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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

High-Throughput Nanoliter Dispensing Device For Biological Applications, Cole Reynolds, Euiwon Bae Dr., J Paul Robinson Dr. Aug 2018

High-Throughput Nanoliter Dispensing Device For Biological Applications, Cole Reynolds, Euiwon Bae Dr., J Paul Robinson Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Pathogen identification is a field that can contribute largely to the prevention of the spreading of illness and disease. In the past, pathogen identification has been a long and arduous process due to the time-consuming processes and steps that requires technician’s time and effort. With new technologies emerging however, screening of bacteria colonies can be done in a quick and high-throughput way. The problem is that using the current methods, bacteria cannot be transferred to petri dishes fast enough to keep up with the new screening methods. The current study focuses on exploring different methods to create an ergonomic device …


Bacteria Movement Near Surfaces, Shulin Wang, Adib Ahmadzadegan, Arezoo Ardekani Aug 2018

Bacteria Movement Near Surfaces, Shulin Wang, Adib Ahmadzadegan, Arezoo Ardekani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding the behaviors of bacteria near surfaces is crucial in many biological and ecological applications. This knowledge can be used to hinder undesired biofilm formation on medical instruments and wounds. On top of that, it could also provide further insights in biodegradation of dispersed oil. In this work, the behavior of Escherichia Coli near a surface was experimentally studied. We utilized an inverted microscope in the phase filed illumination mode and processed acquired images to track the motions of bacteria near surfaces with high accuracy and repeatability. Distribution of the cells when they reached a steady state shows that the …


Development Of Portable Hyperspectral Imaging Device, Chenxi Li, Youngkee Jung, Iyll-Joon Doh, Euiwon Bae Aug 2017

Development Of Portable Hyperspectral Imaging Device, Chenxi Li, Youngkee Jung, Iyll-Joon Doh, Euiwon Bae

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Most of the conventional hyperspectral imaging devices require sophisticated optical components, occupy a large footprint, and requires an initial capital investment for laboratories which mostly suits for laboratories benchtop system. The requirement of shipping the sample and waiting an extended period of time to get the results are the main downsides of this traditional approach. Capitalize in many specific field applications and diagnosis, portable devices provide both convenience and on-site results which are desirable for government agencies and food safety inspectors. This project was aimed to develop a low-cost, portable hyperspectral device for food safety applications. A smartphone was used …


Bacterial Motility And Its Role In Biofilm Formation, Clayton J. Culp, Arezoo M. Ardekani, Adib Ahmadzadegan Aug 2017

Bacterial Motility And Its Role In Biofilm Formation, Clayton J. Culp, Arezoo M. Ardekani, Adib Ahmadzadegan

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Bacterial biofilms are known to cause millions of dollars in damage in the medical industry per year via infection of central venous catheters, urinary catheters, and mechanical heart valves. Unfortunately, there are some characteristics of biofilm formation that are yet to be fully understood. Recently much work has been done to investigate the motility characteristics of bacteria with hopes of better understanding the phenomena of biofilm formation. Still, one of the least understood stages is bacterial attachment or adhesion, a process designed to anchor bacteria in an advantageous environment. Providing a better understanding of bacterial motility near solid interfaces will …


Intrinsic Regulators Of Actomyosin Contractility Engendering Pulsatile Behaviors, Qilin Yu, Jing Li, Taeyoon Kim Aug 2017

Intrinsic Regulators Of Actomyosin Contractility Engendering Pulsatile Behaviors, Qilin Yu, Jing Li, Taeyoon Kim

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Actomyosin contractility regulates various biological processes including cell migration, muscle contraction, and tissue morphogenesis. Cell cortex underlying a membrane, which is a representative actomyosin network in eukaryote cells, exhibits dynamic contractile behaviors. Interestingly, the cell cortex shows reversible aggregation of actin and myosin called pulsatile contraction in diverse cellular phenomena, such as embryogenesis and tissue morphogenesis. While contractile behaviors have been studied in several in vitro experiments and computational studies, none of them demonstrated the pulsatile contraction of actomyosin networks observed in vivo. Here, we used an agent-based computational model based on Brownian dynamics to identify factors facilitating the pulsatile …


Smartphone-Based Microscope For Pathogen Detection, Meghan E. Henderson, Katherine N. Clayton, Ryan M. Preston, Jacqueline Linnes, Tamara L. Kinzer-Ursem Aug 2017

