Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Blood-Brain Barrier-On-A-Chip Systems Based On 3d Printing, Cade I. Harding

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research focused on the design and testing of a blood-brain barrier (BBB)-on-a-chip microfluidic device produced using 3D printing. First, COMSOL simulations were used to define dimensions of the microchannel that would most accurately replicate the flow environment imposed on the blood-brain barrier, the wall shear stress being the most important characteristic. In using COMSOL, water was used as the simulated fluid and also the testing fluid in the fabricated devices. Therefore, the microsystem is designed to produce the BBB environment using water instead of blood. The numerical simulation parameters were based on theoretical calculations performed to scale up the …

Design And Validation Of An In Vivo Long-Term Attachment Capsule Robot, Wanchuan Xie

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

The invention of capsule endoscopy (CE) made the non-invasive monitoring of the entire small bowel possible and became the primary means for diagnosing small bowel pathology. In the last decade, capsule robots have been transformed from diagnostic devices into a widely studied biomedical platform with the potential for active locomotion, drug delivery and therapeutic capabilities. To perform accurate on-site drug release and therapy, it is necessary for a capsule robot to be able to attach to the intestinal tissue and maintain its position long-term. Design challenges derive from the task of long-term mucosal adhesion which requires firm, quick-response attachment without …

Optimizing A Standard Fasting Time For 2-Nbdg Uptake Studies In Murine Breast Cancers, Andrew C. Briley

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Recently, there has been a larger use of 2-NBDG, a fluorescent glucose analog, to study glucose uptake in different cell types. These cell types have ranged anywhere from bacteria to human cancer cells. However, there has yet to be a standard procedure and practice for using 2-NBDG. In this study, our goal is to create a standard fasting time for the cells before introducing 2-NBDG to them. This study uses 4T07 cells, a murine breast cancer cell line, to help optimize this fasting time. These cells were fasted at different time points in order to find the ideal fasting time. …

Characterization Of Murine Breast Cancer Cell Lines For Anti-Cancer Vaccine, Haven N. Frazier

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States (1). While treatments involving radiation and chemotherapy currently exist, disease must be detected early in order for the treatments to be somewhat effective, and there is no effective treatment after metastasis occurs (2). Additionally, current therapies do not mitigate tumor immunosuppression. Decreasing the tumor-associated immunosuppressive conditions while activating antitumor immunity could prevent recurrence and metastasis, possibly leading to an effective treatment for cancer (3). Tumor cell vaccines could possibly address this issue and have become a …

The Agile Approach In Pharmaceutical Software Development, Priyal Bhargava

Honors Scholar Theses

The Agile development model is increasingly being adopted by the pharmaceutical industry for software development. Currently, there are several software projects under development by pharmaceutical companies that are using the Agile process. Other methodologies such as the Waterfall process, a traditional approach to project management, have evolved over time and been compared against the Agile method. Also there are conflicts of interest which should be taken into consideration when in a pharmaceutical setting such as abiding by FDA regulations. In addition, Agile’s sub-divisional approaches add to the versatility of how this iterative approach is applied in the pharmaceutical industry. The …

A Novel Biochamberfor Modeling Of Atherosclerotic Arteries: In Vitro Capabilities And Applications, Iman Salafian, Angelos Karagiannis, Benjamin S. Terry, Yiannis S. Chatzizisis

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

Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease that involves the lipid accumulation and inflammation of the arterial wall [1,2]. Despite great efforts,its pathophysiology has not been fully elucidated. Existent drugs can reduce its progression but there are no available drugs to prevent its complications [3,4]. Atherosclerosis remains the leading global cause of death[5].

The purpose of this work is to design and build a customized biochamber which can be used for the following studies:

•Study the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis in vitro & ex vivo

•Investigate the mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque disruption

•Examine the direct effect of different anti-atherosclerotic drugs on lesions

•Use …

Chemical And Physical Priming Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells To Alter Nonviral Gene Delivery Outcomes, Tyler Kozisek, Andrew Hamann, Amy Mantz, Mathias Schubert, Eva Schubert, Angela K. Pannier

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

Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are a multipotent cell, meaning they are able to differentiate into a more mature cell type, such as osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes, that are found in numerous tissues in the human body, such as bone marrow, fat, and muscle. Since hMSCs can be derived from adult human tissues, they do not have the same ethical concern associated with them as other stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells. Due to hMSCs multipotency and ease of obtaining, they have become one of the most widely researched stem cell types in areas such …

