Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Computer Modeling And Mapping Of Ultrasound Intensity In Human Tissues For Gene And Drug Delivery, Spencer Smith, Dr. William Pitt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the past years ultrasound has been used extensively in medical treatments. It is now being developed and tested in localized drug and gene delivery. One of the main applications for drug delivery is treating cancer.

Nanoemulsions Of Non-Toxic Fluorocarbon Liquids Used To Transfect Genes With Applied Ultrasound, Cody L. Martin, Dr. William Pitt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Gene delivery has been an important topic of medical and scientific research today, due to its potential in aiding the fight against cancer, heart disease and many genetic disorders. By transfecting appropriate genes into diseased cells, specific proteins can be produced that will alleviate problems at the cellular level. In addition, if the gene delivery is done by a targeted non-viral approach, such as ultrasound combined with contrast agent bubbles, the efficiency of transfection always increases. The targeted non-viral approach consists of applying focused ultrasound to a specific tissue in the presence of microbubbles. The application of ultrasound will cause …

A Course Grain Model For Protein-Surface Interactions, Shuai Wei, Thomas A. Knotts Iv

Faculty Publications

The interaction of proteins with surfaces is important in numerous applications in many fields—such as biotechnology, proteomics, sensors, and medicine—but fundamental understanding of how protein stability and structure are affected by surfaces remains incomplete. Over the last several years, molecular simulation using coarse grain models has yielded significant insights, but the formalisms used to represent the surface interactions have been rudimentary. We present a new model for protein surface interactions that incorporates the chemical specificity of both the surface and the residues comprising the protein in the context of a one-bead-per-residue, coarse grain approach that maintains computational efficiency. The model …

Numerical Analysis Of Co-Flowing Immiscible Liquids In Co-Axial Microtubes, In-Hwan Yang

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

This research developed dimensionless correlations, based on the numerical simulations, for the boundaries between the dripping, transition and jetting regimes. Additional correlations are also developed for the radius and formation frequency of disperse droplet in the dripping regime and the transition regime, when the total volume of the satellite droplets is less than 1% of the disperse primary droplets.

Adatom Emission From Nanoparticles: Implications For Ostwald Ripening, Tyne Johns

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

To achieve clean air in our cities, all modern means of ground transportation make use of catalytic converters. Precious metal-based catalysts such as Pt and Pd are currently used in catalytic converters. To achieve higher fuel efficiency, combustion can be carried out in excess air resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reduction of these emissions has emerged as a major challenge. Most of the pollutants are emitted within the first 30 seconds after starting an engine because the catalyst is cold. The development of catalysts which achieve high activity at low temperatures will improve fuel efficiency and …

A Propane Oven For The Uros Islands, Jeffrey Perry, Dr. Randy Lewis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

High in the Andes Mountains lives a group of Peruvians who spend their lives on the Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca. To purchase supplies at the nearest city, Puno, islanders must take a 20 minute motorboat trip and 10 minute taxi ride. Because trips to the city are infrequent, islanders rarely have the opportunity throughout the week to eat fresh baked breads, meats and desserts. The oven building team from the Global Engineering Outreach Class (GEO) at Brigham Young University decided to design, build and implement a portable oven, heated by propane that could be easily used and manufactured by …

Effects Of Enhanced Oil Recovery On Production Engineers, Elm Coulee Field, Bakken Reservoir, Richland County, Montana, Burt J. Todd, Ph.D., John Evans, Leo Heath, David Reichhardt

Petroleum Engineering

This presentation describes research at Montana Tech to improve oil recovery rates in the Elm Coulee Oil Field in the Bakken Reservoir, Richmond County, Montana. The slides display current recovery rate predictions, enhanced oil recovery methods, reservoir model building and history matching strategies. Recommended development strategies include implementing hydrocarbon gas injection operations to improve current oil recovery rates by more than 75%. The impact of increased production on Production Engineers is also described. The Principal Investigators include John Evans, Leo Heath, David Reichhardt and Burt Todd in the Petroleum Engineering Department.

