Engineering Commons^™

In Vivo Non-Invasive Monitoring Of Optically Resonant Metal Nanoparticles Using Multi-Wavelength Photoplethysmography, Gregory J. Michalak

Doctoral Dissertations

Nanotechnology has recently emerged as a powerful modality in many biomedical applications. In particular, several classes of nanoparticles have been employed as cancer therapy and imaging contrast agents. These particles can have architecture of varying complexity, depending on their specific application. These complex architectures are achieved by various chemical techniques usually performed in specific sequences to add complexity and functionality. One such class of nanoparticle, used in tumor treatment and as contrast agents in several optical imaging techniques, is the plasmon resonant metal nanoparticle. The most common metal used for these particles is gold because of its biocompatibility, lack of …

Informatics And Natural Computation: Final Report, Francis T. Marchese

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

The purpose of this grant is to develop an interdisciplinary course in Informatics and Natural Computation that would service undergraduate computer, natural, and physical science majors. Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information. Natural computing refers to a collection of disciplines that unite nature with computing in three distinct ways:

1. Nature serves as a source of inspiration for the development of computational tools or systems that are used for …

Implementation Of Physiologic Pressure Conditions In A Blood Vessel Mimic Bioreactor System, Kevin Mark Okarski

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Implementation of Physiologic Pressure Conditions in a Blood Vessel Mimic Bioreactor System

Kevin Mark Okarski

Tissue engineering has traditionally been pursued as a therapeutic science intended for restoring or replacing diseased or damaged biologic tissues or organs. Cal Poly’s Blood Vessel Mimic Laboratory is developing a novel application of tissue engineering as a tool for the preclinical evaluation of intravascular devices. The blood vessel mimic (BVM) system has been previously used to assess the tissue response to deployed stents, but under non-physiologic conditions. Since then, efforts have been made to improve the vessel and bioreactor’s ability to emulate in …

Development Of Experimental Methods To Assess Adsorption Free Energy For Peptide-Surface Interactions, Yang Wei

All Dissertations

Because of its governing role in cellular response to implants and substrates for biomedical applications, the understanding and control of protein adsorption to material surfaces has been one of the major topics of research in the field of biomaterials. Unfortunately, it has proven to be extremely difficult to quantitatively understand and control these types of interactions because of the complexities involved, and existing methods that have been developed and used to characterize protein-surface interactions have proved to be inadequate to provide the level of detail necessary to achieve this understanding. New, more fundamental methods, both experimental and computational, are needed …

The Effect Of Adding Organic Polymers On The Handling Properties, Strengths And Bioactivity Of A Ca-Sr-Zn-Si Glass Polyalkenoate Cement, A. W. Wren, N. M. Cummins, A. Coughlan, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This work demonstrates the addition of a number of naturally occurring proteins/polymers to a zinc-based glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs). Chitin (Chi.), collagen (Col.), cysteine (Cys.) and keratin (Ker.) were added with the intention of improving the bioactivity of this cement. Initial testing involved characterization of the glass with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) before and after sterilization with γ-irradiation. No significant changes occurred as a result of sterilization. Handling properties of the modified cements were not significantly different from those of the control, BT 101 (Working T_w-36_s, and setting time T_s-70 …

Image-Based Quantification Workflow For Coronary Morphology: A Tool For Use In Next-Generation Bifurcation Stent Design, Sara Marie Nomeland

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs in ~200,000 bifurcation lesions annually. Treatment of CAD near bends and bifurcations is challenging and a preferred strategy for bifurcation lesions has yet to be established. However, a favorable treatment option may be elucidated by a more thorough understanding of vessel morphology as well as local hemodynamic alterations caused by current stenting approaches. Computational modeling of human arteries offers an attractive way to investigate the relationships between geometry, hemodynamics and vascular disease. Recent developments also make it possible to perform analysis on realistic geometries acquired noninvasively.

