Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons^™

Biomimetic Oral Mucin From Polymer Micelle Networks, Sundar Prasanth Authimoolam

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Mucin networks are formed by the complexation of bottlebrush-like mucin glycoprotein with other small molecule glycoproteins. These glycoproteins create nanoscale strands that then arrange into a nanoporous mesh. These networks play an important role in ensuring surface hydration, lubricity and barrier protection. In order to understand the functional behavior in mucin networks, it is important to decouple their chemical and physical effects responsible for generating the fundamental property-function relationship. To achieve this goal, we propose to develop a synthetic biomimetic mucin using a layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition approach. In this work, a hierarchical 3-dimensional structures resembling natural mucin networks was generated …

Effect Of Nitrogen On Properties Of Na2o-Cao-Sro-Zno-Sio2 Glasses, Ahmed Bachar, Cyrille Mercier, Arnaud Tricoteaux, Jean Christophe Hornez, Anne Leriche, Claudine Follet, Bertrand Revel, Stuart Hampshire, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glasses in the Na₂O-CaO-SrO-ZnO-SiO₂ system have previously been investigated for suitability as a reagent in Al-free glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs). These materials have many properties that offer potential in orthopedics. However, their applicability has been limited, to date, because of their poor strength. This study was undertaken with the aim of increasing the mechanical properties of a series of these Zn-based GPC glasses by doping with nitrogen to give overall compositions of: 10Na₂O-10CaO-20SrO-20ZnO-(40-3x)SiO₂-xSi₃N₄ (x is the no. of moles of Si₃N₄). The density, glass-transition temperature, hardness, …

Inhalable Nanocomposites And Anticancer Agents For Cancer Therapy, Nathanael A. Stocke

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Cancer is designated as the leading cause of mortality worldwide and lung cancer is responsible for nearly 30% of all cancer related deaths. Over the last few decades mortality rates have only marginally increased and rates of recurrence remain high. These factors, among others, suggest the need for more innovative treatment modalities in lung cancer therapy. Targeted pulmonary delivery is well established for treating pulmonary diseases such as asthma and provides a promising platform for lung cancer therapy. Increasing local deposition of anticancer agents (ACAs) and reducing systemic exposure of these toxic moieties could lead to better therapeutic outcomes and …

Evaluation Of The Signature Molecular Descriptor With Blosum62 And An All-Atom Description For Use In Sequence Alignment Of Proteins, Lindsay M. Aichinger

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This Honors Project focused on a few aspects of this topic. The second is comparing the molecular signature kernels to three of the BLOSUM matrices (30, 62, and 90) to test the accuracy of the mathematical model. The kernel matrix was manipulated in order to improve the relationship by focusing on side groups and also by changing how the structure was represented in the matrix by increasing the initial height distance from the central atom (Height 1 and Height 2 included).

There were multiple design constraints for this project. The first was the comparison with the BLOSUM matrices (30, 62, …

Technoeconomics And Sustainability Of Renewable Methanol And Ammonia Productions Using Wind Power-Based Hydrogen, Michael J. Matzen, Mahdi H. Alhajji, Yaşar Demirel

Yaşar Demirel Publications

This study analyzes and compares the economics and sustainability aspects of two hydrogenation processes for producing renewable methanol and ammonia by using wind-power based electrolytic hydrogen. Carbon dioxide from an ethanol plant is used for producing methanol, while the nitrogen is supplied by an Air Separation Unit (ASU) for producing ammonia. The capacities are 99.96 mt/day methanol and 1202.55 mt/day anhydrous ammonia. The methanol plant requires 138.37 mt CO₂/day and 19.08 mt H₂/day. The ammonia is synthesized by using 217.72 mt H₂/day and 1009.15 mt N₂/day. The production costs and the carbon …

Polysaccharide-Based Shear Thinning Hydrogels For Three-Dimensional Cell Culture, Vasudha Surampudi

Theses and Dissertations

The recreation of the complicated tissue microenvironment is essential to reduce the gap between in vitro and in vivo research. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels form excellent scaffolds to allow for three-dimensional cell culture owing to the favorable properties such as capability to absorb large amount of water when immersed in biological fluids, ability to form “smart hydrogels” by being shear-thinning and thixotropic, and eliciting minimum immunological response from the host. In this study, the biodegradable shear-thinning polysaccharide, gellan-gum based hydrogel was investigated for the conditions and concentrations in which it can be applied for the adhesion, propagation and assembly of different mammalian …

Processing And Mechanical Testing Of Strontium-Substituted Hydroxyapatite/Glass Composites, Chokchai Yatongchai, Mark R. Towler, Anthony W. Wren

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Sr-HA/Glass composites were produced. Phase composition of composites was evaluated. Their physical and mechanical properties were determined. Sintered composites mainly consisted of Sr-HA/β-TCP, or β-TCP/Ca₂ZnSi₂O₇. The composites had porosity up to 4 times those of undoped Sr-HA. Compared to undoped Sr-HA, the Sr-HA/Glass composites had lower biaxial flexural strength and hardness. The Weibull modulus for the composites ranged from 2.77 to 18.74.