Improvement Of Fluorescence-Based Microfluidic Dna Analyzers, Collin Tranter

Doctoral Dissertations

A tremendous effort continues in the development of micro-total-analysis-systems; in support of this, many chemical passivation methods have been developed to enhance the biocompatibility of such microfluidic systems. However, the suitability of these passivation techniques to many fluorescence-based assays still remains inconsistent. This part of this work is focused on the performance of a third generation intercalating DNA dye when used within microfluidic devices treated with a select variety of passivating coatings. The results of these tests indicate that passivation coatings which are intended to shed DNA based on electrostatic repulsion will in fact imbibe the fluorescent DNA intercalating dye …

Acl Reconstruction Results In Alterations For Force Control Variability During Multidirectional Force Production, Amelia S. Lanier

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

After anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture most will undergo reconstructive surgery. Within the first year after surgery 25% of patients will re-tear their ACL. Most of those injured attempt to return to sports which include running and cutting. The ability to produce appropriate ground reaction forces may be crucial for the successful return to sports without re-injury. Understanding stability of multidirectional ground reaction force (mGRF) production in healthy and ACL reconstructed (ACL-r) patients can lend insight to the high instance of re-injury. Typically, stability has been measured using linear analyses, but these analyses cannot capture the subtle time varying changes …

Application Of Argon Plasma Technology To Hydrophobic And Hydrophilic Microdroplet Generation In Pdms Microfluidic Devices, Brennan P. Graham

Master's Theses

Abstract Application of Argon Plasma Technology to Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Microdroplet Generation in PDMS Microfluidic Devices Brennan Graham Microfluidics has gained popularity over the last decade due to the ability to replace many large, expensive laboratory processes with small handheld chips with a higher throughput due to the small channel dimensions [1]. Droplet microfluidics is the field of fluid manipulation that takes advantage of two immiscible fluids to create droplets from the geometry of the microchannels. This project includes the design of a microfluidic device that applies the results of an argon plasma surface treatment to polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to successfully …

Serum Comp And The Inflammatory Environment Of The Knee Before And After Exercise-Induced Load, Alyssa Evans, Robert D. Hyldahl, Sarah T. Ridge, Sunku Kwon, Ty J. Hopkins, Eric R. Robinson, Matthew K. Seeley

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

The purpose of this study was to determine how accurately serum COMP represents inflammatory cytokine levels, within the knee, before and after exercise.

Cytokines included: GM-CSF, IFNa2, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-13, IL-15, IL-1ra, IL1b, IL1a, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1a, MIP-1b and IL-17.

Super-Hydrophobic And Anti-Microbial Surfaces Via Carbon Infiltrated-Carbon Nanotubes, Christian Dalon Esplin, Anton Bowden, Brian Jensen

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

No abstract provided.

A Nanocomposite Sensor Neck Sleeve For Tracking In Vivo Spine Kinematics In The Alpaca, Colton Porter Graham, Anton Bowden

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

Chronic low back pain in the US is often attributed to intervertebral disc degeneration. Camelids, particularly alpacas, pose a potential model for spinal treatment due to similarity of the spinal structure and vertical loading. Alpacas also exhibit a high rate of natural disc degeneration. To gain more understanding about how disc degeneration is caused in alpacas it is necessary to understand the loading and motion of the alpaca cervical spine. The goal of the present work was to incorporate nanocomposite sensors into a custom-designed neck sleeve to track the daily in-vivo neck motion of an alpaca in its natural environment.

Separation Of Bacteria From Blood For Rapid Sepsis Diagnosis, Mahsa Alizadeh, Daniel Scott Mc Clellan, Colin Grant Bledsoe, Rae Blanco, Madison Melville, William G. Pitt

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

No abstract provided.

Mri Field Mapping Using Bssfp Elliptical Signal Model, Joseph Valentine, Meredith Taylor, Steven Whitaker, Michael Hoff, Neal Bangerter

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

MRI, Field Mapping, bSSFP, ssfp, Elliptical Signal model, ellipse, phase unwrapping

Engineering Fret Biosensors For Microrna Presence/Absence Analysis, Nicholas E. Larkey, Sean M. Burrows

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

No abstract provided.

Towards A Bioselective Surface For Treatment Of Sepsis In A Hemoperfusion Device, Karl F. Schilke, Ramya Raman, Bonan Yu, Erik Hahn, Jonathan Su

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

Sepsis is a dysregulated immune response to circulating bacteria/endotoxin. Hemoperfusion is a promising treatment, but is not universally effective and can unacceptable blood damage. We are developing protein-repellent hydrogel nanofilms that can be grown on a variety of surfaces, and functionalized with “click-ready” pathogen-binding proteins expressed by Genetic Code Expansion (GCE). The extremely rapid, bioorthogonal “click” immobilization chemistry eliminates prior purification, maximizes surface loading, and guarantees spatial orientation of the immobilized proteins. We have demonstrated pathogen binding and blood protein repulsion by these layers, suggesting that they may be part of effective treatments for sepsis and other applications.