Comparison Of A Sio2-Cao-Zno-Sro Glass Polyalkenoate Cement To Commercial Dental Materials: Ion Release, Biocompatibility And Antibacterial Properties, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, M. M. Hall, M. J. German, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ion Release and biocompatibility of a CaO-SrO-ZnO-SiO₂ (BT 101) based glass polyalkenoate cement (GPC) was compared against commercial GPCs, Fuji IX and Ketac Molar. The radiopacity (R) was similar for each material, 2.0-2.8. Ion release was evaluated on each material over 1, 7, 30 and 90 days. BT 101 release included Ca (23 mg/L), Sr (23 mg/L) Zn (13 mg/L), Si (203 mg/L). Fuji IX release includes Ca (0.7 mg/L), Al (3 mg/L) Si (26 mg/L), Na (60 mg/L) and P (0.5 mg/L) while Ketac Molar release includes Ca (1 mg/L), Al (0.6 mg/L) Si (23 mg/L), Na (76 …

Modeling The Effect Of Apc Truncation On Destruction Complex Function In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Dipak Barua, William S. Hlavacek

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In colorectal cancer cells, APC, a tumor suppressor protein, is commonly expressed in truncated form. Truncation of APC is believed to disrupt degradation of β-catenin, which is regulated by a multiprotein complex called the destruction complex. The destruction complex comprises APC, Axin, β-catenin, serine/threonine kinases, and other proteins. The kinases CK1α and GSK-3β, which are recruited by Axin, mediate phosphorylation of β-catenin, which initiates its ubiquitination and proteosomal degradation. The mechanism of regulation of β-catenin degradation by the destruction complex and the role of truncation of APC in colorectal cancer are not entirely understood. Through formulation and analysis of a …

Automated Methods To Determine Electrospun Fiber Alignment And Diameter Using The Radon Transform, Nicholas J. Schaub, Sean J. Kirkpatrick, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent evidence demonstrates the ability to change cell function by altering the physical properties of electro spun scaffolds, but many studies still do not characterize electro spun fiber alignment and diameter. To aid in the reporting of these crucial properties, we demonstrate two methods of quantifying electro spun fiber alignment with one method capable of determining electro spun fiber diameter. The first method assesses fiber alignment in a scanning electron microscopy image using the Radon Transform (RT) to calculate the entropy of the fibers in the image. The RT entropy method was more sensitive than a commonly used Fast Fourier …

Physicochemical Characterization Of Safranal-Β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes Prepared By Supercritical Carbon Dioxide And Conventional Methods., Sanaz Abbaszadegan

Theses

Saffron (Crocus sativus. Linn) has attracted much attention over the last decade because it has a large number of potent and biologically active compounds such as crocin, crocetin, picrocrocin and safranal. Researchers have shown that safranal has high antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities against several types of tumour cells (e.g., hepatocellular carcinoma) both in-vitro and in-vivo. However, the low aqueous solubility of safranal prevents using it as a therapeutic or preventive agent.

β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complexes are being used in pharmaceutical applications to alter physicochemical properties (e.g., solubility, volatility, stability, chemical reactivity, and bio-availability) of poorly water soluble drugs. Thus the …

Atomic Layer Deposited Highly Dispersed Platinum Nanoparticles Supported On Non-Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes For The Hydrogenation Of Xylose To Xylitol, Xinhua Liang, Chengjun Jiang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Highly dispersed platinum nanoparticles were deposited on gram quantities of non-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) in a fluidized bed reactor at 300°C. (Methylcyclopentadienyl) trimethylplatinum and oxygen were used as precursors. The results of TEM analysis showed that ∼1.3 nm Pt nanoparticles were highly dispersed on non-functionalized MWCNTs. The porous structures of MWCNTs did not change with the deposition of Pt nanoparticles. For comparison, the commercial 3 wt.% Pt/C catalyst was also characterized. The ALD-prepared Pt/MWCNT was used for the hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol. The ALD-prepared Pt/MWCNT showed the best catalytic performance with 100 % …

Slab Flattening Trigger For Isotopic Disturbance And Magmatic Flareup In The Southernmost Sierra Nevada Batholith, California, Alan D. Chapman, Jason B. Saleeby, John Eiler

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The San Emigdio Schist of Southern California permits examination of partial melting and devolatilization processes along a Late Cretaceous shallow subduction zone. Detrital and recrystallized zircon of the structurally highest portions of the schist bracket the depositional age to between ca. 102 and 98 Ma. Zircon oxygen isotope data from both lower-plate schist and upper-plate assemblages of the Sierra Nevada batholith (SNB) reveal a δ18O shift of ̃1.5% between igneous (̃5.5%) and recrystallized (̃7%) domains. These results, taken with previous zircon and whole-rock δ18O measurements, provide evidence for devolatilization and/or partial melting of the schist and fluid ascent through overlying …

Batch And Continuous Production Of Stable Dense Suspensions Of Drug Nanoparticles In A Wet Stirred Media Mill, Afolawemi Afolabi

Dissertations

One way to improve the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs is to reduce particle size of drug crystals down to nanoscale via wet stirred media milling. An increase in total surface area per mass loading of the drug and specific surface area as well as reduced external mass transfer resistance allow a faster dissolution of the poorly-water soluble drug from nanocrystals. To prevent aggregation of nanoparticles, polymers and surfactants are dissolved in water acting as stabilizers via adsorption onto the drug crystals.