The objective of this work was twofold. The first …

Simulation Of Temperature Distributions In Tissue Upon Laser Pulse Irradiation Including Water Mass Transfer, Deepthi Nagulapally

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Lasers, due to their unique characteristics, have tremendous applications in the medical field. Generally all laser applications in hie-medicine involve the propagation of laser energy through tissue. Energy is deposited giving rise to many physical, hie-chemical, and mechanical effects. Among these are dynamical changes in the local temperature distributions within the tissue. Analysis of the temperature changes requires the creation of an appropriate optical transmission and heat flow model that incorporates user specified laser parameters. Here, a numerical simulation model was developed to study both steady state and time dependent temperature distributions due to pulsed laser radiation within user specified …

Securing Foreign Oil: A Case For Including Military Operations In The Climate Change Impact Of Fuels, Adam J. Liska, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Military operations are major industrial activities that use massive amounts of fuel and materials that significantly contribute to climate change. In this article, we assert that military activity to protect international oil trade is a direct production component for importing foreign oil— as necessary for imports as are pipelines and supertankers—and therefore the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from that military activity are relevant to U.S. fuel policies related to climate change. Military security for protection of global maritime petroleum distribution is part of the acquisition process, but in addition, recent Middle Eastern wars may also be related to securing petroleum …

Visual, Motor And Attentional Influences On Proprioceptive Contributions To Perception Of Hand Path Rectilinearity During Reaching, Robert A. Scheidt, Kyle P. Lillis, Scott J. Emerson

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We examined how proprioceptive contributions to perception of hand path straightness are influenced by visual, motor and attentional sources of performance variability during horizontal planar reaching. Subjects held the handle of a robot that constrained goal-directed movements of the hand to the paths of controlled curvature. Subjects attempted to detect the presence of hand path curvature during both active (subject driven) and passive (robot driven) movements that either required active muscle force production or not. Subjects were less able to discriminate curved from straight paths when actively reaching for a target versus when the robot moved their hand through the …

Simulation Studies Of Pulsed Voltage Effects On Cells, Jiahui Song

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation research focuses on the new field of pulsed electric field interactions with biological cells. In particular, "Intracellular Electromanipulation" which has important biomedical applications, is probed. Among the various aspects studied, nanosecond, high-intensity pulse induced electroporation is one phenomena. It is simulated based on a coupled scheme involving the current continuity and Smoluchowski equations. A dynamic pore model can be achieved by including a dependence on the pore population density and a variable membrane tension. These changes make the pore formation energy E(r) self-adjusting and dynamic in response to pore formation. Additionally, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are also discussed …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Self-Assembly Of Gold Nanorods And Nanoprisms, Kristina L. Tran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The unique properties of gold nanoparticles make them excellent candidates for applications in electronics, sensing, imaging, and photothermal therapy. Though abundant literature exists for isotropic gold nanoparticles, work on nanoparticles of different shapes has been gaining interest recently. Anisotropic gold nanoparticles, such as nanorods and nanoprisms, have tunable optical properties in the visible and near-infrared regions. Through synthesis and surface modification, the production of various shapes of these gold nanoparticles can be controlled to meet different applications.

Two different types of gold nanorods were used in this thesis. The first type was stabilized with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and had aspect …

Intelligibility Of Electrolarynx Speech Using A Novel Actuator, Brian Madden, Mark Nolan, Ted Burke, James Condron, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

During voiced speech, the larynx provides quasi-periodic acoustic excitation of the vocal tract. Following a laryngectomy, some people speak using an electrolarynx which replaces the excitatory function of the absent larynx. Drawbacks of conventional electrolarynx designs include the buzzing monotonic sound emitted, the need for a free hand to operate the device, and difficulty experienced by many laryngectomees in adapting to its use. Despite these shortcomings, it remains the preferred method of speech rehabilitation for a substantial minority of laryngectomees. In most electrolarynxes, mechanical vibrations are produced by a linear electromechanical actuator, the armature of which percusses against a metal …

Ultrasound Transient Shear Wave Elasticity Imaging For Tendon Tissue, Pengfei Song

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Degeneration of tendon tissue is a common cause of tendon dysfunction with the symptoms of repeated episodes of pain and palpable increase of tendon thickness. Tendon mechanical properties are directly related to its physiological composition and the structural organization of the interior collagen fibers which could be altered by tendon degeneration due to overuse or injury. Thus, measuring mechanical properties of tendon tissue may represent a quantitative measurement of pain, reduced function, and tissue health. Ultrasound elasticity imaging has been developed in the last two decades and has proved to be a promising tool for tissue elasticity imaging. To date, …