Characterization Of Swelling Ratio And Water Content Of Hydrogels For Cartilage Engineering Applications, Emily E. Gill, Renay S.-C. Su, Julie C. Liu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Due to the high prevalence of arthritis and cartilage-related injuries, tissue engineers are studying ways to grow cartilage tissue replacements. Resilin, an elastomeric protein found in insect cuticles, is known for its extraordinary resilience and elasticity. In previous studies, recombinant resilin-based hydrogels, or cross-linked protein networks, exhibited potential for use in cartilage tissue scaffolds. Our lab successfully developed resilin-based proteins with a sequence based on the mosquito gene and showed that resilin-based hydrogels possess mechanical properties of the same order of magnitude as native articular cartilage. In addition, these mechanical properties can be controlled by changing the protein concentration. To …

Developent Of A Phospholipid Encapsulation Process For Quantum Dots To Be Used In Biologic Applications, Logan Grimes

Master's Theses

The American Cancer Society predicts that 1,665,540 people will be diagnosed with cancer, and 585,720 people will die from cancer in 2014. One of the most common types of cancer in the United States is skin cancer. Melanoma alone is predicted to account for 10,000 of the cancer related deaths in 2014. As a highly mobile and aggressive form of cancer, melanoma is difficult to fight once it has metastasized through the body. Early detection in such varieties of cancer is critical in improving survival rates in afflicted patients. Present methods of detection rely on visual examination of suspicious regions …

Validation Of A Diffuse Reflectance Microendoscope With Polydimethylsiloxane Optical Phantoms And Monte Carlo Modeling, Gage Joseph Greening

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

We have introduced a method for creating thin-film PDMS optical phantoms that can be used to validate a bench-top optical device called a Diffuse Reflectance Microendoscope (DRME). The DRME is acquires data on cell surface morphology and sub-surface diffuse reflectance, which may provide clinicians with the tools to diagnose oral cancer at earlier stages. Phantoms were created with PDMS. Optical properties of the phantoms were controlled with the addition of nigrosin and titanium dioxide. Depth of phantoms was controlled by a spin coater. The DRME was built with a combination of filters and dichroic mirrors to separate electromagnetic radiation in …

Poly (Glycerol Sebacate) Nanofibers And Nanofilms For Tissue Engineering Application, Stephanie Grace Cone

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the field of tissue engineering, the development of biodegradable scaffolds that provide both structure and functionality is a major challenge. The use of biological implants, such as decellularized tissues, provides a complete matrix with full tissue functionality, however, problems with immunogenicity often arise when implants from other organisms are used in treatments. As such, there are many benefits to the use of polymeric constructs in tissue engineering. The ability to customize the material, design, and size of an implant provides opportunities for increased structural support and controlled rates of biodegradation. The selection of polymers for tissue engineering applications requires …

Classification And Quantification Of Phenotypic Characteristics Of Normal And Dysplastic Oral Cells, Jackson W. Boice

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction Oral cancer accounts for 2.5% of all cancer cases in the United States. The 5 year survival rate or stage 1 or localized oral cancer is 82%, and the survival rate of unstaged oral cancer is only 50%; therefore, early diagnosis is key. Current clinical practices for determining malignancy of tissue include physical examination and surgical biopsy, which can be plagued by high variability between observers and are invasive for the patient. Proflavine intercalates between base pairs of nucleic acids and has excitation and emission peaks at 455 (+/- 20) nm and 515 nm respectively; therefore, it can be …

Optimizing In Vitro Extracellular Matrix Production Using Polymer Scaffolds With Targeted Pore Size, Addison M. Walker

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Extracellular matrix (ECM) has been shown to provide the framework needed for healthy tissue to grow after experiencing an injury. The optimization of growing ECM is a pressing concern in the tissue regeneration field. From prior research, an in vitro approach for harvesting ECM has been created using polyurethane (PU) foams seeded with cells. Our approach aimed at discovering if the pore size of the foams increased the amount of recovered ECM. Scaffolds of targeted pore size were created by separating sugar granules using a sieve, packing the sugar into a cylindrical mold, then pouring PU over the sugar. Three …

How Imbalanced Excitation And Inhibition May Cause Low Entropy Brain Dynamics, Qusay Redwan Alfaori

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

To study the effect of the imbalance of excitation and inhibition neurons on brain entropy using a computer model of a brain. The brain model will be composed of a neural network and entropy of the neural network will be measured quantitatively. Entropy in this context quantifies how many different patterns of activated neurons the brain can create. Imbalance between excitation and inhibition neurons causes the brain to malfunction, which can be an underlying cause of autism.

