Harnessing The Physicochemical Properties Of Dna As A Multifunctional Biomaterial For Biomedical And Other Applications,
2021
Western Umiversity
Harnessing The Physicochemical Properties Of Dna As A Multifunctional Biomaterial For Biomedical And Other Applications, Aishik Chakraborty, Shruthi Polla Ravi, Yasmeen Shamiya, Caroline Cui, Arghya Paul
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Publications
The biological purpose of DNA is to store, replicate, and convey genetic information in cells. Progress in molecular genetics have led to its widespread applications in gene editing, gene therapy, and forensic science. However, in addition to its role as a genetic material, DNA has also emerged as a nongenetic, generic material for diverse biomedical applications. DNA is essentially a natural biopolymer that can be precisely programed by simple chemical modifications to construct materials with desired mechanical, biological, and structural properties. This review critically deciphers the chemical tools and strategies that are currently being employed to harness the nongenetic functions …
Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale,
2021
Syracuse University
Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale, Nandhini Rajagopal
Dissertations - ALL
Biological barriers in the human body are one of the most crucial interfaces perfected through evolution for diverse and unique functions. Of the wide range of barriers, the paracellular protein interfaces of epithelial and endothelial cells called tight junctions with high molecular specificities are vital for homeostasis and to maintain proper health. While the breakdown of these barriers is associated with serious pathological consequences, their intact presence also poses a challenge to effective delivery of therapeutic drugs. Complimenting a rigorous combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches to establishing the fundamental biological construct, in addition to elucidating pathological implications …
Predicting Tight Junction Formation Via Claudin Chimeras,
2021
Syracuse University
Predicting Tight Junction Formation Via Claudin Chimeras, Patrick Matthew Marsch
Theses - ALL
Tight junctions are vital to epithelial and endothelial barrier functions aiding in ion transport and preventing toxins from crossing into paracellular space. Claudins, made of four transmembrane helices and two extracellular loops, are a major part of the assembly of tight junctions along with other transmembrane proteins. The dimer interactions of two members of the 27-known members of the claudin family—claudin-2 and claudin-4—were analyzed. We created claudin chimera by switching claudin 2’s extracellular loops with claudin 4’s. The chimeras were analyzed using molecular dynamic simulations by comparing them to the natural claudins. This analysis provided new insight into the assembly …
Blood-Material Interactions With Degradable Shape Memory Polymer Foams,
2021
Syracuse University
Blood-Material Interactions With Degradable Shape Memory Polymer Foams, Ellen Barlow Shepherd
Theses - ALL
Shape memory polymer (SMP) foams are a class of smart materials that show promise for managing uncontrolled hemorrhage on the battlefield. The current standard treatments of gauze and tourniquets are not able to effectively control hemorrhage in up to 80% of combat injuries. Most hemostatic devices also require removal within 12 hours of application. Patient transportation to a facility for removal may not be possible within this time frame and the removal process itself can cause further damage to the wound. As an alternative hemostatic device, polyurethane SMP foams have shown to be effective and biocompatible hemostats; however, removal still …
Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale,
2021
Syracuse University
Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale, Nandhini Rajagopal
Dissertations - ALL
Biological barriers in the human body are one of the most crucial interfaces perfected through evolution for diverse and unique functions. Of the wide range of barriers, the paracellular protein interfaces of epithelial and endothelial cells called tight junctions with high molecular specificities are vital for homeostasis and to maintain proper health. While the breakdown of these barriers is associated with serious pathological consequences, their intact presence also poses a challenge to effective delivery of therapeutic drugs. Complimenting a rigorous combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches to establishing the fundamental biological construct, in addition to elucidating pathological implications …
Engineering A Prophylactic Cap For Multi-Dose Vial Disinfection,
2021
Rowan University
Engineering A Prophylactic Cap For Multi-Dose Vial Disinfection, Rebecca Lee Charboneau
Theses and Dissertations
