Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Investigating The Mechanistic Mode Of Action Of Novel Cu(Ii) Complexes As Potential Chemotherapeutics Drugs, Garret Rochford

Doctoral

A new class of Cu(II) phenanthroline-phenazine complexes (developed in Dublin City University) have recently been reported to have the highest DNA binding constants of any copper therapeutic complex and at a similar level to Actinomycin. These new complexes show great clinical potential with their high activity against a range of in-vitro mammalian cell lines including those with cisplatin resistance however the underlying biological mechanism of their action has yet to be explored in-depth. The biological data generated in this project has examined the activity of the Cu(II) phenanthroline-phenazine complexes in selected mammalian cells lines in-vitro and demonstrated that the Cu(II) …

Patient Experience Informs Health Care Strategies In Irish Hospitals, Heba Habib

Doctoral

Patients are central to health care facilities and institutions; therefore, a dire need arises to include feedback of their experience in the decision-making process. Patient experience is increasingly recognised as one of the three pillars of quality in healthcare alongside clinical effectiveness and patient safety. A comprehensive literature review (more than 2500 peer-reviewed articles) has identified five key frameworks for patient experience including: UK Picker Institute Principles and US H-CAHPS. The frameworks have enabled the identification of a potential range of patient experience dimensions and helped in grouping them into nine categories. However, there are still opportunities to address research …

Managing Risk To The Patient: Recoding Quality Risk Management For The Pharmaceutical And Biopharmaceutical Industries, Kelly Waldron

Doctoral

This thesis explores the application of quality risk management (QRM) in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and its effectiveness at managing risk to the patient. The objective of the research described in this thesis was to characterize a maturity state of QRM implementation in which the patient is adequately protected from the risks associated with medicinal products of inadequate quality. The research was conducted over three phases: first, to determine whether patients are better protected since the publication of ICH Q9, a commonly employed guidance on the application of QRM; second, to characterize the industry with regard to QRM maturity, including …

Toxicology Of Engineered Nanoparticles: Focus On Poly(Amidoamine) Dendrines, Pratap Naha, Sourav P. Mukherjee, Hugh Byrne

Doctoral

Engineered nanomaterials are increasingly being developed for paints, sunscreens, cosmetics, industrial lubricants, tyres, semiconductor devices, and also for biomedical applications such as in diagnostics, therapeutics, and contrast agents. As a result, nanomaterials are being manufactured, transported, and used in larger and larger quantities, and potential impacts on environmental and human health have been raised. Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers are specifically suitable for biomedical applications. They are well-defined nanoscale molecules which contain a 2-carbon ethylenediamine core and primary amine groups at the surface. The systematically variable structural architecture and the large internal free volume make these dendrimers an attractive option for drug …

Maternal And Paternal Influences On Infant Diet And Growth Throughout The First Year Of Life., Annemarie E. Bennett

Doctoral

Aim and objectives:

The overall aim of this research was to investigate maternal and paternal behaviours and attitudes and their influences on the diet and growth of infants in the first year of life.

Specific objectives were to assess: maternal wellbeing and breastfeeding outcomes; weaning and supplementation practices; infant growth and body composition; and the views of fathers on having a breastfeeding partner. Methodology: The first study was a prospective observational study, involving the recruitment of 270 pregnant women from the public and semi-private antenatal clinics of the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital. Mother-infant dyads were then followed-up at …

Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of Gymnastatin Analogues, Felicia Mutuma

Doctoral

A library of eight novel gymnastatin analogues has been prepared. The compounds consist of an unsaturated side chain linked to a tyrosine unit using an amide bond. The compounds have various chain lengths and degrees of conjugation. Additional functionality was added to the tyrosine unit by methylation of the acid side group to prepare methyl ester derivatives. While gymnastatins have shown promising cytotoxic activity, their mode of action is not fully understood. The prepared compounds were evaluated against the A549 cancer cell line. A selection of the compounds were further evaluated for inhibition against POLO like kinase (Plk1). The methyl …

Optometric Case Finding For Glaucoma In Ireland: An Investigation Of Current Practice Patterns., Catriona Barrett

Doctoral

Optometrists play a vital role in the detection of glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness. As population screening for glaucoma is neither cost effective nor viable, glaucoma is primarily detected through opportunistic case-finding during routine eye examinations. The present study provides new insight into optometrists’ practice patterns for glaucoma detection in Ireland. Chapters 3 and 4 report on a national survey. The results show that optometrists are well equipped to carry out the traditional glaucoma case finding triad. However, moving towards enhanced services such as monitoring glaucoma suspects or ocular hypertension cases would require some investment in equipment and …

Liposomal Encapsulation Of Silver Nanoparticles Enhances Cytotoxicity And Causes Induction Of Reactive Oxygen Species‐ Independent Apoptosis, Azeez Yusuf, A. Brophy, Brian Gorey, Alan Casey

Doctoral

Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are one of the most widely investigated metallic NPs due to their promising antibacterial activities. In recent years, AgNP research has shifted beyond antimicrobial use to potential applications in the medical arena. This shift coupled with the extensive commercial applications of AgNP will further increase human exposure and the subsequent risk of adverse effects that may result from repeated exposures and inefficient delivery, meaning research into improved AgNP delivery is of paramount importance. In this study, AgNP were encapsulated in a natural biosurfactant, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, in an attempt to enhance the intracellular delivery and simultaneously mediate the associated …

Advancing Vibrational Spectroscopy For Cellular And Sub Cellular Analysis: Raman Spectroscopy As An In Vitro Chemotherapeutic Screeening And Assessment Protocol, Zeineb Farhane

Doctoral

Vibrational spectroscopy, including Raman micro-spectroscopy, has attracted considerable attention over the last few years, as a powerful, non-invasive tool for clinical applications, especially in cancer diagnosis, in vivo and ex vivo. As a molecular fingerprinting technique with optical resolution, Raman micro-spectroscopy is able to monitor biochemical processes, drug uptake, efficacy and mode of action and mechanisms of interaction of chemotherapeutic drugs at a subcellular level. In vitro applications may be more strategically achievable, and can help guide drug design and discovery, and eventually evaluate To this end, different lung cell lines were used and Raman micro-spectroscopy was coupled to valuable …

The Potential Of Raman Spectroscopy For Cytological Diagnosis Of Thinprep Samples From A Cervical Cancer Screening Population, Ines Ramos

Doctoral

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. For decades, most developed countries have applied organized cytology screening programs using the Papanicolau (PAP) test to identify abnormal cases. Despite a high specificity of 95-98%, Pap test sensitivity is reported to vary greatly from 74 to 96% with constant testing needed to achieve the highest values. Semi-automated cytology screening platforms, immunocytochemistry panels and other methodologies such as human papilloma virus (HPV) testing has been developed to help reduce false negative rates. More recently, HPV testing, thus far used for triage of abnormal cytology cases and test of cure, …