Dynamic Model And Estimator Development For A Smart Refractory Brick With Embedded Wireless Sensors For Gasifier Applications, Qiao Huang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The operating temperature is one of the most important variables for gasifier operation. A higher temperature can shorten the service life of the refractory lining. A lower temperature can reduce the extent of carbon conversion and disrupt the flow of molten slag in a slagging gasifier. Therefore temperature is one of the most important variable in a gasifier. In slagging gasifiers, molten slag can penetrate into the refractory lining leading to refractory spallation, undesired downtime, and costly replacement. Even though the temperature and extent of slag penetration are extremely important for the gasifier operation, they cannot be measured reliably by …

A Comprehensive Dosimetric Study On Switching From A Type-B To A Type-C Dose Algorithm For Modern Lung Sbrt, Christina Zhou, Nathan Bennion, Rongtao Ma, Xiaoying Liang, Shuo Wang, Kristina Zvolanek, Megan Hyun, Xiaobo Li, Sumin Zhou, Weining Zhen, Chi Lin, Andrew Wahl, Dandan Zheng

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background: Type-C dose algorithms provide more accurate dosimetry for lung SBRT treatment planning. However, because current dosimetric protocols were developed based on conventional algorithms, its applicability for the new generation algorithms needs to be determined. Previous studies on this issue used small sample sizes and reached discordant conclusions. Our study assessed dose calculation of a Type-C algorithm with current dosimetric protocols in a large patient cohort, in order to demonstrate the dosimetric impacts and necessary treatment planning steps of switching from a Type-B to a Type-C dose algorithm for lung SBRT planning.

Methods: Fifty-two lung SBRT patients were included, each …

Eye Movement Control: An Index For Athleticism, Brittany L. Oshea

Theses and Dissertations

Athletic potential is one of the most complex human traits. An elite athlete is produced from a complex interaction of an innumerable number of traits exhibited by the athlete. However, it’s not clear whether these traits are innate, allowing the athlete to excel, or, alternatively, are a consequence of practice. To be successful, athletes rely heavily on sensory information from the visual and vestibular systems. This study investigated the relationship eye movement control has with innate athleticism by comparing the saccadic and Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR) responses of former, no longer practicing, elite athletes against their age and gender matched counterparts …

A Method For Measuring The Attachment Strength Of The Cestode Hymenolepis Diminuta To The Rat Intestine, Wanchuan Xie, Gábor R. Rácz, Benjamin S. Terry, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

A unique adaptation of many internal parasites of mammals is their ability to stay in the intestine for extended periods of time and resist the normal peristaltic movements and forces that push and expel material. To better understand parasite adhesion behavior and replicate their attachment method in medical devices, an experiment was designed and performed using the rat tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta. The experiment employed a tensile test machine and a digital scale and was designed to calculate the attachment strength of the scolex to the mucosa through the change of the value of the digital scale during the tensile …

Design Development And Performance Study Of A Novel Assistive Device For Mobility Of Toddlers And Children With Visual Impairments, Joowon Jun

Dissertations and Theses

Being able to see allows mankind tremendous access to learn about the world, and because so much learning comes visually, children with visual impairments are delayed in developing range of skills: learning own languages, doing activities, socializing with peers, and etc. While children with vision can do virtually all the activities and tasks for granted, children with visual impairment require different types of tools or materials to do same tasks most of time. Amongst all the disadvantages that children with visual impairment have, one of the most critical disadvantageous area that visual impairment brings to toddler is learning to walk. …

The Effect Of Vibrotactile Feedback On Remote Manual Task Performance, Matthew S. Standard

Theses and Dissertations

Vibrotactile feedback offers a unique opportunity to augment or reconstruct impaired tactile sensations, whether that be in the form of enhancing prosthetics or specialized protective clothing. Important information about temperature and object slippage serve to endanger the human operator or equipment. This thesis presents three experiments which investigate amplitude modulated vibrotactile signals as a scalar dimension of roughness, the effect those signals and their locations (finger pad, forearm, bicep) have on the performance of two tasks: the sensing of temperatures simulated by vibrotactile signals and gripping an object of simulated surface texture. The results show task performance increase when the …

The Impacts Of Arterial Occlusion, Sex, And Exercise On Arteriogenesis And Functional Vasodilation, Megan Tze-Mei Chu

Master's Theses

The most frequent clinical presentation of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is intermittent claudication, which may be caused by impaired vasodilation. Patients demonstrate both local and systemic impairments in vasodilation, but as the collateral circulation is the primary site of resistance to the ischemic zone, impaired collateral vasodilation would have the greatest potential to induce claudication. Collateral function following arterial occlusion is not well defined, but immature collaterals may demonstrate impaired vasodilation in animal models, although this is potentially improved with exercise training. Furthermore, as females exhibit poorer physical function with ischemia and less improvement with therapeutic exercise, there appears …

