Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Comfort And Compatibility Of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses, Ngai Keung Tam

Theses and Dissertations

Silicone Hydrogel (SiHy) contact lenses are highly successful compared to previous soft lenses; they were developed to provide superior oxygen permeability. However, the hydrophobic natures of the silicone segments enhance lipid sorption which may diminish the lens surface wettability, clarity and comfort. While lens and lens care product are designed to remove lipid deposition, there is lack of experimental evidence to evaluate the actual performances with respect to lipid removal. An in vitro model using an artificial tear fluid containing radiolabeled lipids was employed in this thesis research to evaluate the efficacy of different multi-purpose lens care solutions in removing …

In Vivo Efficacy Of Chitosan/Interleukin-12 In Controlling Lung Metastasis In 4t1 Breast Cancer Model, Jimmy Vo

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a leading front in cancer treatment. In contrast to other treatment methods such as radiation and surgery, immunotherapy trains the patient's body to recognize and eliminate tumors, thus preventing reoccurrence of secondary tumors. IL-12 has been shown to display a potent anti-tumor immune response in mice; however, when clinical trials were conducted, it was shown to be toxic and in some cases fatal when administered systemically.1,2 Because of this, local delivery of IL-12 is under investigation. Our lab has shown that when paired with the polymer chitosan, local, intratumoral (i.t.) injections of IL-12 are retained …

Characterization Of An Affitoid Variable Region To Be Used For Mdm-2 Detection In Elisa Microarray, Graham Reinhard

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) microarray using peptoid-based affinity reagents, referred to as affitoids, is potentially a very powerful tool for the early detection of cancer and other complex diseases. Current detection methods for cancer are inadequate because most are imaging techniques and require that the cancer has progressed far enough for growths to be visible, which is often far too late for treatment to be effective. One possible way to overcome this issue is to use a biological detection technique that is able to detect proteins that are secreted specifically by cancerous cells (referred to as biomarkers). These biomarkers …

Glycerin And The Market, Valentine Chijioke Mbamalu

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Glycerin, a trihydric alcohol, had once enjoyed a good market value but, is now faced with global oversupply and this makes the market volatile. It is a byproduct of biodiesel production thought as an added value to biodiesel operations. It is now faced with an unpredictable market and probably oversupply as an outcome of increased biodiesel production. There are two types of glycerin market; the refined glycerin with its solid price and crude glycerin which is volatile. There are new applications for glycerin being developed or being implemented and it will be a source of strength to the market. This …

Biodiesel Synthesis Via Transesterification Reaction In Supercritical Methanol:A) A Kinetic Study, B) Biodiesel Synthesis Using Microalgae Oil, Jiuxu Liu

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering – Theses

The transesterification reaction in supercritical methanol between various oil feed stocks and alcohols is proposed as an alternative cost effective method to produce biofuels. Two studies were conducted related to this process in order to (a) supplement a previous kinetics study to better understand the reaction mechanism and (b) assess basic reaction conditions for effective conversion of microalgae oil to biofuels in supercritical methanol.

A one-step transesterification reaction has been used in some supercritical batch experiments to explain the kinetic results (He, Sun, Wang, & Zhu, 2007; Kusdiana & Saka, 2001). However, one-step kinetic models ignore the detailed multi-step reaction …

Expression, Production, And Purification Of Novel Therapeutic Proteins, Mckinzie Shea Fruchtl

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interest in the production of recombinant proteins consisting of collagen binding domain (CBD) fused to a bioactive material has increased due to the targeting/attachment capabilities of CBD. For example, CBD fusions can be applied to the reversing of bone density loss and the repair of the eardrum, specifically, by choosing an appropriate fusion partner (parathyroid hormone or epidermal growth factor). The production of CBD fusions was examined using batch and fed-batch culturing of Escherichia coli to express the fusion proteins, and affinity chromatography to isolate the final product.

