Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Hydrogel Drug Delivery Platform Integrity And Utilization Analysis, Joshua Carson Adams

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) generally results in permanent sensorimotor dysfunction. This is due to failed axonal regeneration at the site of injury. Recent studies have highlighted the use of stem-cell based therapies embedded in hydrogel to treat SCI. Embedding cell therapies in hydrogel provides a platform that increases the survival of both integrated grafted cells and stem cells/stem cell progeny. There are a variety of drug delivery agents for treating SCI such as neuro-regenerative cells and Schwann cells, however, single agents are not promising for functional regeneration. We propose a combinatorial approach using sciatic nerve (SN) extracellular matrix (ECM), …

Determination Of Tissue-Level Changes In Tumors That Are Indicative Of Metastasis Using Optical Spectroscopy, Sanidhya D. Tripathi

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breast cancer, accounting for 12% of all new cancer cases, is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. Although patient survival has improved over the years, metastatic spread to other organ sites and not due to the primary tumor is the most common form of tumor recurrence, accounting for 90% deaths. Hypoxia is a common hallmark of solid tumors and is linked with metastasis, therapeutic resistance, and poor patient survival. Defined as a state of decreased oxygen availability, cells under hypoxia have an increased rate of genetic mutation, local invasion, and resistance to treatment such as radiation …

Characterizing The Expression Pattern And Function Of Tartan During Drosophila Development, Alaina Baggett

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The development of complex structures and organs by multicellular organisms relies on the ability of epithelial cells to self-organize. Epithelia are sheets of connected cells, and compartment boundaries are formed between certain epithelial cells to create distinct tissue compartments. Compartment boundaries are specialized cell-cell interfaces that are enriched for the cytoskeletal proteins actin and myosin, leading to straight cell edges under relatively high tension that act as fences keep cells from moving between compartments. In the model organism Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), compartment boundaries in the early embryo are established in response to the non-uniform striped expression of the cell-surface …

Cu And Ni Co-Sputtered Heteroatomic Thin Film For Enhanced Nonenzymatic Glucose Detection, Brianna Barbee, Baleeswaraiah Muchharla, Adetayo Adedeji, Abdennaceur Karoui, Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni, Mizaj Shabil Sha, Aboubakr M. Abdullah4, Gymama Slaughter, Bijandra Kumar

Bioelectrics Publications

In this work, we report a wafer-scale and chemical-free fabrication of nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) heteroatomic Cu–Ni thin films using RF magnetron sputtering technique for non-enzymatic glucose sensing application. The as-prepared wafer-scale Cu–Ni thin films exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation with a 1.86 μM detection limit in the range of 0.01 mM to 20 mM range. The Cu–Ni film shows 1.3- and 5.4-times higher glucose oxidation activity in comparison to the Cu and Ni electrodes, respectively. The improved electrocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effect of the bimetallic catalyst and high density of grain boundaries. The …

A Preventive Medicine Framework For Wearable Abiotic Glucose Detection System, Saikat Banerjee

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In this work, we present a novel abiotic glucose fuel cell with battery-less remote access. In the presence of a glucose analyte, we characterized the power generation and biosensing capabilities. This system is developed on a flexible substrate in bacterial nanocellulose with gold nanoparticles used as a conductive ink for piezoelectric deposition based printing. The abiotic glucose fuel cell is constructed using colloidal platinum on gold (Au-co-Pt) and a composite of silver oxide nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes as the anodic and cathodic materials. At a concentration of 20 mM glucose, the glucose fuel cell produced a maximum open circuit voltage …

Evaluation Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Tumor Matrix, Alejandra Ham

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Sex On Proliferation And Maturation Of Primary Isolated Myoblasts, Elsa M. Bean

Biomedical Engineering

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is caused by the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque causing restriction in blood flow in tissue, known as ischemia. It affects 8 million people in the United States and can hinder daily life through the onset of symptoms such as intermittent claudication and in extreme cases ulcers and gangrene. Surgical revascularization is not accessible to certain patient populations, such those of advanced age, highlighting a need for alternative therapies. For example, naturally occurring bypass arteries, called collateral blood vessels, can remodel and enlarge to bypass the occlusion. This process, known as arteriogenesis, has been studied as …