5ht And The 5ht Receptors- Relevance To Cardiac Valve Disease, Christopher Ryan Martindale

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Recent studies have revealed that elevated levels of serotonin or 5HT lead to valve dysfunction. A mouse model was successfully established to investigate the effects on the aortic valve in subjects with elevated 5HT levels along with cardiovascular hypertension. For each two-week trial, eight C57BL/6J mice were divided into the following expermental groups: control, 5HT, angiotensin II, and 5HT+angiotensin II. The drug was delivered to the mice via osmotic pumps (Ang II: 0.4ng/g/min, 5HT:0.0025ng/g/min) or direct injections(Ang II: 0.1 mg, 5HT: 2.12 mg, every other day) and the blood pressure of the mice was continually monitored via the CODA tail …

Modeling Of An Oxygenation-Aided 3d Culture For Functional Beta-Cell Expansion, John Lance Mcreynolds

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: Diabetes affects millions of people and its prevalence is increasing by 2-5% per year. A promising method for the control of diabetes is the transplant of pancreatic β-cell mass. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of the donor tissue that is needed to replace β-cell mass. A potential source of β-cells is the production of β-cells in vitro, but the proliferation rate of β-cells is very slow and elevating the proliferation rate can result in loss of cell function. We observed that β-cells benefit from being cultured in a 3D environment, but in the 3D culture the β-cells often die …

Beginning Of Malignant Tumor Cells, Emily K. Shields

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite advances in cancer treatments, cancer is still ranked the second leading cause of death. Cancers are started by cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs, also called tumor-initiating cells, are found in tumors and are responsible for the growth of tumors and the spread of cancer to other parts of the body. CSCs are very resistant, and cannot be killed by chemotherapy or radiation treatments. These cells can come from healthy stem cells. The environment surrounding the healthy stem cells and mature cells can cause mutations in the cell’s genetics, resulting in development of CSCs. The environment can also increase tumor …

Comparing Virus Ultrafiltration Of Bacteriophages With Filtration Of Minute Virus Of Mice, Kent Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Industrial production of protein therapeutics demand rigorous testing and clearance of viruses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration dictate the purity of pharmaceuticals with regards to viral contamination. As this testing is time consuming and expensive using mammalian cells and viruses, bacteriophages may provide a faster and cheaper alternative for membrane filtration processes. We used ultrafiltration membranes to filter protein solutions with viruses. Two bacteriophages were tested against membranes with two different pore sizes. These membranes were then tested by inverting the membrane's orientation. Flux measurements and log virus removal data were taken. Flux and log virus removal were seen …

Investigating The Effect Of Sio2-Tio2-Cao-Na 2o-Zno Bioactive Glass Doped Hydroxyapatite: Characterisation And Structural Evaluation, Chokchai Yatongchai, Anthony W. Wren, Declan J. Curran, Stuart Hampshire, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The effects of increasing bioactive glass additions,

SiO₂-TiO₂-CaO-Na₂O-ZnO up to 25 wt% in increments of 5 wt%, on the physical and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite (HA) sintered at 900, 1000, 1100 and 1200°C for 2 h was investigated. Increasing both the glass content and the temperature resulted in increased HA decomposition. This resulted in the formation of a number of bioactive phases. However the presence of the liquidus glass phase did not result in increased densification levels. At 1000 and 1100°C the additions of 5 wt% glass resulted in a decrease in density which …

Degradable Borate Glass Polyalkenoate Cements, L. Shen, A. Coughlan, Mark R. Towler, M. Hall

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs) containing aluminum-free borate glasses having the general composition Ag₂O-Na₂O-CaO-SrO-ZnO- TiO₂-B₂O₃ were evaluated in this work. An initial screening study of sixteen compositions was used to identify regions of glass formation and cement compositions with promising rheological properties. The results of the screening study were used to develop four model borate glass compositions for further study. A second round of rheological experiments was used to identify a preferred GPC formulation for each model glass composition. The model borate glasses containing higher levels of TiO₂ (7.5 mol %) …