Recently, multi-dose vials (MDVs) have demonstrated significant bioburden, with randomized studies revealing bacterial contamination rates up to 27%. When the proper protocol of disinfecting the vial diaphragm with a pre-saturated wipe is followed, MDV bioburden is eliminated. However, when this sterilization protocol is neglected, the susceptibility of MDV to house potential nosocomial pathogens intensifies. In this work, the usability and effectiveness of a novel device, referred to as the Vial Cap, are investigated to gauge the feasibility and acceptability of this device as a method of MDV disinfection. The usability of the Vial Cap was evaluated using principle human factors …
Injectable Ct/Mri Contrast Agent For Gastrointestinal Tumor Tracking,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Injectable Ct/Mri Contrast Agent For Gastrointestinal Tumor Tracking, Luna Zhang
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
Gastrointestinal cancers remain to be of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide. Early detection and treatments are crucial for reducing mortality and improving patient outcome. Radiation therapy is a non-invasive localized tumor treatment method, and utilizes radiation to kill the cancerous cells and shrink tumors at specific sites. Precise localization at the target tumor site is therefore important before radiation therapy, especially for gastrointestinal tumor sites located in the moving bowel. Currently, invasive endoscopies along with ink tattoos are used for identifying tumor location, which often require sedation and bring much discomfort. Imaging tests, including CT and MRI, play …
Magnetic Gradient-Based Magnetic Tweezer System For 3d And Swarm Control Of Microswimmer,
2021
Southern Methodist University
Magnetic Gradient-Based Magnetic Tweezer System For 3d And Swarm Control Of Microswimmer, Xiao Zhang
Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations
Microscale manipulation has very promising potential in medical applications such as drug delivery, minimal and invasion surgery. Contactless control is preferable as remote manipulation is necessary for in vivo applications. Among different control methods, magnetic power source is more suitable and robust for the applications mentioned above. Presented here is a magnetic tweezer system, which manipulates microscale magnetic particles using magnetic forces created by magnetic field gradient. The proposed system has three advantages: First, force applied by the magnetic tweezer system does not contact with the target object and can be generated in different directions. Second, the magnetic tweezer system …
Magnetic Resonance-Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (Mrghifu) Induced Hyperthermia (Ht) For Treatment Of Cervical Cancer,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Magnetic Resonance-Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (Mrghifu) Induced Hyperthermia (Ht) For Treatment Of Cervical Cancer, Lifei Zhu
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
Hyperthermia (HT), which refers to increasing the temperature of the tumor tissue to 40–45°C for an extended period of time, has been reported to be one of the most effective sensitizers for radiation therapy (RT) and/or chemotherapy. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) has been developed as a non-invasive and non-ionizing tool to induce localized HT. Magnetic resonance thermometry (MR thermometry) is one of the most reliable methods for non-invasively and precisely measuring the in vivo volumetric temperature in real time. The integration of MR thermometry with HIFU has been implemented in commercially available magnetic resonance guided high intensity focused ultrasound …
Laminin-Mimetic Peptide-Functionalized Hydrogel Systems For The Phenotypic Modulation Of Cells Of The Nucleus Pulposus,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Laminin-Mimetic Peptide-Functionalized Hydrogel Systems For The Phenotypic Modulation Of Cells Of The Nucleus Pulposus, Marcos Nicolas Barcellona
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
The intervertebral disc (IVD) has been widely observed to undergo significant structural and biochemical changes with age and maturation. As degeneration progresses, changes in extracellular matrix composition and deposition, tissue cellularity, and metabolic activity have been characterized. Although the epidemiology of disc degeneration remains unclear, it is believed that the nucleus pulposus (NP) region of the IVD may be implicated in early degeneration. Specifically, cells of the nucleus pulposus have been observed to undergo a shift from their notochordal-like juvenile phenotype to a more fibroblast-like state in a manner concomitant to degenerative events. Because the disc has inherently little capacity …
Cortical Organization In Humans And Nonhuman Primates: The Evolution Of Cognitive Areas And Circuits,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Cortical Organization In Humans And Nonhuman Primates: The Evolution Of Cognitive Areas And Circuits, Chad Joseph Donahue
