Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Alternative Methods For The Treatment Of Chemo-Resistant Cancers, Kaitlyn Wong
Alternative Methods For The Treatment Of Chemo-Resistant Cancers, Kaitlyn Wong
Doctoral Dissertations
Great strides have been made in cancer therapy in the past century, yet it remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States today. This work aimed to shed light on novel methods to treat a variety of aggressive and often chemo-resistant cancers both in vitro and in vivo. The first aim of this work was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of poly(methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (polyMPC) prodrugs compared to standard chemotherapeutic agents. Conjugation of polyMPC to drugs such as doxorubicin (Dox) can result in its improved solubility, prolonged half-life and therapeutic efficacy. PolyMPC and polyMPC-Dox (at a …
Bioengineered Platforms To Study Carcinoma Cell Response To Drug Treatment, Thuy V. Nguyen
Bioengineered Platforms To Study Carcinoma Cell Response To Drug Treatment, Thuy V. Nguyen
Doctoral Dissertations
The tumor extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in facilitating tumor growth and mediating tumor cells' resistance to drugs. However, during drug development, potential chemotherapeutics are screened in plastic plates, which lack relevant ECM physicochemical cues. In order to improve drug development process, this dissertation includes the development of relevant 2D and 3D biomaterial systems that can be used to study carcinoma cell response to drug treatment. A novel poly(ethylene glycol)-phosphorylcholine (PEG-PC) high-throughput biomaterial platform was developed to study how the ECM mechanochemical properties affect cancer cells' response to drug. The PEG-PC biomaterial is optically transparent, has a mechanical …