Molecular Biology Commons^™

Fabricating Cost-Effective Nanostructures For Biomedical Applications, Erden Ertorer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis we described inexpensive alternatives to fabricate nanostructures on planar substrates and provided example applications to discuss the efficiency of fabricated nanostructures.

The first method we described is forming large area systematically changing multi-shape nanoscale structures on a chip by laser interference lithography. We analyzed the fabricated structures at different substrate positions with respect to exposure time, exposure angle and associated light intensity profile. We presented experimental details related to the fabrication of symmetric and biaxial periodic nanostructures on photoresist, silicon surfaces, and ion-milled glass substrates. Behavior of osteoblasts and osteoclasts on the nanostructures was investigated. These results …

Toward Direct Biosynthesis Of Drop-In Ready Biofuels In Plants: Rapid Screening And Functional Genomic Characterization Of Plant-Derived Advanced Biofuels And Implications For Coproduction In Lignocellulosic Feedstocks, Blake Lee Joyce

Doctoral Dissertations

Advanced biofuels that are “drop-in” ready, completely fungible with petroleum fuels, and require minimal infrastructure to process a finished fuel could provide transportation fuels in rural or developing areas. Five oils extracted from Pittosporum resiniferum, Copaifera reticulata, and surrogate oils for Cymbopogon flexuosus, C. martinii, and Dictamnus albus in B20 blends were sent for ASTM International biodiesel testing and run in homogenous charge combustion ignition engines to determine combustion properties and emissions. All oils tested lowered cloud point. Oils derived from Copaifera reticulata also lowered indicated specific fuel consumption and had emissions similar to the ultra-low sulfur diesel control. Characterization …

New Types Of Morpho-Physiological Changes In Cells Exposed To Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field, Mikhail A. Rassokhin

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Exposure of cells to a pulsed electric field (PEF) is the basis of multiple techniques and treatments. Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) poses unique characteristics to induce subtle cellular effects while preserving cell integrity. Improving understanding of the mechanisms triggered by nsPEF in cells inspires new applications for the nanosecond pulse technology. Although many effects of nsPEF remain unknown, they can be inferred from morpho-physiologic changes, or cell reshaping, that accompany nsPEF exposure. During the exposure cells undergo reshaping that is manifested in swelling and diffuse blebbing. Recently we identified two new distinct forms of reshaping, pseudopod-like blebbing and microvesiculation, …

Enabling Sum Frequency Spectroscopy And Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy Of Model Cellular Membranes, Sarah M. Sterling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The majority of proteins secreted from cells contain a signal peptide sequence that is required for secretion mediated by the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. However, many proteins lack the essential signal peptide sequence, yet still undergo secretion. Such proteins are known to regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration. Fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF-1) is one protein which undergoes non-classical protein transport. The role of its interactions with the cellular membrane during non-classical protein transport is not fully understood, although FGF-1 has shown preferential destabilizing effects on artificial membranes composed of acidic phospholipids. In the present work, physiologically relevant model …

Bio-Separation Process Improvement Via Genomic Manipulation: Development Of Novel Strains For Use In Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (Imac), Ryan Curtis Haley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation is comprised of three parts. Part I describes proteomic analysis of native bacterial proteins from Escherichia coli (E.coli) that bind during Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC). Part II describes the value in exploiting proteome based data as a tool toward the design an E. coli expression strain that is particularly useful when Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography is employed as the initial capture step of a homologous protein purification process. Part III describes a methodology of chromosomal mapping of all contaminant gene products.

The objective of Part I was to identify all E. coli proteins that bind to Co(II), …

Inhibition Of Bacillus Cereus Growth By Bacteriocin Producing Bacillus Subtilis Isolated From Fermented Baobab Seeds (Maari) Is Substrate Dependent, Donatien Kaboré, Dennis S. Nielsen, Hagrétoui Sawadogo-Lingan, Bréhima Diawara, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof., Mogens Jakobsen, Line Thorsen

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

Polymeric Nanocarriers And Their Oral Inhalation Formulations For The Regional Delivery Of Nucleic Acids To The Lungs, Denise Santos Conti

Wayne State University Dissertations

Gene therapy has attracted attention in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, and bionanotechnology due to the potential for treating a large number of medically relevant diseases. Oral inhalation (OI) is a promising route for the administration of therapeutics, including small molecules and biomacromolecules, such as nucleotides, peptides, and proteins, to (locally) and through (systemically) the lungs. The use of OI is especially attractive for the delivery of nucleic acids as it provides a direct and non-invasive route for targeting the lungs. Pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs), are the most commonly used OI in treatment of lung diseases and are thus promising …

Primary Pathways Of Intracellular Ca2+ Mobilization By Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field, Iurii Semenov, Shu Xiao, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Permeabilization of cell membranous structures by nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) triggers transient rise of cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i), which determines multifarious downstream effects. By using fast ratiometric Ca²⁺ imaging with Fura-2, we quantified the external Ca²⁺ uptake, compared it with Ca²⁺ release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and analyzed the interplay of these processes. We utilized CHO cells which lack voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels, so that the nsPEF-induced [Ca²⁺]_i changes could be attributed primarily to electroporation. We found that a single 60-ns pulse caused fast [Ca2+]_i increase …

Engineering Novel Terpene Production Platforms In The Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Xun Zhuang

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The chemical diversity and biological activities of terpene and terpenoids have served in the development of new flavors, fragrances, medicines and pesticides. While terpenes are made predominantly by plants and microbes in small amounts and as components of complex mixtures, chemical synthesis of terpenes remains technically challenging, costly and inefficient. In this dissertation, methods to create new yeast lines possessing a dispensable mevalonate biosynthetic pathway wherein carbon flux can be diverted to build any chemical class of terpene product are described. The ability of this line to generate diterpenes was next investigated. Using a 5.5 L fed bath fermentation system, …