Different medium formulations, feeding strategies, and induction methods were tested in order …

Investigating The Feasibility Of Growing Algae For Fuel In Southern Nevada, Faegheh Moazeni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Microalgae capable of growing in waste are adequate to be mass-cultivated for biodiesel, avoiding fertilizers and clean water, two obstacles to sustainability of the feedstock production. This study replaces fertilizers and clean water with waste products. The investigated wastes include (1) the liquid fraction of sewage after solids and particles are removed, known as centrate, and (2) algal biomass residue, i.e. the algae remaining at the end of the lipids extraction process at biofuel plants. These wastes contain sufficient amount of nitrogen and phosphorus required for algal growth. This study proposes a system in which centrate would be used as …

International Environmental Design Contest Task: Hyrdaulic Fracturing Fluid Hydrocarbon Removal As A Reverse Osmosis Pretreatment, Elisabeth Yates

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Natural gas is useful in several different applications from chemical feed stock, to energy and fuel source. In the past it has been too expensive to be properly taken advantage of, but in recent years technology advancements have made it a rather cheap commodity. However, these advancements, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, come at an additional cost. They require massive amounts of water, approximately 7,000,000 gallons per well drilled. After use, this water is laden with salts and dangerous hydrocarbons. In order for the water to be recycled or reused, both components must be removed. Reverse osmosis membranes are commonly …

Highly Sensitive Method For Detecting And Separating Pathogens Using Paramagnetic Particles And A Micro-Fluidic System, William Ryan

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Water is one of the most important compounds on Earth. If a water supply is contaminated with a pathogen, it can have devastating results to an individual or a community. This research is directed at constructing an easily reproducible procedure that could increase the sensitivity of detecting and separating bacteria from the current limits of about 100 cells to 10-20 cells per sample with a ultimate goal of a single cell detection. Here, we report a micro-fluidic system to magnetically capture pathogenic bacteria in water followed by rapid impedance detection using Escherichia coli K-12 as a model bacterium. Paramagnetic beads …

Comparing Decellularized Muscle Tissue With An Engineered Muscle Biomaterial, Katelin Cherry

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Decellularized tissues composed of extracellular matrix are commonly used for tissue transplantations but this method has many limitations. An alternative approach is to create an extracellular matrix by seeding degradable foams with cells, culturing these foams to allow extracellular matrix to be secreted from the cells, then washing away the degradable foam to collect the material that is produced. This study was interested in comparing decellularized skeletal muscle tissue to an engineered biomaterial that was seeded with skeletal muscle myoblast cells. Collagen content of decellularized tissue and engineered biomaterial were quantified using a hydroxyproline assay to compare the two samples. …

Rapid Detection And Quantification Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Using Single-Based Extension And Capillary Electrophoresis, Anh Vu

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared tuberculosis (TB) a global emergency. Since then, more than 30 million lives have been claimed by that world-wide epidemic. In 2011, 8.7 million people “felt ill” because of TB and not all TB cases were reported to clinicians. Therefore, it is important to accurately identify TB patients by developing a diagnostic method that is sensitive, fast, and cost-effective. However, conventional methods have not met those criteria because they either require lengthy procedures or may misdiagnose TB cases. Hence, the automated Xpert MTB/RIF, endorsed by WHO in 2010, was developed and so …

Modeling Dissolution Of Oil Droplets During The Ascent In Marine Water After A Deep Water Oil Spill, Kalpanee D. Gunasingha

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Aqueous Suspensions Of Polymer Coated Magnetite Nanoparticles: Colloidal Stability, Specific Absorption Rate, And Transverse Relaxivity, Steven Saville

All Dissertations

The design, functionalization, characterization, and applications of magnetic nanoparticles have garnered significant interest over the past several decades. While this area has garnered increasing attention, several questions remain unanswered about the stability of these systems and it's influence on their biomedical applications. To help answer these questions about the stability of these, a novel tri(nitroDOPA) terminated polymer based ligand has been developed for the stabilization of magnetite nanoparticles. The synthesis involves a process in which ethylene oxide is polymerized using a trivinyl initiator, modified with carboxylic acid using a free radical addition of mercaptoundecanoic acid, and then functionalized with nitroDOPA …