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
Similarities in organization of cerebral cortex in humans and nonhuman primates offer the promise of leveraging data from invasive animal studies to better understand the complexities of the human brain, particularly those related to higher cognitive function (e.g. attention, working memory, language). Such comparisons necessitate the identification of convincing cortical homologues (areas or regions presumed to have derived from a common ancestor), requiring an accurate interspecies mapping of cortical areas and features. To this end, I describe (i) a survey of connectivity and its measures across primate species, particularly retrograde tracing and diffusion tractography, (ii) a morphometric analysis of cognitive …
Understanding A Role For Synovium In Intra-Articular Drug Clearance: A Computational And Experimental Approach,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Understanding A Role For Synovium In Intra-Articular Drug Clearance: A Computational And Experimental Approach, Young Guang
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
The synovium is a membranous tissue that governs molecular transport between the intra-articular (IA) joint space and the systemic circulatory system. Drug delivery to the IA space is an attractive option to treat localized joint diseases such as osteoarthritis. However, short residence times due to rapid clearance from the joint diminishes efficacy of IA injected drugs. While many studies exist on the clearance of drugs from the IA space, these studies lack the ability to isolate and characterize trans-synovial transport.The first aim of this dissertation establishes a computational finite element (FE) model of trans-synovial transport using multiphasic mixture theory. The …
Plasmonically-Enhanced Ultrasensitive Biodetection Technologies,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Plasmonically-Enhanced Ultrasensitive Biodetection Technologies, Zheyu Wang
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
Detection and quantification of biomolecules within biological fluids and tissues is of fundamental importance to biomedical research and clinical diagnostics. It is impossible to fully characterize complex, non-linear, biochemical systems without being able to accurately and quantitatively determine the component molecules. This problem is ubiquitous across all domains of biomedical research, and it is a major barrier to fully understanding health, ageing, and disease. Such bottlenecks are extremely challenging to be solved, especially for proteins and peptides, which do not have amplification schemes such as polymerase chain reaction for nucleic acids, because relevant concentrations of molecules related to diseases such …
Synthetic Gene Circuits For Self-Regulating And Temporal Delivery Of Anti-Inflammatory Biologic Drugs In Engineered Tissues,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Synthetic Gene Circuits For Self-Regulating And Temporal Delivery Of Anti-Inflammatory Biologic Drugs In Engineered Tissues, Lara Pferdehirt
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
The recent advances in the fields of synthetic biology and genome engineering open up new possibilities for creating cell-based therapies. We combined these tools to target repair of articular cartilage, a tissue that lacks a natural ability to regenerate, in the presence of arthritic diseases. To this end, we developed cell-based therapies that harness disease pathways and the unique properties of articular cartilage for prescribed, localized, and controlled delivery of biologics, creating the next generation of cell therapies and new classes of synthetic circuits. We created tissue engineered cartilage from murine induced pluripotent stem cells that had the ability to …
Assessment And Diagnosis Of Human Colorectal And Ovarian Cancer Using Optical Imaging And Computer-Aided Diagnosis,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Assessment And Diagnosis Of Human Colorectal And Ovarian Cancer Using Optical Imaging And Computer-Aided Diagnosis, Yifeng Zeng
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
Tissue optical scattering has recently emerged as an important diagnosis parameter associated with early tumor development and progression. To characterize the differences between benign and malignant colorectal tissues, we have created an automated optical scattering coefficient mapping algorithm using an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. A novel feature called the angular spectrum index quantifies the scattering coefficient distribution. In addition to scattering, subsurface morphological changes are also associated with the development of colorectal cancer. We have observed a specific mucosa structure indicating normal human colorectal tissue, and have developed a real-time pattern recognition neural network to localize this specific structure …
