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Articles 1 - 30 of 71
Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry
High Resolution Mass Spectrometry As A Platform For The Analysis Of Polyoxometalates, Their Solution Phase Dynamics, And Their Biological Interactions., Daniel T. Favre
High Resolution Mass Spectrometry As A Platform For The Analysis Of Polyoxometalates, Their Solution Phase Dynamics, And Their Biological Interactions., Daniel T. Favre
Doctoral Dissertations
Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a class of inorganic molecule of increasing interest to the inorganic, bioinorganic and catalytic communities among many others. While their prevalence in research has increased, tools and methodologies for the analysis of their fundamental characteristics still need further development. Decavanadate (V10) specifically has been postulated to have several unique properties that have not been confirmed independently. Mass spectrometry (MS) and its ability to determine the composition of solution phase species by both mass and charge is uniquely well suited to the analysis of POMs. In this work we utilized high-resolution mass spectrometry to characterize V10 in aqueous …
Modulation Of Plant Immunity During The Establishment Of The Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis, Miriam Hernandez-Romero
Modulation Of Plant Immunity During The Establishment Of The Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis, Miriam Hernandez-Romero
Doctoral Dissertations
Nitrogen is essential for plant tissue growth but is often a limited resource in soils. Many legumes overcome this limitation by entering a symbiotic association with soil microbes, called rhizobia, which provide nitrogen to the plant while rhizobia receive fixed carbon. To successfully form a symbiosis, the host and symbiont exchange a series of molecular signals. One major obstacle during this interaction is the host's innate immune system, which becomes active upon rhizobial detection. It is therefore the main focus of this thesis to identify the mechanisms that modulate host immunity. In the subsequent chapters, we focus on a rhizobial …
Characterizing The Roles Of The Variable Linker And Hub Domains In Camkii Activation, Noelle Dziedzic
Characterizing The Roles Of The Variable Linker And Hub Domains In Camkii Activation, Noelle Dziedzic
Doctoral Dissertations
Learning and memory formation at the cellular level involves decoding complex electrochemical signals between nerve cells, or neurons. Understanding these processes at the molecular level requires a comprehensive study of calcium-sensitive proteins that serve as signal mediators within cells. More specifically, the protein calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a key regulator of downstream cellular signaling events in the brain, playing an important role in long term memory formation. CaMKII is encoded in humans on four different genes: alpha, beta, gamma and delta. For added complexity, each of these gene products can be alternatively spliced and translated into multiple protein …
Investigation Of Kinase Conformational Dynamics And Analytes Detection With Protein Nanopore, Fanjun Li
Investigation Of Kinase Conformational Dynamics And Analytes Detection With Protein Nanopore, Fanjun Li
Doctoral Dissertations
Protein nanopores are pore-forming proteins which have been developed as single-molecule biosensors. Due to the high sensitivity, selectivity, label-free and real-time detection methodology, protein nanopores have been used for a wide variety of applications. In this dissertation, we use ClyA nanopore to investigate kinase conformational dynamics and develop a kinase/nanopore system for the specific detection of kinase allosteric inhibitors. Besides, we engineer OmpG nanopore to be a sensor for nucleic acid detection. Protein kinases play essential roles in cellular regulation by catalyzing the phosphorylation of target proteins and are promising drug targets. The conformational dynamics are critical for kinase functions. …
Controlling Myosin’S Function Via Interactions Between The Substrate And The Active Site, Mike K. Woodward
Controlling Myosin’S Function Via Interactions Between The Substrate And The Active Site, Mike K. Woodward
Doctoral Dissertations
Molecular motors, such as myosin, have evolved to transduce chemical energy from ATP into mechanical work to drive essential cellular processes, from muscle contraction to vesicular transport. Dysfunction in these motors is a root cause of many pathologies necessitating the application of intrinsic control over molecular motor function. We hypothesized that altering the myosin’s energy substrate via minor positional changes to the triphosphate portion of the molecule will allow us to control the protein and affect its in vitro function. We utilized positional isomers of a synthetic non-nucleoside triphosphate, azobenzene triphosphate, and assessed whether myosin’s force- and motion-generating capacity could …
