Nanotechnology Commons^™

Frontiers In The Self-Assembly Of Charged Macromolecules, Khatcher O. Margossian

Doctoral Dissertations

The self-assembly of charged macromolecules forms the basis of all life on earth. From the synthesis and replication of nucleic acids, to the association of DNA to chromatin, to the targeting of RNA to various cellular compartments, to the astonishingly consistent folding of proteins, all life depends on the physics of the organization and dynamics of charged polymers. In this dissertation, I address several of the newest challenges in the assembly of these types of materials. First, I describe the exciting new physics of the complexation between polyzwitterions and polyelectrolytes. These materials open new questions and possibilities within the context …

Development Of Biomaterials For Drug Delivery, Raquel De Castro

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drug delivery systems (DDS) have highly evolved in the last decades with the development of hydrogels and nanoparticles. However, high systemic uptake, side effects, low bioavailability, and encapsulation efficiency continue to be a major hurdle faced by such DDSs.

Nanoparticles and hydrogels can be specifically designed for targeted DDSs to mitigate some of the problems. This dissertation aimed to design two DDSs for ocular drug delivery and one for cancer treatment. The first project sought to develop chitosan nanoparticles (Cs-NP) using PEGDA as a copolymer to encapsulate gentamicin (GtS) for ocular drug delivery. Cs-NPs contain positive charges that can interact …

Fabrication And Modification Of Titania Nanotube Arrays For Harvesting Solar Energy And Drug Delivery Applications, Ahmed El Ruby Abdel Rahman Mohamed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The fast diminishing of fossil fuels in the near future, as well as the global warming caused by increasing greenhouse gases have motivated the urgent quest to develop advanced materials as cost-effective photoanodes for solar light harvesting and many other photocatalytic applications. Recently, titania nanotube arrays (TNTAs) fabricated by anodization process has attracted great interest due to their excellent properties such as: high surface area, vertically oriented, highly organized, one-dimensional, nanotubular structure, photoactivity, chemical stability and biocompatibility. This unique combination of excellent properties makes TNTAs an excellent photoanode for solar light harvesting. However, the relatively wide band gap energy of …

Poly(Ester Amide) And Poly(Ethyl Glyoxylate) Nanoparticles For Controlled Drug Release, Amira Mohamed Moustafa

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The objective of this research was to develop polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) having improved drug release properties for drug delivery. Poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) are promising biodegradable polymers. PEA NPs were prepared via emulsification-evaporation and salting-out methods and optimized through by varying different processing parameters. Polymer-model drug conjugates based on PEAs containing L-aspartic acid and rhodamine B were synthesized and used for NP preparation. Release behavior was studied and compared to a control system with physically encapsulated rhodamine B. It was shown that the release of rhodamine B from the covalent system did not show the burst effect and exhibited a slower …

Ligand-Receptor Interactions For Supramolecular Disassembly With Applications In Screening And Drug Delivery, Diego Amado Torres

Doctoral Dissertations

Proteins have the capacity to bind specific sets of compounds known as ligands, these are small molecules with a recurrent theme in their molecular design that is a characteristic exploited here to (i) identify particular affinities of small molecules for proteins with the aim of using them as ligands, inhibitors, or targeting moieties in more complex systems by means of a methodology that screens small molecules based on protein affinity; (ii) decorate a self-assembling supramolecular system at different positions, making it responsive to a complementary protein with the aim of exploring differences in disassembly and sensitivity of the release of …

Nanoparticlated Drug Delivery System For Vitreous Humor, Kartheek K. Suragoni

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to develop a unique nanoparticulated system that has the capability of providing sustained drug delivery into the eyes. In ophthalmic preparations, poor ocular drug delivery of ocular dosage form is due to the production of tears and impermeability through corneal epithelium. The usage of liposomes in ophthalmic disorders shows promising results in ocular drug delivery. Liposomes are bilayered, microscopic vesicles surrounded by the aqueous compartments. Liposomes have the ability to encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. This unique property of liposomes helps in delivering the drug at specific site. This invention involves three major …

Pegylated Silicon Nanowire Coated Silica Microparticles For Drug Delivery Across Intestinal Epithelium, Vuk Uskoković, Phin-Peng Lee, Laura Walsh, Kathleen Fischer, Tejal Dasai

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Composite particles made by growing nanoscopic silicon wires from the surface of monodispersed, microsized silica beads were tested in this study for their ability to affect the integrity and permeability of an epithelial cell layer. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is known to sterically stabilize particles and prevent protein binding; as such, it is a routine way to impart in vivo longevity to drug carriers. The effect of the silica beads, both with and without silicon nanowires and PEG, on the disruption of the tight junctions in Caco-2 cells was evaluated by means of: (a) analysis of the localization of zonula occludens-1 …