Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Thermostabilization Of Viruses Via Complex Coacervation, Xue Mi, Whitney C. Blocher Mctigue, Pratik Umesh Joshi, Mallory K. Bunker, Caryn L. Heldt, Sarah L. Perry

Michigan Tech Publications

Widespread vaccine coverage for viral diseases could save the lives of millions of people each year. For viral vaccines to be effective, they must be transported and stored in a narrow temperature range of 2–8 °C. If temperatures are not maintained, the vaccine may lose its potency and would no longer be effective in fighting disease; this is called the cold storage problem. Finding a way to thermally stabilize a virus and end the need to transport and store vaccines at refrigeration temperatures will increase access to life-saving vaccines. We explore the use of polymer-rich complex coacervates to stabilize viruses. …

Faculty Instruction Face Shield Project, David Holden, John Schneiderhan

Michigan Tech 3D Designs

Early in the spring of 2020 project contributors David Holden and John Schneiderhan began test printing a variety of open source Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)/Covid related items that could help protect or prevent the spread of the emerging virus. With assistance from Pete Baril of the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) approval was obtained for the face shields to be used in the health care and nursing homes in the area. With the support and approval from university and library administration efforts were coordinated with Dr. Joshua Pearce and the students from the MOST lab to concentrate on the …

Mechanisms Of Pathogen Inactivation In Wastewater And Pharmaceutical Applications, Christa L. Meingast

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Infectious diseases are a significant threat to public health. Though society enacts practices to prevent the spread of these dangerous diseases, challenges remain. Therefore, continual advancements in treatment and prevention are required. Wastewater treatment and viral clearance in pharmaceutical applications are two key health measures that prevent the spread of infections.

A low-cost, low-technology biosolids treatment process was developed to improve wastewater treatment by collecting key information on storage temperature, ammonia, volatile solids, moisture content, pH, and pathogen inactivation in biosolids over long-term storage at two wastewater treatment plants located in northern climates of the United States. Inactivation of pathogens …