Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Influence Of Extracellular Matrix Stiffness And Topography On Neuronal Cell Behavior And Neurite Outgrowth, Mohan Yasodharababu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of regeneration therapy for traumatic brain injuries and Alzheimer's disease is on the promotion and growth of neuronal cells. In vitro research attempts to improve this by modifying the stiffness and topography of the extracellular matrix (ECM). However, the limitations of in vitro experiments make it difficult to control the individual factors influencing neuronal cell growth. A computational model can be used to decouple individual factors and study them individually to gain a better understanding of the mechanics between the neuronal cell and ECM, which will aid in the design of in vitro experimental studies.

This study develops …

Design And Control Of A Peristaltic Pump To Simulate Left Atrial Pressure In A Conductive Silicone Model, Jeremy Collins

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

According to the CDC, atrial fibrillation is responsible for more than 454,000 hospitalizations and approximately 158,000 deaths per year. A common treatment for atrial fibrillation is catheter ablation, a process in which a long flexible tube is guided through the femoral artery and to the source of arrhythmia in the heart, where it measures the electrical potential at various locations and converts problematic heart tissue to scar tissue via ablation. This paper details the design and control of a low-cost ($400) peristaltic pump system using repetitive control to replicate blood pressure in the left atrium in a conductive silicone model …

Improvements In Microdialysis Sampling Extraction Efficiency Using Recycled Flow, Justin Cole Deaton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Incomplete recovery during microdialysis sampling is hindering important research in neurology, proteomics, and immunology. Although the current generalized solution, decreasing volumetric flow rates (Q), has been and will remain to be a useful strategy it has reached it's a physical limitation due to evaporation at the collection site. Consequently, many important signaling molecules, such as signaling proteins, remain difficult to study. It is more fundamental to consider relative recovery as a function of the interaction time between the perfusate and the environment surrounding the probe.

In this work an increase in relative recovery was predicted by a mathematical model. Using …