Investigating Structures And Functions Of Apoptotic Caspases, Ishankumar V. Soni
Investigating Structures And Functions Of Apoptotic Caspases, Ishankumar V. Soni
Doctoral Dissertations
Caspases are cysteine aspartate proteases involved in various cellular pathways including apoptosis, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. Caspase-9 is classified as an initiator apoptotic caspase that is activated upon intrinsic stress. Caspase-9 is composed of two domains: an N- terminal CARD domain and a catalytic core domain. We have employed hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (H/DX-MS) to determine the 1) dynamics of the full-length caspase- 9, 2) dynamic impacts on caspase-9 upon substrate-induced dimerization, and 3) regions involved in the CARD: catalytic core domains interactions. Upon intrinsic stress, caspase-9 activates executioners, procaspase-3 and -7 but not procaspase-6. We have employed site-directed mutagenesis …
Deciphering Protein Higher-Order Structure And Interactions Via Diethylpyrocarbonate Labeling-Mass Spectrometry, Xiao Pan
Doctoral Dissertations
The study of protein higher-order structures is vital because it is closely related to the investigation of protein folding, aggregation, interaction and protein therapeutics. Consequently, numerous biochemical and biophysical tools have been developed to study protein higher-order structures in many different situations. The combination of covalent labeling (CL) and mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a powerful tool for studying protein structures and offers many advantages over other traditional techniques, such as better structural coverage, high throughput, high sensitivity, and the ability to study proteins in mixtures. This dissertation focuses on diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC) as an effective CL reagent that can …
Quantitative Imaging Of Tensile Forces At Cell-Cell Junction With Dna-Based Probes, Puspam Keshri
Quantitative Imaging Of Tensile Forces At Cell-Cell Junction With Dna-Based Probes, Puspam Keshri
Doctoral Dissertations
Mechanical forces are an integral part in biology, they regulate several cellular properties, such as morphology, proliferation, migration. These forces are also involved in receptor signaling and the differentiation of different cell types. Different proteins and biomolecules such as cadherin, integrin, notch proteins are essential elements of these processes. Measuring these intercellular forces are challenging considering the minimal intensity (piconewton-level) of these molecular forces. In our lab, we have developed a membrane DNA tension probe (MDTP) that uses a DNA hairpin module to sense tensile forces and has a lipid anchor to modify onto live-cell membranes. The programmability of DNA …
Understanding How Camkii Holoenzyme Dynamics Facilities Activation-Triggered Subunit Exchange, Ana P. Torres-Ocampo
Understanding How Camkii Holoenzyme Dynamics Facilities Activation-Triggered Subunit Exchange, Ana P. Torres-Ocampo
Doctoral Dissertations
Long-term memory and learning are still poorly understood from a molecular and cellular standpoint. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is an oligomeric kinase that is involved in this remarkable process. However, the molecular details of its specific roles in these processes remains elusive. CaMKII activation-triggered subunit exchange presents a novel possible mechanism involved in long-term memory and learning by exchanging active subunits with other CaMKIIs. CaMKII subunit exchange also shows that exchanged CaMKIIs spread their phosphorylation state to newly synthesized CaMKIIs. This provides a long-lasting signal that might possibly be involved in long-term memory by escaping a cell’s …
Mechanistic Insights Into Diverse Protease Adaptor Functions, Nathan J. Kuhlmann
Mechanistic Insights Into Diverse Protease Adaptor Functions, Nathan J. Kuhlmann
Doctoral Dissertations
Protein degradation is an essential cellular process that helps maintain proper homeostasis. The ClpXP protease broadly regulates bacterial development and quality control during the cell cycle. The range and order of substrates that ClpXP degrades during the cell cycle is dictated by 3 accessory proteins, which are known as adaptors. This thesis will elaborate on how dimerization tightly regulates the stability and activity of the adaptor protein at the center of this hierarchy, RcdA, and show how this affects normal cellular processes in Caulobacter crescentus. I will discuss the mechanism by which dimerization limits RcdA activity and how the dimerization …
