Biological Engineering Commons^™

Brain Tumor In A Dish: Glioma/Astrocyte Co-Cultures As A Model For In Vitro Studies, Erin Eickman, Christina Wilson, Srivatsan Kidambi

UCARE: Research Products

This study seeks to engineer an in vitro co-culture model to elucidate the role of glioma-astrocyte interactions on molecular changes in the tumor microenvironment. The use of patterned co-cultures created with polyelectrolyte multilayers and micromolding in capillaries will allow tthe investigation of cell-cell communication. This study will lead to better understanding of the role of healthy cells in cancer progression and potential treatment options.

Utilizing Brain-Computer Interfacing To Control Neuroprosthetic Devices, Cheyne J. Angy

Senior Honors Theses

Advances in neuroprosthetics in recent years have made an enormous impact on the quality of life for many people with disabilities, helping them regain the functionality of damaged or impaired abilities. One of the main hurdles to regaining full functionality regarding neuroprosthetics is the integration between the neural prosthetic device and the method in which the neural prosthetic device is controlled or manipulated to function correctly and efficiently. One of the most promising methods for integrating neural prosthetics to an efficient method of control is through Brian-computer Interfacing (BCI). With this method, the neuroprosthetic device is integrated into the human …

Zein Nanoparticle Interaction With Soybean Plants, Kurt Ristroph

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Microfluidics And Dielectrophoresis For Separation, Concentration, And Identification Of Bacteria, Cynthia Hanson, Michael Sieverts, Karen Tew, Annelise Dykes, Michaela Salisbury, Elizabeth Vargis

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Traditional bacterial identification methods take one to two days to complete, relying on large bacteria colonies for visual identification. In order to decrease this analysis time in a cost-effective manner, a method to sort and concentrate bacteria based on the bacteria's characteristics itself is needed. One example of such a method is dielectrophoresis, which has been used by researchers to separate bacteria from sample debris and sort bacteria according to species. This work presents variations in which dielectrophoresis can be performed and their associated drawbacks and benefits specifically to bacterial identification. In addition, a potential microfluidic design will be discussed.

Usu Biological Engineer Patents Method To Make Natural Blue Dye | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Feb. 22, 2016 – A Utah State University researcher has taken a big step toward making a safer, more natural dye that can be used in the food, textile, cosmetic and other industries.

Dr. Jixun Zhan, an associate professor of biological engineering at USU, has secured a patent for an innovative method to produce the deep blue dye known as indigoidine. The tint was originally synthesized from a bacterial strain found inRhode Island and offered a promising alternative to the synthetic dyes used to color jeans, leather, food and paper.

Development Of A Glucose-Powered Biobattery For Implantation And Use In Humans, Carson Sparks, Cody Maughan, Lucas Smith, Carson Sparks

Research on Capitol Hill

With current demands for implantable electrical devices increasing, the need for a more stable and biocompatible source of power is becoming increasingly necessary. Several battery types and materials were evaluated. Ultimately, an abiotic biobattery was designed with the goal of implantation in the human body. Nafion, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and gold were used to create an abiotic biobattery that is powered by glucose.

The SWCNTs were used to create the cathode, the gold was used to fabricate the anode, and the Nafion acted as the separator between the cathode and anode. A thin Nafion membrane was evaluated for overlaying …

Improved Production Of Promising Antioxidant, Resveratrol, In Escherichia Coli, Chad Skidmore

Research on Capitol Hill

Resveratrol is a promising antioxidant natural product. Studies have shown that it is effective against heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and harmful UV rays. This health-benefiting molecule is present in plants such as peanuts, berries, and the skin of red grapes.

A growth time of 10 months makes Japanese knotweed an impractical source of resveratrol. A more efficient way to produce resveratrol has been found by using E. coli as tiny biological factories.

Zeta Potential: Key To Harvesting Algae For Biofuels And Bioproducts, Celeste Hancock, Michael Flores

Research on Capitol Hill

• Algae is an effective and sustainable resource for creating a broad spectrum of bioproducts.
• Scientists have found it challenging to harvest algae due to the difficulty of collecting algae when in an aqueous solution such as wastewater.
• Rotating Algal Biofilm Reactors (RABRs) coated with carbon nanotubes have proved effective. The RABR floats in an aqueous environment and attracts charged algal particles in suspension.
• The tendency for algae to favor suspension over coagulation occurs only when particles of algae are sufficiently charged. This charge can be measured by analyzing the electric potential at the interface between the surface of a particle …

Beyond The Fiber: Novel Spider Silk Coatings And Adhesives, Danielle A. Gaztambide, Breton A. Day

Research on Capitol Hill

Natural spider silks have long been recognized for their combination of incredible strength and elasticity. Spider silk is more elastic than nylon, tougher than Kevlar, and stronger than steel by weight. Due to an inability to farm spiders, much work has been done to produce spider silks in transgenic hosts for large -scale production. Our work was done using recombinant spider silk proteins produced in transgenic goats and the bacteria E. coli.

More recently spider silks have also been recognized for their biocompatibility and lack of immunogenicity. Spider silks' incredible strength and ability to be implanted safely within the body …

Arakniprint: 3d Printing Of Synthetic Spider Silk To Produce Biocompatible And Resorbable Biomaterials, Ashley Ruben, Brianne Bell, Chase Spencer, Craig Soelberg, Dan Gil, Thomas Harris, Richard Decker, Timothy A. Taylor, Randolph V. Lewis

UCUR

No abstract provided.

