Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons^™

Spatiotemporal Metabolic Modeling Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm Expansion, Robert Sourk

Masters Theses

Spatiotemporal metabolic modeling of microbial metabolism is a step closer to achieving higher dimensionalities in numerical studies (in silico) of biofilm maturation. Dynamic Flux Balance Analysis (DFBA) is an advanced modeling technique because this method incorporates Genome Scale Metabolic Modeling (GSMM) to compute the biomass growth rate and metabolite fluxes. Biofilm thickness is pertinent because this variable of biofilm maturation can be measured in a laboratory (in vitro). Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is the model bacterium used in this computational model based on previous research conducted by Dr. Michael Henson, available GSMMs, and the societal significance of patients suffering from …

Metabolic Modeling Of Bacterial Co-Cultures For Co-To-Butyrate Conversion In Bubble Column Bioreactors, Naresh Kandlapalli

Masters Theses

One of the most promising routes to renewable liquid fuels and chemicals is the fermentation of waste carbon by specialized microbes. Commercial development of gas fermentation technology is underway but many fundamental research problems must be addressed to further advance the technology towards economic competitiveness. This thesis addresses the important problem of developing integrated metabolic and transport models that predict gas fermentation performance in industrially relevant bubble column reactors. The computational models describe the conversion of CO-rich waste streams including synthesis gas to the platform chemical butyrate. The proposed modeling approach involves combining genome-scale reconstructions of bacterial species metabolism with …

Metabolic Modeling Of Gas Fermentation For Renewable Fuel And Chemical Production, Xiangan Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Gas fermentation has emerged as a technologically and economically attractive option for producing renewable fuels and chemicals from carbon monoxide (CO) rich waste streams. As compared to traditional catalyst technologies, microbial systems have several advantages including operation near ambient temperature and pressure, high conversion efficiencies, robustness to gas impurities and high product yields that have motivated both fundamental research and commercial development. While microbial production of high-value products from waste gases is challenging because wild-type strains capable of gas consumption tend to synthesize these products at low yields, strategy like metabolically engineering the gas fermenting acetogens have been studied to …

Development Of Light Actuated Chemical Delivery Platform On A 2-D Array Of Micropore Structure, Hojjat Rostami Azmand, Hojjat Rostami Azmand

Dissertations and Theses

Localized chemical delivery plays an essential role in the fundamental information transfers within biological systems. Thus, the ability to mimic the natural chemical signal modulation would provide significant contributions to understand the functional signaling pathway of biological cells and develop new prosthetic devices for neurological disorders. In this paper, we demonstrate a light-controlled hydrogel platform that can be used for localized chemical delivery in a high spatial resolution. By utilizing the photothermal behavior of graphene-hydrogel composites confined within micron-sized fluidic channels, patterned light illumination creates the parallel and independent actuation of chemical release in a group of fluidic ports. The …

Understanding Absorption, Supersaturation, And Drug Activity In Solution: Working Towards Developing A More Biorelevant Media, Freddy Arce

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

With the looming dominance of poorly water-soluble chemical entities within the pharmaceutical pipeline, the pharmaceutical industry has leaned on the use of supersaturating drug delivery systems (SDDSs) to achieve efficacious concentrations within the gastrointestinal fluids. SDDSs aim to achieve concentrations in solutions greater than the solubility of the lowest energy crystalline form. However, the generation of supersaturated solutions of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) creates a strong crystallization potential, which is undesirable.

In product development, supersaturating products often fail in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials due to poor oral bioavailability and a lack of in vivo efficacy. Pre-clinical testing …

Effects Of Microporous Structure On The Enzymatic Conversion Of Biomass Using A Multiscale Model, Saketh Merugu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The generation of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass involves innovative process technology that is being investigated worldwide. Enzymatic hydrolysis is a major step in the contemporary process of the generation of biofuels. Guided by pore size distribution measured using NMR cryoporometry, we developed pore-enzyme diffusion and adsorption models at the particle level coupled with a kinetic model for cellulose, cellobiose, and glucose production at flask level. By simulating these models in MATLAB, COMSOL, and Polymath software packages, we investigate the effects of various biomass particle-related parameters (particle dimensions, porosity, enzyme accessibility) on the characteristic time of enzyme diffusion and adsorption and …