Amyloidogenesis Of Β-2-Microglobulin Studied By Mass Spectrometry And Covalent Labeling, Blaise G. Arden
Amyloidogenesis Of Β-2-Microglobulin Studied By Mass Spectrometry And Covalent Labeling, Blaise G. Arden
Doctoral Dissertations
Amyloid-forming proteins are implicated in a number of debilitating diseases. While many amyloid-forming proteins are well studied, the early stages of amyloidosis are still not well understood on a molecular level. Covalent labeling, combined with mass spectrometry (CL-MS), is uniquely well suited to provide molecular-level insight into the factors governing the early stages of amyloidosis. This dissertation leverages CL-MS techniques to examine the early stages of β-2-microglobulin (β2m) amyloidosis. β2m is the protein that forms amyloids in the condition known as dialysis-related amyloidosis. An automated CL-MS technique that uses dimethyl(2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl) sulfonium bromide as a labeling reagent was developed and used …
Primary Kinetic Isotope Effect For Substrate Hydroxylation And Iron Binding Regulation In Factor Inhibiting Hif-1, Michael A. Mingroni
Primary Kinetic Isotope Effect For Substrate Hydroxylation And Iron Binding Regulation In Factor Inhibiting Hif-1, Michael A. Mingroni
Doctoral Dissertations
The hypoxic response is a vast and complex system, delicately designed through evolution to allow our tissues to rapidly adapt and survive fluctuations in pO2. HIF1α, the master regulator of oxygen, is tightly controlled through oxygen-dependent, post-translational hydroxylation via PHD2 and FIH1.The aberrant stabilization of HIF1α is an adverse consequence of disease states, but can also occur under normoxia in the presence of ROS or in iron depletion. The extensive transcriptional network regulated by HIF1α makes the HIF pathway an attractive therapeutic target, particularly through the inhibition of the hydroxylases, PHD2 and FIH, however the active site chemistry is mechanistically …
Novel Approaches Towards Improved Purity In High Yield Transcription Reactions, Elvan Cavac
Novel Approaches Towards Improved Purity In High Yield Transcription Reactions, Elvan Cavac
Doctoral Dissertations
High yields of RNA (e.g., mRNA, gRNA, lncRNA) are routinely prepared following a two-step approach: high yield in vitro transcription using T7 RNA polymerase, followed by extensive purification using gel or chromatic methods. In high yield transcription reactions, as RNA accumulates in solution, T7 RNA polymerase rebinds and extends the encoded RNA (using the RNA as a template), resulting in a product pool contaminated with longer than desired, (partially) double stranded impurities. Current purification methods often fail to fully eliminate these impurities which, if present in therapeutics, can stimulate the innate immune response with potentially fatal consequences. This study establishes …
Pharmacological Chaperoning Of Human Lysosomal Neuraminidase 1, Di Chu
Pharmacological Chaperoning Of Human Lysosomal Neuraminidase 1, Di Chu
Doctoral Dissertations
Human lysosomal neuraminidase 1 (hNEU1) is an exo-a-sialidase which cleaves a(2-3) and a(2-6) linked sialic acids on glycoproteins in the lysosome. Deficiency of hNEU1 in the lysosome results in sialidosis, a lysosomal storage disease. Currently there is no effective treatment for sialidosis, which leads to a rising interest in discovering potential therapies. Here we presented a small molecule, α-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA), increases the protein amount and activity of both wild-type hNEU1 and three different hNEU1 mutations found in sialidosis patients in our mammalian cell system, suggesting that NANA works as a potential pharmacological chaperone for hNEU1 and provides …
A Rational Design Approach To Developing Second Generation Fabry Disease Treatments, Matthew Metcalf
A Rational Design Approach To Developing Second Generation Fabry Disease Treatments, Matthew Metcalf
Doctoral Dissertations
Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder that affects approximately 1 in 40,000 males in its classical form and as many as 1:4,600 in its late-onset form [1]. The disease is caused by mutations in the gene encoding α- galactosidase (α-GAL), which results in deficient levels of α-GAL activity in the lysosomes of patients [2, 3]. This lack of enzymatic activity causes macromolecular substrates to accumulate in tissues, and can result in a wide range of symptoms such as impaired renal and cardiac function [4]. The severity of disease is linked to the amount of residual …
Investigating The Accumulation, Sub-Organ Distribution, And Biochemical Effects Of Nanomaterials Using Mass Spectrometry, Kristen Nicole Sikora
Investigating The Accumulation, Sub-Organ Distribution, And Biochemical Effects Of Nanomaterials Using Mass Spectrometry, Kristen Nicole Sikora