Use Of Lidar In The Design Of Grassed Waterways: Case Study In Agricultural Management In Oklahoma, Annette Sparks

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Before the advent of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, farm-level infrastructure for sustainable agriculture was designed using topographic maps. LiDAR is a remote sensing method whereby reflected laser pulses are measured to generate high-resolution 3D images of the terrain. This report compares these two methods in the design of grassed waterways for flood drainage and evaluates how the quantitative difference between the two methods can affect the overall hydrologic design. The benefits of LiDAR are expected to be higher accuracy and precision in design, as well as greater reproducibility or consistency, regardless of the designer. To carry out this …

Automated Solid-Substrate Cultivation Of The Anaerobic Bacterium Clostridium Thermocellum, Mathew J. Ruwaya

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The organism Clostridium thermocellum grows on cellulosic substrates and produces ethanol, acetate, lactate, formic acid, and CO₂. The organic acids produced alter the growth environment in which the bacteria grows and ultimately inhibit bacterial growth. One method which has been used successfully to maintain the system at acceptable growth conditions is to intermittently flush out the spent media and metabolic products and replace with new fermentation media. Our goal was to design and build an automated system that will automatically flush the spent media from the growing culture and resupply new media without manual intervention. An automated control …

The Role Of E-Cadherin Force In The Maintenance Of Homeostasis In Epithelial Acini, Fnu Vani Narayanan

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous three-dimensional model systems have emerged for emulating the biochemical and physiological states of native tissue. Yet little is known about the effects of mechanical forces on cell behavior in the context of an organized tissue structure in three-dimensional cell-culture. Epithelial cells cultured in a three-dimensional environment comprised of extracellular matrix proteins form spheroids of polarized cells. Cellular responses to mechanical cues, generated from dynamic interactions with the extracellular matrix and neighboring cells, are known to influence cellular behavior to a great extent. Previous studies have shown that tumorigenic progression has been frequently linked to the down regulation of E-cadherin, …

Retargeting The Clostridium Botulinum C2 Toxin To The Neuronal Cytosol, Benjamin J. Pavlik, Elizabeth J. Hruska, Kevin E. Van Cott, Paul H. Blum

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Many biological toxins are known to attack specific cell types, delivering their enzymatic payloads to the cytosol. This process can be manipulated by molecular engineering of chimeric toxins. Using toxins with naturally unlinked components as a starting point is advantageous because it allows for the development of payloads separately from the binding/translocation components. Here the Clostridium botulinum C2 binding/translocation domain was retargeted to neural cell populations by deleting its non-specific binding domain and replacing it with a C. botulinum neurotoxin binding domain. This fusion protein was used to deliver fluorescently labeled payloads to Neuro-2a cells. Intracellular delivery was quantified by …

Aconitic Acid, Glycerol And Cinnamic Acid Polyester Characterization For Bone Tissue Engineering, Katie Joanna Hogan

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Microbubble Assisted Polyhydroxybutyrate Production In Escherichia Coli, Kadriye Innan, Fulya Ay Sal, Asif Rahman, Ryan J. Putman, Foster A. Agblevor, Charles D. Miller

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

One of the potential limitations of large scale aerobic Escherichia coli fermentation is the need for increased dissolved oxygen for culture growth and bioproduct generation. As culture density increases the poor solubility of oxygen in water becomes one of the limiting factors for cell growth and product formation. A potential solution is to use a microbubble dispersion (MBD) generating device to reduce the diameter and increase the surface area of sparged bubbles in the fermentor. In this study, a recombinantE. coli strain was used to produce polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) under conventional and MBD aerobic fermentation conditions.

Results

In conventional …

Rational Design Of Rama-Labeled Nanoparticles For A Dual-Modaility, Light Scattering Immunoassay On A Polystyrene Substrate, Nathan D. Israelsen, Donald Wooley, Cynthia Hanson, Elizabeth Vargis

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful light scattering technique that can be used for sensitive immunoassay development and cell labeling. A major obstacle to using SERS is the complexity of fabricating SERS probes since they require nanoscale characterization and optical uniformity. The light scattering response of SERS probes may also be modulated by the substrate used for SERS analysis. A typical SERS substrate such as quartz can be expensive. Polystyrene is a cheaper substrate option but can decrease the SERS response due to interfering Raman emission peaks and high background fluorescence. The goal of this research is to …

Accessible Bioprinting: Adaptation Of A Low-Cost 3d-Printer For Precise Cell Placement And Stem Cell Differentiation, John A. Reid, Peter A. Mollica, Garett D. Johnson, Roy C. Ogle, Robert D. Bruno, Patrick C. Sachs

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Publications

The precision and repeatability offered by computer-aided design and computer-numerically controlled techniques in biofabrication processes is quickly becoming an industry standard. However, many hurdles still exist before these techniques can be used in research laboratories for cellular and molecular biology applications. Extrusion-based bioprinting systems have been characterized by high development costs, injector clogging, difficulty achieving small cell number deposits, decreased cell viability, and altered cell function post-printing. To circumvent the high-price barrier to entry of conventional bioprinters, we designed and 3D printed components for the adaptation of an inexpensive 'off-the-shelf' commercially available 3D printer. We also demonstrate via goal based …

Inhibition Of Bacterial Growth And Prevention Of Bacterial Adhesion With Localized Nitric Oxide Delivery, Julia Osborne

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Bacterial infections continue to be a problem at the site of an indwelling medical device, and over the years, various bacterial strains have become more resistant to current antibiotic treatments. Bacterial infection at an indwelling medical device can be dangerous and affect the performance of the medical device which can ultimately lead to the failure of the device due to bacterial resistance to treatment.

Nitric Oxide (NO) has been shown to possess antibacterial properties to prevent and inhibit bacterial growth. NO releasing coatings on indwelling medical devices could provide a reduction in bacterial infections that occur at the device site …