A Full-Range, Multi-Variable, Cfd-Based Methodology To Identify Abnormal Near-Wall Hemodynamics In A Stented Coronary Artery, Jonathan Murphy, Fergal Boyle

Articles

The benefit of coronary stent implantation is reduced by excessive intimal hyperplasia which re-narrows the artery and the prevention of which is still a primary concern for clinicians. Abnormal hemodynamics create non-physiological viscous stress on the artery wall, one of the root causes of intimal hyperplasia following stent implantation. A methodology to comprehensively evaluate the viscous stress on the artery wall following stent implantation would be useful to evaluate a stent’s hemodynamic performance. The proposed methodology employs 3D computational fluid dynamics, the variables wall shear stress (WSS), WSS gradient (WSSG), WSS angle gradient (WSSAG) and a statistical analysis to evaluate …

Cell Culture Method And Apparatus For Mechanically Stimulating Cells, Seth W. Donahue

Michigan Tech Patents

A cell culture assembly and a method for culturing cells that provide mechanical stimulation to cells. The cell culture assembly can include a flow chamber positioned in a fluid path and a support comprising cells positioned within the flow chamber to expose the cells to the fluid path. The cell culture assembly can further include a means for producing a steady flow of fluid in the fluid path, and a means for producing an oscillatory flow of fluid in the fluid path simultaneously with producing the steady flow of fluid in the fluid path to mechanically stimulate the cells. The …

A Comparative Analysis Of Methods For Baseline Drift Removal In Preterm Infant Respiration Signals, Pallavi Ramnarain

Theses and Dissertations

Breathing is a vital function intrinsic to the survival of any human being. In preterm infants it is an important indicator of maturation and feeding competency, which is a hallmark for hospital release. The recommended method of measurement of infant respiration is the use of thermistors. Accurate event detection within thermistor generated signals relies heavily upon effective noise reduction, specifically baseline drift removal. Baseline drift originates from several sensor-based factors, including thermistor placement within the sensor and in relation to the infant nares. This work compares four methods for baseline drift removal using the same event detection algorithm. The methods …

Escherichia Coli Plasmid Dna Fermentation: Strain And Process-Specific Effects On Vector Yield, Quality, And Transgene Expression, Aaron E. Carnes, Jeremy Luke, Justin Vincent, Clague Hodgson, James Williams

Vaccine Technology III

To commercialize DNA medicines, industrial plasmid DNA manufacturing processes are needed which meet the quality, economy, and scale requirements projected for future products. NTC has developed an inducible fed-batch fermentation process that incorporates novel cell bank and fermentation process innovations that reduce plasmid mediated metabolic burden. This process also incorporates a scalable plasmid induction profile that, in combination with vector backbone modifications that double fermentation productivity compared to existing high copy vectors such as pVAX1 and gWIZ, form a generic plasmid DNA production platform driving high plasmid yields up to 2.6 g/L, with specific yields of 5% of total dry …

After The License Approval: How Analytics Can Keep You In The Market, Robert Sitrin

Vaccine Technology III

Getting a BLA approved for a new vaccine can be a daunting task, but keeping the market supplied after licensure of a successful vaccine can be an even bigger challenge. Analytics can play an important role in keeping product supplied to the marketplace, especially during the critical launch phase The talk will describe the application of analytical comparability to GARDASIL®, Merck’s novel new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, in order to bridge product produced by a launch facility to that produced by a scale-up facility without the need for a clinical trial. This effort assured a smooth transition of supply …

Nipah/Hendra: Understanding The Links Between Human And Veterinary Emerging Diseases, Jules Minke

Vaccine Technology III

Animals constitute an important source of infectious diseases for humans and the majority of recent emerging diseases in humans are zoonotic. Infections occur through direct or indirect transmission from wildlife reservoirs or via the food chain. Nipah and Hendra viruses have recently joined the growing list of viruses that emerged from bats to cause serious disease in humans and livestock. Although the precise mode of virus transmission is not fully understood, human infection appears to be the result of close contact with infected horses and pigs that act as amplifying hosts. Improved control strategies are necessary to reduce the transmission …