Doctoral Dissertations
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are attractive materials for use in various biomedical applications, such as therapeutic delivery, due to their unique chemical properties and modular tunability. Mass spectrometry methods, including laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) have been successfully used to evaluate the distribution of AuNPs in complex biological systems. As new AuNP-based materials are developed for applications in therapeutic delivery, it is essential to simultaneously develop analytical techniques that can comprehensively assess their behavior in vivo. In this dissertation, novel mass spectrometric methods have been developed and utilized to evaluate the uptake, distribution, …
Micro-Physiological Models To Mimic Mucosal Barrier Complexity Of The Human Intestine In Vitro, Abhinav Sharma
Micro-Physiological Models To Mimic Mucosal Barrier Complexity Of The Human Intestine In Vitro, Abhinav Sharma
Doctoral Dissertations
The mucosal barrier in the intestine is vital to maintain selective absorption of nutrients while protecting internal tissues and maintaining symbiotic relationship with luminal microbiota. This bio-barrier consists of a cellular epithelial barrier and an acellular mucus barrier. Secreted mucus regulates barrier function via in situ biochemical and biophysical interaction with luminal content that continually evolves during digestion and absorption. Increasing evidence suggests that a mucus barrier is indispensable to maintain homeostasis in the gastrointestinal tract. However, the importance of mucus barrier is largely underrated for in vitro mucosal tissue modeling. The major gap is the lack of experimental material …
Study Of The Role Of Biologically-Relevant, Labile Nickel Pools In The Maturation Of Nickel-Dependent Enzymes, Priyanka Basak
Study Of The Role Of Biologically-Relevant, Labile Nickel Pools In The Maturation Of Nickel-Dependent Enzymes, Priyanka Basak
Doctoral Dissertations
Cellular nickel pools, comprised of static and labile pools of nickel complexes, play important roles in maintaining nickel homeostasis in various organisms (microbes, fungi, and plants), which utilize it as a cofactor of one or more nickel enzymes that catalyze specific reactions and are essential for their proper growth and survival in various ecological niches. Like other metals, tight regulation of cellular nickel levels is critical to prevent toxic effects of nickel deprivation, nickel overload, and ‘free’ nickel. While more static nickel pools include nickel tightly bound to nickel-dependent enzymes, nickel in the labile pool is exchangeable and weakly bound …
Origin Of Gene Specificity In The Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis, Christina Marie Stonoha-Arther
Origin Of Gene Specificity In The Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis, Christina Marie Stonoha-Arther
Doctoral Dissertations
Many legumes form a symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria found in the soil. This relationship is beneficial to both the plant and the bacteria; the plant receives nitrogen that is otherwise limited, and the bacteria receive fixed carbon. Upon sensing the bacteria, the plant forms a new organ (the nodule) where the bacteria are housed within the cells. Many genes are required for the proper formation and function of nodules; this dissertation is broadly focused on how genes required for nitrogen-fixing symbiosis are co-opted from other cellular processes and how they are specialized for symbiosis. Protein trafficking from the plant to …
Characterization Of Biodistribution Of Transferrin And Receptor Binding Mechanism By Mass Spectrometry, Hanwei Zhao
Characterization Of Biodistribution Of Transferrin And Receptor Binding Mechanism By Mass Spectrometry, Hanwei Zhao
Doctoral Dissertations
Protein-based therapeutics have emerged as a key driver of rapid growth in drug development pipelines. However, developing such protein drugs is not straightforward in most cases, the existence of physiological barriers greatly restricts the efficient delivery of many therapeutic molecules, and therefore limits their clinical applications. A promising way to address this challenge takes advantage of certain transport protein which can effectively across and enhance the permeability of these barriers, such as transferrin (Tf) which can be internalized by malignant cells and cross physiological barriers via transferrin receptor (TfR)-mediated endocytosis and transcytosis. However, developing such products is impossible without successfully …
Tpr-Containing Proteins Control Protein Organization And Homeostasis For The Endoplasmic Reticulum, Jill Bradley-Graham