Smartphone-Based Microscope For Pathogen Detection, Meghan E. Henderson, Katherine N. Clayton, Ryan M. Preston, Jacqueline Linnes, Tamara L. Kinzer-Ursem

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Vibrio cholerae is a water and food borne bacteria that causes cholera, a severe acute diarrheal disease, when ingested and when left untreated, can cause patient death within hours. Currently there is a lack of both sensitive and rapid portable detection technologies of V. cholerae for testing water and food samples. Combining nucleic acid amplification and particle diffusometry present an alternative detection method for V. cholerae in under 30 minutes, but the process requires an expensive laboratory microscope. In this work, we develop a smartphone-based microscope to detect V. cholerae DNA in environmental water samples using particle diffusometry. A modular …


A Parametric Study Of The Mechanics Of Different Skin Flap Techniques, Steven J. Meza, Adrián Tepole Buganza Aug 2017

A Parametric Study Of The Mechanics Of Different Skin Flap Techniques, Steven J. Meza, Adrián Tepole Buganza

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In modern day plastic and reconstructive surgeries numerous skin flap designs have been developed and are used to close open wounds. Skin flaps are developed with the intention of imposing minimal tension in skin closure. Excessive tension can lead to poor blood flow that result in post-surgery complications such as necrosis. Currently there is no standard in choosing a skin flap design and a surgeon's choice is based personal experience. A comparison of the mechanical loading in these various designs has not yet been done. We have developed a parametric study, using finite element analysis, of two advancement skin flaps …


Mechanical Reliability Of Implantable Polyimide-Based Magnetic Microactuators For Biofouling Removal, Christian G. Figueroa-Espada, Qi Yang, Hyowon Lee Aug 2016

Mechanical Reliability Of Implantable Polyimide-Based Magnetic Microactuators For Biofouling Removal, Christian G. Figueroa-Espada, Qi Yang, Hyowon Lee

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Hydrocephalus is a neurological disorder that typically requires a long-term implantation of a shunt system to manage its symptoms. These shunt systems are notorious for their extremely high failure rate. More than 40% of all implanted shunt systems fail within the first year of implantation. On average, 85% of all hydrocephalus patients with shunt systems undergo at least two shunt-revision surgeries within 10 years of implantation. A large portion of this high failure rate can be attributed to biofouling-related obstructions and infections. Previously, we developed flexible polyimide-based magnetic microactuators to remove obstructions formed on hydrocephalus shunts. To test the long-term …


Indentation Probing Of In Vitro Bovine Articular Cartilage: Effects On Chondrocyte Viability And Tissue Biomechanics, Pablo F. Argote, Alan Poon, Xin Xu Ph.D, Corey P. Neu Ph.D. Aug 2015

Indentation Probing Of In Vitro Bovine Articular Cartilage: Effects On Chondrocyte Viability And Tissue Biomechanics, Pablo F. Argote, Alan Poon, Xin Xu Ph.D, Corey P. Neu Ph.D.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Osteoarthritis (OA) consists of a degenerative disease on articular cartilage, which is prone to excessive mechanical loading and frictional resistance that leads to the wear and tear of the tissue. These factors result in the progressive and incurable disease that affects millions of people worldwide. The goal is to characterize chondrocyte viability and the in vitro biomechanical properties of articular cartilage in two confined indentation studies. One study looks at the chondrocyte viability over seven days. The second compares the immediate effects of strain rates on chondrocyte viability and tissue biomechanics. Bovine cartilage explants are harvested, cultured, and then 40% …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Nucleic Acid-Functionalized Nanomaterials, Brianna S. Carroll, Jong Hyun Choi Oct 2013

Synthesis And Characterization Of Nucleic Acid-Functionalized Nanomaterials, Brianna S. Carroll, Jong Hyun Choi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Motor proteins such as kinesin move along microtubules in order to transport cellular cargos throughout the cell by obtaining energy from RNA hydrolysis which allows the cell to complete the tasks needed to stay alive. In this work, we developed synthetic molecular motors using DNA enzymes (DNAzyme) and fluorescent nanomaterials which mimic the functions and structures of motor proteins. A DNAzyme-capped CdS nanoparticle and a RNA-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) were used as a walker and a track in the motor platform, respectively. As a walking mechanism, the DNAzyme cleaved the RNA substrates in the presence of metal cations. The …