An Engineering And Economic Analysis Of The Implementation Of The Carbo Rock-It, Lydia Huck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The patented Carbo Rock-It system was developed to carbonate beverages for the craft brewing industry with the goal of reducing time, cost, and environmental impacts of the carbonation process. This research field tests, models, analyzes and optimizes the engineering and economic performance of a commercial-scale Carbo Rock-It placed in production at an operating brewery (Core Brewing and Distilling Co., Springdale, AR). Field tests indicated that the Carbo Rock-It was able to successfully carbonate twelve 120 BBL batches of Scarlet Letter Seltzer to 3.0 vol/vol while meeting all beverage quality and safety requirements. The Carbo Rock-It was able to reduce carbonation …

Rheological Behavior Of Dspc-, Dbpc-, And Dppc-Oxygen Microbubbles And Their Effectiveness In Improving Survival In A Rat Model Of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Riaz Ur Rehman Mohammed

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) causes 75,000 deaths in the U.S., annually. It is characterized by hypoxemia and damage to the lung alveoli. ARDS Management strategies involve extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and mechanical ventilation, but none of these methods improve the mortality rates. Oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) consist of a lipid shell with an oxygen core and have potential to augment oxygenation to manage ARDS. Previous studies demonstrated significant improvements in systemic oxygenation and mortality upon administering OMBs.

We replicated an ARDS rat model by intratracheal administration of lipopolysaccharide at a 24 mg/kg dose. After inducing the disease in rats, the …

Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault At The University Of Arkansas, Barrett Weidman

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This work was written to fulfill two main purposes. First, to help survivors of Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) process their experience by compiling the toxicological, pharmacological, and distribution of the three most used date-rape drugs. Second, to gauge the knowledge and interest of University of Arkansas students regarding drug impairments, sexual assault education, and bystander intervention training. A survey was conducted for the latter and revealed that 91.6% of students believe the University’s existing sexual assault prevention education and bystander intervention training have room for improvement. Also, 37.1% of students who have received this education report that the programming does …

Isolation And Production Of Tandem Collagen Binding Domain From Clostridial Collagenase Colg And Developments In C1q Reagent Production For Future Molecule Characterization Work, Stephanie Beitle

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis covers a two part project: the production methods to create a double collagen binding domain molecule with a growth factor for wound healing applications and the development of a new in-house production method for isolating C1q from bovine blood. The wound healing molecule was created using transformation, sonication, and purification before being tested via electrophoresis SDS page and Western blots to confirm the molecule’s presence. The C1q in-house production method utilizes an ultrafiltration flow cell rather than dialysis at a critical point in the process, allowing for researchers to not only be able to use a single small …

Modifications Of A Machine To Produce Clinically-Sized Angioplasty Balloons For Bifurcations, Natalie Smith

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Coronary artery disease is the most common form of heart disease and the leading cause of death in the U.S. ("Heart Disease Facts | cdc.gov", 2021). Typically, coronary artery disease is a result of coronary stenosis, constriction of the coronary artery, which can cause heart failure, arrhythmia, or heart attack ("Coronary Artery Disease: Prevention, Treatment and Research", 2021). Angioplasty balloons are a common treatment method for coronary stenosis and work by placing a stent at the lesion site to widen the vessel and promote blood flow. A type of lesion which remains particularly difficult and relatively common to treat is …

Toward Sustainable Urban Food Production: Integrating Hydroponic Cultivation With Wastewater Reuse, Amanda Tan

All Theses

The growing crisis of freshwater scarcity together with the increasing global food demand directs attention to the need for alternative water sources for agriculture. The research presented here engages this need by carrying out indoor cultivation of food crops in Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) hydroponic systems using residential wastewater. Randomized single factor experimental designs were used to investigate the physiochemical and microbiological makeup of the hydroponic nutrient solution throughout the cultivation cycle and their relationship with different plant development parameters.