Tpr-Containing Proteins Control Protein Organization And Homeostasis For The Endoplasmic Reticulum, Jill Bradley-Graham
Doctoral Dissertations
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a complex, multifunctional organelle comprised of a continuous membrane and lumen that is organized into several functional regions. It plays various roles including protein translocation, folding, quality control, secretion, calcium signaling, and lipid biogenesis. Cellular protein homeostasis is maintained by a complicated chaperone network, and the largest functional family within this network consists of proteins containing tetratricopeptide repeats (TPRs). TPRs are well-studied structural motifs that mediate intermolecular protein-protein interactions, supporting interactions with a wide range of ligands or substrates. Nine TPR-containing proteins have been shown to localize to the ER and control protein organization and …
Covalent Labeling-Mass Spectrometry For Characterizing Protein-Ligand Complexes, Tianying Liu
Covalent Labeling-Mass Spectrometry For Characterizing Protein-Ligand Complexes, Tianying Liu
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation focuses on applying covalent labeling (CL) and mass spectrometry (MS) for characterizing protein-ligand complexes. Understanding protein-ligand interactions has both fundamental and applied significance. Covalent labeling is a protein surface modification technique that selectively modifies solvent-exposed amino acid side chains of proteins. A covalent bond is formed between the functional groups of labeling reagent and protein’s side chain. One of the key factors that affects CL reactivity is a side chain’s solvent accessibility. Ligand binding protects residues on the protein surface from being labeled, and residues involved in ligand binding can be indicated via decreases in labeling extents. The …
Characterization Of Β-2-Microglobulin Pre-Amyloid Oligomers And Their Role In Amyloid Inhibition, Tyler M. Marcinko
Characterization Of Β-2-Microglobulin Pre-Amyloid Oligomers And Their Role In Amyloid Inhibition, Tyler M. Marcinko
Doctoral Dissertations
In dialysis patients, β-2 microglobulin (β2m) can aggregate and eventually form amyloid fibrils in a condition known as dialysis-related amyloidosis, which deleteriously affects joint, bone, and organ function, and eventually causes organ failure. To understand the early stages of the amyloid assembly process, we have employed a series of biophysical tools including chromatography, spectroscopy, and most especially, native electrospray ionization (ESI) together with ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to study soluble pre-amyloid oligomeric species. We have also collaborated and integrated computational modeling to help better understand and rationalize the structural basis behind oligomerization. Recently, several small molecules have been identified …
Environmental Risk Factors For Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Triclosan And Other Consumer Antimicrobials, Katherine Z. Sanidad
Environmental Risk Factors For Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Triclosan And Other Consumer Antimicrobials, Katherine Z. Sanidad
Doctoral Dissertations
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has become a serious health problem since the incidence and prevalence of IBD has dramatically increased throughout the world. There is evidence that environmental factors are primarily responsible for the increase of IBD, therefore, it is important to identify novel environmental risk factors to reduce the risk of IBD and its associated diseases. Antimicrobials used in consumer products might serve as environmental risk factors for IBD and its associated diseases. Triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC), benzalkonium chloride (BAC), benzethonium chloride (BET), and chloroxylenol (PCMX) are widely used antimicrobial ingredients in consumer products and are ubiquitous contaminants in …
Rna-Seq And Mechanistic Enzymology Confirm Rna Self-Templated Extension By T7 Rna Polymerase And Suggest Novel Approaches Towards Improved In Vitro Rna Synthesis, Yasaman Gholamalipour
Rna-Seq And Mechanistic Enzymology Confirm Rna Self-Templated Extension By T7 Rna Polymerase And Suggest Novel Approaches Towards Improved In Vitro Rna Synthesis, Yasaman Gholamalipour
Doctoral Dissertations
Synthetic RNA is widely used in basic science, nanotechnology and therapeutics research. The vast majority of this RNA is synthesized in vitro by T7 RNA polymerase. However, the desired RNA is generally contaminated with products longer and shorter than the DNA-encoded product. To better understand these undesired byproducts and the processes that generate them, we analyzed in vitro transcription reactions using RNA-Seq as a tool. The results unambiguously confirmed that product RNA rebinds to the polymerase and self-primes (in cis) generation of a hairpin duplex, a process that favorably competes with promoter driven synthesis under high yield reaction conditions. …