Characterization Of Molecular Communication Based On Cell Metabolism Through Mutual Information And Flux Balance Analysis, Zahmeeth Sayed Sakkaff

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Synthetic biology is providing novel tools to engineer cells and access the basis of their molecular information processing, including their communication channels based on chemical reactions and molecule exchange. Molecular communication is a discipline in communication engineering that studies these types of communications and ways to exploit them for novel purposes, such as the development of ubiquitous and heterogeneous communication networks to interconnect biological cells with nano and biotechnology-enabled devices, i.e., the Internet of Bio-Nano Things. One major problem in realizing these goals stands in the development of reliable techniques to control the engineered cells and their behavior from the …

Mechanism Of Interaction Of Peptide Modified Nanoparticles With Porphyromonas Gingivalis., Ankita Jain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies suggest that P. gingivalis functions as a keystone pathogen and interacts with primary colonizers in the supragingival biofilm such as S. gordonii. This interaction contributes to the initial colonization of the oral cavity by P. gingivalis and thus represents a potential target for therapeutic intervention. We have identified a peptide (BAR) derived from the streptococcal SspB protein that functions to inhibit P. gingivalis adherence to S. gordonii. In addition, we showed that nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with BAR inhibit this interaction more potently than free soluble peptide, possibly by promoting interaction with P. gingivalis at higher valency than …

Microfluidic Cantilever Detects Bacteria And Measures Their Susceptibility To Antibiotics In Small Confined Volumes, Hashem Etayash, M. F. Khan, Kamaljit Kaur, Thomas Thundat

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

In the fight against drug-resistant bacteria, accurate and high-throughput detection is essential. Here, a bimaterial microcantilever with an embedded microfluidic channel with internal surfaces chemically or physically functionalized with receptors selectively captures the bacteria passing through the channel. Bacterial adsorption inside the cantilever results in changes in the resonance frequency (mass) and cantilever deflection (adsorption stress). The excitation of trapped bacteria using infrared radiation (IR) causes the cantilever to deflect in proportion to the infrared absorption of the bacteria, providing a nanomechanical infrared spectrum for selective identification. We demonstrate the in situ detection and discrimination of Listeria monocytogenes at a …

Subcellular And In-Vivo Nano-Endoscopy, Surya Venkatasekhar Cheemalapati, John Winskas, Hao Wang, Karthik Konnaiyan, Arseny Zhdanov, Alison Roth, Swamy Rakesh Adapa, Andrew Deonarine, Rays H. Y. Jiang, Anna Pyayt

Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Analysis of individual cells at the subcellular level is important for understanding diseases and accelerating drug discovery. Nanoscale endoscopes allow minimally invasive probing of individual cell interiors. Several such instruments have been presented previously, but they are either too complex to fabricate or require sophisticated external detectors because of low signal collection efficiency. Here we present a nanoendoscope that can locally excite fluorescence in labelled cell organelles and collect the emitted signal for spectral analysis. Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations have shown that with an optimized nanoendoscope taper profile, the light emission and collection was localized within ~100 nm. …

Anxiolytic Effects Of Propranolol And Diphenoxylate On Mice And Automated Stretch-Attend Posture Analysis, Kevin Scott Holly

Doctoral Dissertations

The prevention of social anxiety, performance anxiety, and social phobia via the combination of two generic drugs, diphenoxylate HC1 (opioid) plus atropine sulfate (anticholinergic) and propranolol HCl (beta blocker) was evaluated in mice through behavioral studies. A patent published on a September 8, 2011 by Benjamin D. Holly, US 2011/0218215 Al, prompted the research. The drug combination of diphenoxylate and atropine plus propranolol could be an immediate treatment for patients suffering from acute phobic and social anxiety disorders. Demonstrating the anxiolytic effects of the treatment on mice would validate a mouse model for neuroscientist to be used to detect the …

Lab-On-A-Chip Nucleic-Acid Analysis Towards Point-Of-Care Applications, Varun Lingaiah Kopparthy

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent infectious disease outbreaks, such as Ebola in 2013, highlight the need for fast and accurate diagnostic tools to combat the global spread of the disease. Detection and identification of the disease-causing viruses and bacteria at the genetic level is required for accurate diagnosis of the disease. Nucleic acid analysis systems have shown promise in identifying diseases such as HIV, anthrax, and Ebola in the past. Conventional nucleic acid analysis systems are still time consuming, and are not suitable for point-ofcare applications. Miniaturized nucleic acid systems has shown great promise for rapid analysis, but they have not been commercialized due …