Development Of Protein Capsular Matrix Vaccine (Pcmv) Technology, Kevin P. Killeen, Ann Thanawastien, Tom Griffin

Vaccine Technology III

Matrivax R&D Corp. is a start-up biotechnology company with R&D operations located in Boston, USA and a vaccine pilot facility in Haikou, China. We are developing a proprietary vaccine process that entraps polysaccharides in a cross-linked protein ‘carrier’ or matrix, termed Protein Capsular Matrix Vaccine (PCMV), as an alternative to conjugate vaccine technology. Despite highly efficacious pneumococcal vaccines such as Prevnar®, S. pneumoniae causes > 1 million deaths worldwide annually. Likewise, typhoid fever afflicts ~16 million people, resulting in 600,000 deaths despite effective vaccines such as Typhim Vi® and Ty21a. The premise is that inexpensive,efficacious polysaccharide vaccines that elicit TH-cell ‘memory’ …

A Vaccine Prototype Using Baculovirus Expression System For The Control Of Avian Influenza Virus, Mauricio Realpe, R. Mora, L. Castellanos, F. Robles, C. González-Hernández

Vaccine Technology III

A clade 1 sequence of H5 haemaglutinin from an Asian Avian H5N1 isolate was used as a the template to chemically synthetize a codon optimized version for expression in insect cells. A single clone was chosen for expression optimization and changes were introduced in order to maximize the amount of protein to be produced and to resemble another sequence demonstrated to be present in an isolate causing disease in Humans.

Preliminary analysis at lab scale have shown promising yields of the haemaglutinin using an activity titration assay and an ELISA-based detection method. Optimization of the cell seeding, MOI, and time …

Rabies Virus Glycoprotein (Rvgp) Expression In Drosophila S2 Cells And By Semliki Forest Virus (Sfv). Synthesis And Protection Studies, Carlos Pereira

Vaccine Technology III

Here we report the utilization of Drosophila melanogaster Schneider 2 (S2) cells and the Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) expression system to produce the rabies virus glycoprotein (RVGP). Although they represent different expression systems, they offer similar advantages in generating high-level expression of functional membrane proteins. They are both relatively easy and safe to handle and are scalable. RVGP synthesized by S2 cells and SFV carrying an mRNA coding for RVGP (SFV-RVGP) were assayed in mouse protection studies. We have constructed S2 gene vectors with the hygromycin selection gene (H) in which the RVGP gene is inserted under the control of …

Human Cells For Prostate Cancer Vaccine Therapy - The Impact Of Centrifugation Upon Key Product Quality Attributes, Michael Delahaye, Katherine Lawrence, Carol Chu Mike Hoare, Stephen Ward

Vaccine Technology III

Centrifugation is a unit operation used within a wide range of bioprocesses, including the production of a whole cell cancer vaccine to treat Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer (HRPC) which has been tested in Phase II clinical trials. To quantify the effect of centrifugation-related stresses upon a whole cell vaccine population, a design of experiments (DOE) based investigation at micro-scale was implemented. Qualification of the cells may be by membrane integrity and by surface marker density as well as cytokines released and retained during bioprocessing. These and possibly other factors combine to affect the biopotency of the cells and their clinical …

Challenges In Confronting Pandemic Influenza Using Novel Adjuvanted Vaccines, Louis F. Fries

Vaccine Technology III

Pandemic influenza is a recurring threat throughout history. Characterized by rapid spread and high attack rate, the features of pandemic influenza are grounded in the lack of immunologic experience with pandemic virus subtypes in the majority of the human population alive during the outbreak. Immunization is regarded as a key tool in preparing for, and mitigating, pandemic influenza. Unfortunately, capacity to manufacture sufficient inactivated influenza antigen by currently-licensed processes remains challenging, and this problem is amplified by the very short timeline for production and distribution that may be available. GSK has addressed the pandemic influenza challenge by application of the …

Development Of A Multi-Dose Formulation For Prevnar 13™, Lakshmi Khandke, Cindy Yang, Jingrun Fan, Hanyoung Han, Ksenia Krylova Abbas Rashidbaigi, Bruce A. Green, Kathrin U. Jansen

Vaccine Technology III

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes up to a million cases per year of invasive disease in young children and infants, most occurring in developing countries. Pfizer is partnering with WHO and the GAVI alliance to support the developing world on immunization against pneumococcal disease. Prevnar 13™ is currently approved for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in twenty seven countries. If used widely, this pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could prevent hundreds of thousands of additional cases of child mortality each year.