Mechanisms That Limit Oxidative Phosphorylation During High-Intensity Muscle Contractions In Vivo, Miles F. Bartlett
Mechanisms That Limit Oxidative Phosphorylation During High-Intensity Muscle Contractions In Vivo, Miles F. Bartlett
Doctoral Dissertations
Skeletal muscle oxidative capacity plays a critical role in human health and disease. Although current models of oxidative phosphorylation sufficiently describe skeletal muscle energetics during moderate-intensity contractions, much is still unknown about the mechanisms that control and limit oxidative phosphorylation during high-intensity contractions. In particular, the oxygen cost of force generation is augmented during exercise at workloads above the lactate threshold. Presently, it is unclear whether this augmentation in muscle oxygen consumption is driven by increased rates of oxidative ATP synthesis (ATPOX) or by decreases in the efficiency of ATPOX due to mitochondrial uncoupling. To address this …
Ni Site Structure And Function In Biological Sensing And Enzyme Activity, Hsin-Ting Huang
Ni Site Structure And Function In Biological Sensing And Enzyme Activity, Hsin-Ting Huang
Doctoral Dissertations
Ni(II) is one of the important cofactors involved in various enzyme functions. For organisms utilizing Ni(II), a regulation system is required to maintain Ni(II) homeostasis and prevent toxicity. The focus of this dissertation is on investigating the relationship between the Ni(II) site structure and the function of proteins, a Ni(II) sensor and a Ni(II) enzyme. RcnR, a Ni(II)/Co(II) sensor in E. coli, controls the expression of the Ni(II)/Co(II) exporter proteins, RcnAB. Due to the lack of structural information, the mechanism of metal induced allosteric regulation and metal selection is not fully elucidated. Results presented here show that binding of …
The Spatial Organization Of Mycobacterial Membrane, Julia Puffal
The Spatial Organization Of Mycobacterial Membrane, Julia Puffal
Doctoral Dissertations
Mycobacteria comprises a large group of organisms including the pathogenic species Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis. A fast- growing saprophytic member of this genus, however, Mycobacterium smegmatis, is oftentimes used as a model organism for the pathogenic species. With a unique cell envelope architecture and unconventional polar growth, spatial coordination of cell envelope biosynthesis is vital for proper assembly of this complex structure. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of known lateral heterogeneities in mycobacterial plasma membrane, with a particular focus on the intracellular membrane domain (IMD), a spatially distinct region of the plasma membrane with diverse functions. …
Bio-Inspired Polymers That Bind And Deliver Protein Cargo, Nicholas D. Posey
Bio-Inspired Polymers That Bind And Deliver Protein Cargo, Nicholas D. Posey
Doctoral Dissertations
Delivering functional proteins and antibodies into cells can allow researchers to probe the intracellular environment, discover new cellular pathways, and pioneer new therapeutics. However, the entry of exogenous, charged molecules, like proteins, into the cell is usually restricted by the membrane, thereby hindering intracellular delivery. Membrane permeable molecules such as cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) and protein transduction domains (PTDs) can be used to bypass the cell membrane and deliver protein into the cell, but these peptides involve iterative and laborious syntheses and are limited in terms of their chemical diversity. This dissertation work overall focuses on the design and synthesis …
Hybridized Polymeric Nano-Assemblies: Key Insights Into Addressing Mdr Infections, Ryan Landis
Hybridized Polymeric Nano-Assemblies: Key Insights Into Addressing Mdr Infections, Ryan Landis
Doctoral Dissertations
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria contribute to more than 700,000 annual deaths world-wide. Millions more suffer from limb amputations or face high healthcare treatment costs where prolonged and costly therapeutic regimens are used to counter MDR infections. While there is an international push to develop novel and more powerful antimicrobials to address the impending threat, one particularly interesting approach that has re-emerged are essential oils, phytochemical extracts derived from plant sources. While their antimicrobial activity demonstrates a promising avenue, their stability in aqueous media, limits their practical use in or on mammals. Inspired by the versatility of polymer nanotechnology and the sustainability …