysis can promote early disease detection and monitoring, by identifying biomarkers of specific underlying pathology or disease as detected in saliva. With this novel, non-invasive technique, certain salivary biomarkers have been linked to dental and periodontal tissues pathology, as well as to specific head and neck cancer malignancies. At present, diagnostic biomarkers are still in need for further identification (e.g., diagnosis and monitoring of Sjögren’s syndrome), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been found to be a promising technique to compliment the …

Engineered Nanoparticles For Site-Specific Bioorthogonal Catalysis: Imaging And Therapy, Riddha Das

Doctoral Dissertations

Bioorthogonal catalysis offers a strategy for chemical transformations complementary to bioprocesses and has proven to be a powerful tool in biochemistry and medical sciences. Transition metal catalysts (TMCs) have emerged as a powerful tool to execute selective chemical transformations, however, lack of biocompatibility and stability limits their use in biological applications. Incorporation of TMCs into nanoparticle monolayers provides a versatile strategy for the generation of bioorthogonal nanocatalysts known as “nanozymes”. We have fabricated a family of nanozymes using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as scaffolds featuring diverse chemical functional groups for controlled localization of nanozymes in biological environments, providing unique strategies for …

Experimental And Computational Tools For Single Cell Analysis In Cancer Diagnostics, Manibarathi Vaithiyanathan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Substantial evidence shows that cellular heterogeneity commonly exists within an isogenic or clonal population. Whether in isolation or caused through a combination of the above events, cellular heterogeneity can dramatically influence cellular decision making and cell fate, however, this can be masked by the average response from a population. One approach to solve this issue is to analyze a population at the individual cell level. The goal of this work is to develop high-throughput experimental and computational platforms to screen and quantify single cancer cells for specific intracellular enzyme activities. An interdisciplinary approach was taken to 1) better understand the …

Using Batman Software To Analyze Metabolic Changes In Type 1 Diabetes-Susceptible Rats, Connor Hall

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

A Framework For Heterologous Biosynthesis Of Natural Products In Mammalian Cells Via Polymer-Mediated Transfections, Logan Warriner

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

With the promise to treat a multi-faceted list of serious inherited and acquired diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, and inherited genetic indications, gene therapy has continued to push the boundaries of traditional medicine since its earliest implementation. While much progress has been made, clinical success has largely remained elusive. Immunogenicity, difficulty producing commercially relevant quantities, and having a limited genetic payload still limits the ability of viruses to act as directed delivery agents for genetic material. As such, researchers have turned to cationic synthetic materials as a means of delivering nucleic acids, which can circumvent the immune …

Formulation Strategies To Enhance Solubility And Permeability Of Small Molecules For Drug Delivery Applications, Pradeep Kumar Bolla

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

All the new chemical entities/drug molecules intended for therapeutic use must be administered using an appropriate delivery system/dosage form to achieve maximum bioavailability. However, designing a drug delivery system is complex as several factors such as lipophilicity, molecular mass, crystallinity, ionic charge, polymorphic forms and hydrogen bonding) affect the solubility and permeability of these molecules. Biopharmaceutics drug classification system (BCS) categorizes the existing drugs into four classes based on the aqueous solubility and membrane permeability and it is reported that >70% of the drugs are poorly soluble and belong to BCS class II and BCS class IV. Several physical, chemical …

Investigation On Nanoparticle Based Combination Therapy For Targeted Cancer Treatment, Muhammad Raisul Abedin

Doctoral Dissertations

“The current treatment methods in cancer are associated with toxicity in healthy tissues, partial therapeutic response, drug resistance and finally recurrence of the disease. The cancer drugs are challenged by non-specific binding, undesired toxicity in healthy cells, low therapeutic index and finally poor therapeutic outcome. In this work, a targeted nanoscale therapeutic system Antibody Drug Nanoparticle (ADN) was engineered to selectively inhibit the breast cancer cell growth with reduced toxicity in healthy cells. The ADNs were designed by synthesizing rod shaped anoparticles using pure chemotherapeutic drug and covalently conjugating a therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) on the surface of the drug …

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing In The 21st Century: Identification And Analysis Of Key Elements, Robert N. Mills

Honors Theses

The availability of quality pharmaceutical products impacts the lives of the global population on a daily basis. The importance of product availability and quality within pharmaceutical manufacturing requires that quality systems put into place are capable of accurately and robustly capturing the quality compliance, or lack thereof, of the various stages of production. This review intends to analyze current expert-recommended best practices within key elements of a pharmaceutical manufacturing quality control system and provide recommendations throughout. The quality elements discussed include Quality by Design method validation, necessary equipment determination, and equipment qualification, followed by documentation control and data flow.

Formulation And Validation Of Nanoparticle Controlled Delivery For Chemotherapeutic Drug Products, Shani L. Levit

Theses and Dissertations

Taxol, a formulation of paclitaxel (PTX), is one of the most widely used anticancer drugs, particularly for treating recurring ovarian carcinomas following surgery. Clinically, PTX is used in combination with other drugs such as lapatinib (LAP) to increase treatment efficacy. Delivering drug combinations with nanoparticles has the potential to improve chemotherapy outcomes. In this study, we use Flash NanoPrecipitation, a rapid, scalable process to encapsulate weakly hydrophobic drugs (logP in vitro. Encapsulating either PTX or LAP into nanoparticles increases drug potency. When PTX and LAP are co-loaded in the same nanoparticle, they have a synergistic effect that is greater than …

Mechanisms Of Pathogen Inactivation In Wastewater And Pharmaceutical Applications, Christa L. Meingast

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Infectious diseases are a significant threat to public health. Though society enacts practices to prevent the spread of these dangerous diseases, challenges remain. Therefore, continual advancements in treatment and prevention are required. Wastewater treatment and viral clearance in pharmaceutical applications are two key health measures that prevent the spread of infections.

A low-cost, low-technology biosolids treatment process was developed to improve wastewater treatment by collecting key information on storage temperature, ammonia, volatile solids, moisture content, pH, and pathogen inactivation in biosolids over long-term storage at two wastewater treatment plants located in northern climates of the United States. Inactivation of pathogens …