Use of single-dose preservative-free vaccine formulations will raise the overall cost of vaccination programs and may jeopardize the effectiveness of immunization programs …

Purification Process Development Of Protein Subunit Based Vaccine Candidates Produced Using Recombinant E. Coli Expression System (Part - I), Davinder Chawla, Yan-Ping Yang

Vaccine Technology III

Proteins are key components of prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases. Protein subunit based vaccine is an attractive alternative to the traditional detoxified bacterial or inactivated viral vaccine approach due to its highly purified and well characterized product nature. Purification of protein antigens to achieve consistent product purity and quality is an integral part of the protein subunit vaccine product development process. Expression levels of the recombinant proteins in bacterial expression system may be extremely high following rapid technology advancement. The challenges and approaches used to develop purification processes for novel protein vaccine candidates expressed at g/L level will be discussed.

Innovative Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines In Cuba: An Update, Luis Enrique Fernández

Vaccine Technology III

Worldwide cancer affects more than 10 million new people each year while other 22 million are living with this devastating disease.

Cancer vaccines are the newest weapon in the battle against this disease, specifically increasing body's natural abilities to halt tumour progression. Currently, 141 distinct projects are at different stages of clinical development.

The Cuban Biotech System of Institutions has been actively involved in this field for almost 20 years, resulting that 8 innovative therapeutic cancer vaccine projects are currently under clinical investigation.

The main focus of these projects is to impact the principal cancer localizations afecting Cuban population, like …

Vaccine Stabilization – Research, Commercialization, And Impact, Ray Cummings, Debra Kristensen, Dexiang Chen, Michel Zaffran

Vaccine Technology III

Improving the stability of vaccines and removing vaccines from refrigerated storage for all or part of their shelf life have been proposed as strategies to help ensure vaccine effectiveness and to mitigate cold chain storage capacity constraints and escalating costs associated with the introduction of new vaccines into developing countries. Over the last six years, PATH has conducted research on stabilization of measles, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis B, enterotoxgenic Escherichia coli, conjugate meningococcal A, and pentavalent (Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis-hepatitis B-Hib) vaccines in collaboration with 22 technical partners and 10 vaccine development groups. Results will be shared and include marked improvement …

Purification Process Development Of Protein Subunit Based Vaccine Candidates Produced Using Recombinant E. Coli Expression System (Part - Ii), Davinder Chawla, Yan-Ping Yang

Vaccine Technology III

Proteins are key components of prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases. Protein subunit based vaccine is an attractive alternative to the traditional detoxified bacterial or inactivated viral vaccine approach due to its highly purified and well characterized product nature. Purification of protein antigens to achieve consistent product purity and quality is an integral part of the protein subunit vaccine product development process. Expression levels of the recombinant proteins in bacterial expression system may be extremely high following rapid technology advancement. The challenges and approaches used to develop purification processes for novel protein vaccine candidates expressed at g/L level will be discussed.

Influence Of Host Cell Defence During Influenza Vaccine Production In Mdck Cells, Timo Frensing, Claudius Seitz, Bjoern Heynischotto-Von-Guericke, Udo Reichl

Vaccine Technology III

For cell culture-based influenza vaccine production virus yield optimisation is of crucial importance. In particular, with the recent threat of the new H1N1 pandemic, not only seasonal vaccines but also pre-/pandemic vaccines have to be supplied in large quantities. In vivo influenza replication is limited by the immune system, but for production cell lines the impact of cellular defence mechanisms on virus yield is unknown. In influenza-infected adherent Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells the interferon (IFN) response and subsequent induction of the antiviral state was monitored. Virus yield and host cell signalling intensity were strain-dependent. By over-expression of viral antagonists …