For agricultural wastewater reuse to be of low risk to human health there must be some advancement in pathogen monitoring …

3d Volumetric Mapping Of Tissue Properties Via A Catheter-Scale Microendoscope Imaging System, Andrew Stark

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The study of tumor microvasculature is an important area of interest for research and clinical communities; however, there are significant limitations in the clinical characterization of the tumor microenvironment. Optical methods offer quantitative real-time measurement of tissue structure and perfusion and can be miniaturized for deployment endoscopically into previously inaccessible locations. However, conventional optical methods (i.e., optical coherence tomography, white light endoscopy, etc.) gives limited information about tissue perfusion while the diameter of various optical probes along with the complexity of scanning mechanisms make it difficult to access certain areas. In this study, a new technique for characterizing the tumor …

Investigating The Impact Of Hypoxia On Reactive Oxygen Species Generation Within Murine Breast Cancer Cells, Jared Mcpeake

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

When cancer metastasizes from a primary tumor site to secondary site through the bloodstream or lymph, the cancer becomes more difficult to treat. For this reason, it is vital to study what indicates the metastatic potential of a tumor. Current research has shown that cell lines with high metastatic potential display increased levels of metabolic adaptability over their nonmetastatic counterparts after undergoing hypoxic conditions. One method of assessing this adaptability is to measure the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the cells while undergoing oxidative stress. In highly adaptable metastatic cells, an increase of ROS buildup within the …

Disparities In Response, Motivations, And Self-Efficacy To Entrepreneurially Minded Learning Within Underrepresented Students' Groups, Kaitlin Hall

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Systemic racism in the United States is embedded within the policies that have created oppression for certain groups. Women, people of color, and those from low-income families have less access to entrepreneurial knowledge due to the education gap. It has been determined that less than 20 percent of US patents entail a female inventor. Black and Hispanic college graduates also lack this access as fewer than half as many individuals hold patents. Ensuring that these populations are educated in inventor knowledge can facilitate greater inclusion. The historical Brown vs the Board of Education intended to end unequal public schooling. It …

Erythrocyte Deformability In Response To Glucose Using Liquid Crystals, Jayden Goff

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The worldwide prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rapidly increasing with about 9.3% of the adult population living with the disease. People with diabetes have trouble regulating their blood glucose levels which typically leads to hyperglycemia. Under normal physiological conditions, erythrocytes can undergo deformations in response to shear stress when passing through capillaries with a smaller diameter. Poorly managed hyperglycemia can lead to the glycosylation of erythrocyte membrane proteins and hemoglobin. This glycosylation leads to increased rigidity of the cells along with decreased deformability in response to mechanical stress; therefore, these cells have a higher susceptibility of getting stuck in the …

Clot Analogs For The Development Of Improved Treatment Methods In Ischemic Stroke, Charles A. Rieth

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

According to the CDC, nearly 800,000 individuals experience stroke each year in the United States [1]. Greater than 70% of strokes are of ischemic etiology and involve the occlusion of key arteries in the cardiovascular system [2]. Tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) is the current gold standard for thrombolytic approaches [3]; however, this therapeutic is only effective between 3 and 4.5 hours from the patient’s last know well [4]. As a result, less than 5% of acute ischemic stroke patients receive IV-tPA. In order to increase the viability of AIS treatment as a whole, it is essential that thrombolytic techniques are …

The Influence Of Mmp14 On Angiogenesis In Chemotherapy-Treated Tumors, Abdussaboor Muhammad

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, and it is the fourth most common cause of cancer related death (1). There have been many significant advancements regarding the treatment of cancer which aim to shrink the size of tumors in patients. However, there is still more that needs to be understood about the many different factors that play a role in colorectal cancer development.

Angiogenesis is the process of forming new blood vessels from existing ones and it requires breaking down and remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in order to allow endothelial cells to migrate …

Nonlinear Optical Microscopy Assessment Of Tissue Structure And Chondrocyte Viability Of Articular Cartilage, Michael Le

All Theses

Articular cartilage functions to protect the ends of bones by providing a surface that can withstand compressive forces and minimize friction during movement. Collagen fibers form the organizational backbone of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in cartilage. Proteoglycans within the ECM function to retain water and provide the tissue with the swelling pressure needed to withstand compressional forces. Chondrocytes, the only type of cell found in articular cartilage, produces these collagen fibers and proteoglycans to maintain the tissue structure and function. Significant injuries to articular cartilage can damage the chondrocytes and disrupt their ability to maintain homeostasis in the tissue. Therefore, …