Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Nanoroughened Surfaces For Efficient Capture Of Circulating Tumor Cells Without Using Capture Antibodies, Weiqiang Chen, Shinuo Weng, Feng Zhang, Steven Allen, Xiang Li, Liwei Bao, Raymond H. W. Lam, Jill A. Macoska, Sofia D. Merajver, Jianping Fu

Weiqiang Chen

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detached from both primary and metastatic lesions represent a potential alternative to invasive biopsies as a source of tumor tissue for the detection, characterization and monitoring of cancers. Here we report a simple yet effective strategy for capturing CTCs without using capture antibodies. Our method uniquely utilized the differential adhesion preference of cancer cells to nanorough surfaces when compared to normal blood cells and thus did not depend on their physical size or surface protein expression, a significant advantage as compared to other existing CTC capture techniques.

Effect Of Paired Apertures In A Periodic Hole Array On Higher Order Plasmon Modes, Fang-Tzu Chuang

Fang-Tzu Chuang

We demonstrate that the transmission of higherorder surface plasmon modes in the mid-infrared range can be enhanced through rectangular hole array on the basis of paired apertures. Experiments prove that enhanced high-order transmission can be generated by either identical shapes or combinations of different hole shapes in pairs. The structure factor is adopted to explain the observed intensity of enhanced transmission. Numerical simulations of the enhanced secondorder mode verify a significant field enhancement in a unit cell of pairs. It is clarified that the separation between the paired apertures and the paired resonance is the key to determine certain higher-order …

Two Infrared Emission Modes With Different Wavelengths And Orthogonal Polarization In A Waveguide Thermal Emitter, Fang-Tzu Chuang

Fang-Tzu Chuang

This study investigates a Au/SiO2/Au waveguide thermal emitter incorporating a metallic grating embedded in the SiO2 layer. The metal grating acts as a beam splitter, dividing the device into two waveguide structures determined by the polarization of the waveguide modes. The thermal radiation spectrum exhibits two peaks with orthogonal polarization. The emitted wavelengths of the two waveguide modes can be adjusted by controlling the thickness of the SiO2 layers on both sides of the metallic grating during the fabrication process. The emission peaks have ratios of the full width at half maximum to the peak wavelength of 0.057 and 0.05 …

Libraries At The University Of Massachusetts Amherst: Seeking An International Perspective, Maxine G. Schmidt

Maxine G Schmidt

Presentation delivered to librarians in China, Japan and South Korea as part of my sabbatical research on the use of libraries by Asian students in their home countries.

Nanoprojection Lithography Using Self-Assembled Interference Modules For Manufacturing Plasmonic Gratings, Fang-Tzu Chuang

Fang-Tzu Chuang

Abstract—A new nanoprojection lithography (NPL) is proposed to manufacture plasmonic nanogratings. Here, low-cost self-assembly elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane wavy structures are used as the interference modules, with their periods and amplitudes largely controlled by the applied mechanical strain in the synthesis process. Well defined plasmonic grating couplers with desired feature sizes and wavelengths of operation were obtained. This NPL may enable large-area and flash manufacturing of plasmonic nanogratings with tunable array periods.

Nanotopography Influences Adhesion, Spreading, And Self-Renewal Of Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Weiqiang Chen, Luis G. Villa-Diaz, Yubing Sun, Shinuo Weng, Jin Koo Kim, Raymond H. W. Lam, Lin Han, Rong Fan, Paul H. Krebsbach, Jianping Fu

Weiqiang Chen

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have great potentials for future cell-based therapeutics. However, their mechanosensitivity to biophysical signals from the cellular microenvironment is not well characterized. Here we introduced an effective microfabrication strategy for accurate control and patterning of nanoroughness on glass surfaces. Our results demonstrated that nanotopography could provide a potent regulatory signal over different hESC behaviors, including cell morphology, adhesion, proliferation, clonal expansion, and self-renewal. Our results indicated that topological sensing of hESCs might include feedback regulation involving mechanosensory integrin-mediated cell matrix adhesion, myosin II, and E-cadherin. Our results also demonstrated that cellular responses to nanotopography were cell-type …

Integrative Bayesian Analysis Of High-Dimensional Multi-Platform Genomics Data, Wenting Wang, Veerabhadran Baladandayuthapani, Jeffrey S. Morris, Bradley M. Broom, Ganiraju C. Manyam, Kim-Anh Do

Jeffrey S. Morris

Motivation: Analyzing data from multi-platform genomics experiments combined with patients’ clinical outcomes helps us understand the complex biological processes that characterize a disease, as well as how these processes relate to the development of the disease. Current integration approaches that treat the data are limited in that they do not consider the fundamental biological relationships that exist among the data from platforms.

Statistical Model: We propose an integrative Bayesian analysis of genomics data (iBAG) framework for identifying important genes/biomarkers that are associated with clinical outcome. This framework uses a hierarchical modeling technique to combine the data obtained from multiple platforms …

Hslic Fall 2012 Scholarship Committee Report, Ann Jordan

Ann Jordan

No abstract provided.