Engineering Nucleus Pulposus Cell-Matrix Interactions With Laminin Ligands For Tissue Regeneration,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Engineering Nucleus Pulposus Cell-Matrix Interactions With Laminin Ligands For Tissue Regeneration, Julie Elizabeth Speer
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
Low back pain and degenerative conditions of the intervertebral disc (IVD) represent major global socioeconomic and medical burdens. The structures that comprise the IVD including the anulus fibrosis and the nucleus pulposus (NP) work together to stabilize the axial skeleton and distribute mechanical forces. However, the degenerative cascade, which is thought to begin with changes to the NP, results in alterations to the disc that can be seen across length scales including elongated cell shapes, tissue dehydration, and loss of disc height. Patients who present clinically with these changes may also experience altered biomechanics, pain upon motion, impairments to their …
Post-Traumatic Elbow Contracture Characterization And Physical Therapy-Based Treatment Strategies In A Preclinical Model,
2021
Washington University in St. Louis
Post-Traumatic Elbow Contracture Characterization And Physical Therapy-Based Treatment Strategies In A Preclinical Model, Alex Reiter
McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations
The elbow is the most commonly dislocated joint in the pediatric population and second most common in adults. As one of the most congruous joints in the body, slight changes in biomechanics due to injury can lead to drastic reductions in range of motion causing potential quality of life issues. Post-traumatic joint contracture occurs in 12% of patients following elbow dislocation or fracture, and it is characterized by a loss in ROM, joint stiffness, and pain. Preventing joint contracture and functional deficits from occurring is one of the primary goals when managing these injuries. A rat model of joint contracture …
Effects Of Genipin Crosslinking On The Properties Of Tendon Derived Extracellular Matrix Hydrogels,
2021
Rowan University
Effects Of Genipin Crosslinking On The Properties Of Tendon Derived Extracellular Matrix Hydrogels, Alicia Cheyenne Coombs
Theses and Dissertations
Extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogels are a useful biomaterial in the tissue engineering field used for injectables in drug delivery systems, wound dressing, tissue regeneration and many other applications. ECM hydrogels are highly biocompatible, contain proper ratios of biomolecules required for complex bioactivity of tissues and they promote tissue repair. However, ECM hydrogels typically have poor mechanical strength, which leads to hydrogel instability, and a limitation in their ability to be modified for translational applications. In this research, genipin, a natural crosslinker derived from plants, was utilized in an attempt to improve upon the mechanical limitations of ECM hydrogels. Genipin has …
Impact Of Angiogenic And Osteogenic Factors In The Presence Of Biodegradable Piezoelectric Films,
2021
University of Connecticut
Impact Of Angiogenic And Osteogenic Factors In The Presence Of Biodegradable Piezoelectric Films, Jayla Millender
University Scholar Projects
One of the most common causes of bone graft rejection is lack of a vascular network connecting the graft to the existing native tissue – allowing for nutrient flow. Under current grafting techniques, the existing blood vessel network in the patient slowly invades the implant in order to supply the injured site with its necessary nutrients. The purpose of this research is to determine if a synthetic bone graft with a stable microvascular network can be developed in vitro. I hypothesize that the use of indirect angiogenic factors such as sonic hedgehog homolog and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in combination with the …
Impact Of Angiogenic And Osteogenic Factors In The Presence Of Biodegradable Piezoelectric Films,
2021
University of Connecticut
Impact Of Angiogenic And Osteogenic Factors In The Presence Of Biodegradable Piezoelectric Films, Jayla Millender
Honors Scholar Theses
One of the most common causes of bone graft rejection is lack of a vascular network connecting the graft to the existing native tissue – allowing for nutrient flow. Under current grafting techniques, the existing blood vessel network in the patient slowly invades the implant in order to supply the injured site with its necessary nutrients. The purpose of this research is to determine if a synthetic bone graft with a stable microvascular network can be developed in vitro. I hypothesize that the use of indirect angiogenic factors such as sonic hedgehog homolog and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in combination with the …