Protein Isolation Using Peptoid Based Affinity Chromatography, Megan Dunn

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Protein purification is essential for advancements in biotechnology. There are several different methods employed in purifying a particular protein from a complex sample such as a cell lysate. These methods take advantage of differences in the size, charge or binding affinity of the protein. One such method is affinity chromatography which utilizes the binding affinity of a protein toward a certain ligand to purify a protein. This is usually used as a final step to extract the desired protein after the mixture has undergone other purification steps to remove unwanted materials. The goal of this project was to develop a …

Novel Method For Sequential Batch Recovery Of Biomass From A Helical Photobioreactor, Matthew Hurst

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study developed and evaluated a novel method to recover the microalgae species Arthrospira platensis from a closed helical photo bioreactor system. A recovery apparatus was designed and shown to increase recovery by 40% via periodic online recovery runs during exponential growth phase of biomass. Considerations for the apparatus design included the low shear tolerance of the algae and the necessity for a closed system in order to monitor CO2 consumption. The recovery method draws on methods used for large scale recovery as reported in literature by Vonshak and Shimmatsu [1], [2]. This work seeks to improve reactor biomass yield …

The Effect Of The Local Refractive Index On The Spectral Properties Of Gold Nanoparticle Arrays, Justin Norman

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Gold nanoparticle arrays exhibit extraordinary spectral properties useful to a wide variety of applications including biomolecular sensing, alternative energy, and informatics. The spectral properties of these arrays depend on the array geometry (particle size and spacing) and the surrounding environment (refractive index). In this thesis, a thorough map of the parameter space describing the spectral properties of square, gold nanoparticle arrays is developed in conjunction with a fundamental theoretical description of the phenomena that govern these properties.

Hydrocarbon Removal, Elizabeth Ashley

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A group of Chemical Engineers romoved hydrocarbons from a surrogate flowback solution. The solution contained polar and non-polar hydrocarbons that had to be removed to protect an RO membrane. The full scale solution would use UF to remove the non-polar hydrocarbons and GAC beds to remove the soluble hydrocarbons.

Optimal Production Of Biobutanol Via Hydrogenation Of Butyric Acid, Sarad Panta

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Butanol is a primary alcohol most commonly used industrially as a solvent. It is largely produced petrochemically using fossil fuel feedstocks. The global butanol market has steadily increased in recent years and is projected to continue increasing at an annual rate of 3.2%. Additionally, the possibility of introducing butanol to the fuel market presents the opportunity to further grow the industry. Because of the increasing demand and its production from fossil fuels, there is a need to manufacture butanol more sustainably and efficiently to help the environment and improve the world economy. Currently, biobutanol is not produced commercially; however, its …

Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltraion And Granulated Activated Carbon Hydrocarbon Removal For Reverse Osmosis Pretreatment, Hayden Dwyer

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hydraulic Fracturing is becoming an increasing prevalent technology in present society due its ability to produce cheap, clean natural gas as a viable fuel source. One public image draw back to hydraulic fracturing, however, is that it uses large volumes of water. This water returns to surface after stimulation laden with hydrocarbons and other material from down hole. The proposed and test method to treat this flowback water was reverse osmosis membranes with granulated activated carbon and ultrafiltration serving as a pretreatment. This proved to be a very successful method in treating hydraulic fracturing flowback water.

Bio-Separation Process Improvement Via Genomic Manipulation: Development Of Novel Strains For Use In Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (Imac), Ryan Curtis Haley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation is comprised of three parts. Part I describes proteomic analysis of native bacterial proteins from Escherichia coli (E.coli) that bind during Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC). Part II describes the value in exploiting proteome based data as a tool toward the design an E. coli expression strain that is particularly useful when Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography is employed as the initial capture step of a homologous protein purification process. Part III describes a methodology of chromosomal mapping of all contaminant gene products.

The objective of Part I was to identify all E. coli proteins that bind to Co(II), …