Developing Genetic Tools For Geobacillus, Brittany Artale

Honors Theses and Capstones

Bacillus and Geobacillus are the primary bacterium used in biotechnology industries due to their ability to excrete extracellular materials such as proteins, enzymes and other byproducts. Bacillus subtilis, has a well-characterized competence machinery, giving way to characterized genetic tools. However, a significant problem associated with working with Bacillus is the regulation of endospore formation. An alternative to Bacillus is Geobacillus, a thermophilic bacterium. Thermophiles offer significant advantages over other bacteria as host organisms in biofuel, bioremediation, and biocatalyst processes. However, the genetic tools and competency associated with Geobacillus is still unknown. Through, genetic engineering the ability …

Characteristics Of Glass Ionomer Cements Composed Of Glass Powders In Cao-Sro-Zno-Sio2 System Prepared By Two Different Synthetic Routes, Ill Yong Kim, Chikara Ohtsuki, Aisling Coughlan, Lana Placek, Anthony W. Wren, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glass ionomer cements (GICs) are composed of an acid degradable glass, polyacrylic acid and water. Sol-gel processing to prepare the glass phase has certain advantages, such as the ability to employ lower synthesis temperatures than melt quenching and glasses that are reported to have higher purity. A previous study reported the effects of glass synthesis route on GIC fabrication. However, in that study, the sol-gel derived glass exhibited a reduced concentration of cations. This study investigates increasing the cation content of a sol-gel derived glass, 12CaO·4SrO·36ZnO·48SiO₂ (molar ratio) by heating before aging to reduce dissolution of cations. This glass …

Relating Ph And Ion Release From Ga2o3-Na 2o-Cao-Zno-Sio2 Bioactive Glasses, T. J. Keenan, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, Mark R. Towler, M. M. Hall

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Three glasses were designed for this study, including one Ga-free glass (Control), and two Ga-containing glasses (TGa-1, TGa-2). In the Ga-containing glasses, Ga₂O₃ is included at the expense of ZnO. This study focuses on the relation between pH and ion concentration present in solution in which these bioactive glasses have been submerged for periods of 1, 7, and 14 days. © 2013 IEEE.

Gallium Containing Glass Polyalkenoate Bone Cements: Ion Release And E. Coli Inhibition, L. Placek, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Glass Polyalkenoate Cement (GPC) series (LCon., LGa-1 and LGa-2) containing gallium (Ga) and a 50 wt% addition of E11 polyacrylic acid (PAA), previously developed, was evaluated for ion release, specifically Si, Ca, Zn and Ga, and E. coli inhibition. The maximum inhibition was observed in the t = 0 samples and was 0.35 mm for LCon. and 0.65 mm for LGa-1 and LGa-2. © 2013 IEEE.

Biocompatibility Of Cao-Na2o-Sio2/Tio2 Glass Ceramic Scaffolds For Orthopaedic Applications, A. W. Wren, A. Coughlan, K. E. Smale, S. T. Misture, B. P. Mahon, O. M. Clarkin, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This work aims to determine the effect of substituting TiO₂ for SiO₂ in a 0.62SiO₂-Na₂O-0.24CaO based glass-ceramic scaffold. High temperature X-ray Diffraction (HT-XRD) was used to determine the sintering temperature (700oC). Both optical microscopy and x-ray micotomography was used to determine the average pore size (540-680ìm) of each scaffold. Cytocompatibility of each scaffold was conducted using murine mesenchymal stem cells. © 2013 IEEE.

An Investigation Into The Structure And Properties Of Cao-Zno-Sio 2-Tio2-Na2o Bioactive Glass/Hydroxyapatite Composite, Chokchai Yatongchai, Mark R. Towler, Anthony W. Wren

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Effect of the addition of CaO-ZnO-SiO₂-TiO₂-Na₂O glass as a reinforcing phase on properties of hydroxyapatite/glass composites was investigated. The addition of the glass caused the decomposition of HA phase to tricalcium phosphate, inhibiting densification in the HA/glass composites. However, depending on the glass concentration, some of the glass can act as a sintering aid enhancing the densification in the composites. © 2013 IEEE.

Adhesive Elastomeric Proteins, Haefa Mansour, Julie Liu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Sutures and staples commonly used to close surgical wounds tend to be much stiffer than the surrounding tissue, often resulting in external tissue damage. Surgical adhesives provide a promising alternative to these sutures and staples. Ideal surgical adhesives are biocompatible, able to set well and remain sticky in moist conditions, possess strong adhesive and cohesive properties, and exhibit mechanical properties that mimic those of the surrounding tissue. Unfortunately, the adhesives available today are unable to satisfactorily meet all of these criteria. We are utilizing protein engineering techniques to design, create, and test a new surgical adhesive that combines the adhesive …

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 …

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Survey Stats), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Sheet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.