In the last two decades, ample experimental data were generated in the area of wet stirred media milling …

Pressure Swing Membrane Absorption Process For Separation Of Low Temperature Post-Shift Reactor Syngas, John Chau

Dissertations

This thesis is concerned with a cyclic pressure swing membrane absorption process (PSMAB) for separation of the feed gas mixture containing —40% CO₂-He balance using pure ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([bmim][DCA]), and its solution containing poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer Gen 0 primarily with a dry feed gas. An advanced pressure swing membrane absorption process is developed to produce purified He as a surrogate for H₂ at a high pressure from simulated low- temperature shifted syngas for different membrane modules. The PSMAB process also simultaneously produces a highly purified CO₂ stream containing bulk of the CO₂ in …

Superior Dna Transport System, David Dickinson, Dr. William Pitt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Although surgeries and chemotherapy have had limited success, these techniques are largely unable to solve the problem and may cause significant damage to a patient’s entire body. Some patients are killed by the chemotherapy. Since many cancers have been found to be caused by the lack of a protein due to mutated DNA, a plasmid DNA carrying a replacement for this gene may be able to solve the problem. P52 is one of the more famous missing proteins, but others have and will continue to be discovered. If DNA could …

Electrosynthesis Of Glycerol Carbonate From Co2 And Glycerol, Huan Wang, Mei-Xia Zhu, La-Xia Wu, Xiao-Ming Xu, Xue-Ru Zhao, Jia-Xing Lu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Glycerol carbonate was obtained from glycerol and carbon dioxide under room temperature and normal pressure by electrochemical method. The effects of synthesis conditions, such as cathode, charge, current density and temperature, on the reaction of glycerol and carbon dioxide have been investigated. The yields of 73% were produced by electrosynthesis of carbonate under the optimized condition, which is much higher than that by common catalysis method. The electrochemical behavior of the reaction system has been studied by cyclic voltammetry, through which the reaction process has been proposed.

Influence Of Pretreatment On Electrocatalytic Property For Methanol Oxidation Of Ptru/Wc, Xiao-Ling Lang, Mei-Qin Shi, Ye-Kun Jiang, Chun-An Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

The surface of tungsten carbide (WC) was treated by potassium hydroxide (KOH) at different pH values for different time. The PtRu/WC composite was prepared by microwave-assisted polyol method. The phase structure of PtRu/WC composites were characterized by XRD. The electrocatalytic activity was tested by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results indicated that with different pH treatments WC became more readily supported on PtRu. When treating WC in KOH at pH = 14, PtRu exhibited the best degree of crystallinity on WC surface, leading to the highest electrocatalytic activity of PtRu/WC. Moreover, the optimized activity of PtRu/WC towards methanol oxidation was …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Li(Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3)1-2xTiXNbXO2, Yong Tang, Qin-Lin Liao, Xiang-An Guo

Journal of Electrochemistry

The cathode-active materials of layered Li(Ni_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3)_1-2xTi_xNb_xO₂（x=0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02）composites were synthesized by the thermal treatment of the coprecipitated precursor at 900 ^oC in air. The effects of Ti-Nb co-dopants on the structural and electrochemical properties of Li(Ni_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3)O₂ were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical experiments. The results show that the small amounts of Ti-Nb co-dopants in Li(Ni_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3)O₂significantly decreased the degree of cation mixing in …

Research Progress Of Intermediate Layers In Ti-Based Oxide Anodes, Xiu-Li Song, Hui-Min Yang, Zhen-Hai Liang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Titanium (Ti)-based oxide anodes are excellent anode materials which have been applied widely in electrochemical fields all over the world. Adding intermediate layers in Ti-based oxide anodes can improve the conductivity, lengthen the lifetime and strengthen the stability between Ti base and metal oxides active layers of electrodes. This article reviews the research progress of intermediate layers in Ti-based oxide anodes. At the same time, current problems existed in the field of Ti-based oxide anodes are pointed out and future development trend in oxide electrode with intermediate layers is prospected.