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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

The Development Of Hyaluronan-Based Contract Agents For The Intraoperative Detection Of Pancreatic Tumors, Bowen Qi Dec 2019

The Development Of Hyaluronan-Based Contract Agents For The Intraoperative Detection Of Pancreatic Tumors, Bowen Qi

Theses & Dissertations

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is highly lethal and surgical resection is the only potential curative treatment for the disease. Tumor-specific intraoperative fluorescence imaging could improve staging and surgical resection, thereby improving prognosis. In the first study, hyaluronic acid derived NPs with physico-chemically entrapped indocyanine green, termed NanoICG, were utilized for intraoperative near infrared fluorescence detection of pancreatic cancer. NanoICG accumulated significantly in an orthotopic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma model with safety profile both in vitro and in vivo. To maximize tumor signal, while minimizing signal in healthy pancreas and RES capture of macromolecules, in the next study, we describe the rational …


Charge-Based Optimization Of Neurotensin For Neurotensin-Receptor-1 Targeting Utilizing A One-Bead One-Compound Peptide Library Approach, Trey Neeley Dec 2019

Charge-Based Optimization Of Neurotensin For Neurotensin-Receptor-1 Targeting Utilizing A One-Bead One-Compound Peptide Library Approach, Trey Neeley

Theses & Dissertations

Neurotensin-receptor-1 (NTSR1) is regularly overexpressed in various cancers and contributes to the proliferation, survival, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis of tumors. NTSR1-targeting vectors have demonstrated promise in both diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Unfortunately, the relatively poor in vivo metabolic stability and high renal uptake and retention of NTSR1-targeted compounds have hampered the translation to the clinic. In this research, we utilized a one-bead one-compound (OBOC) peptide library approach to make targeted modifications at the naturally charged residues of an NTS (4-13) sequence to discover an NTS derivative with comparable affinity to NTSR1, acceptable in vivo stability, and tolerable renal retention. Subsequent …


Identification Of More Potent And Efficacious Analogs Of The Novel Host-Derived Immunostimulant Ep67, Abdul Alshammari Dec 2019

Identification Of More Potent And Efficacious Analogs Of The Novel Host-Derived Immunostimulant Ep67, Abdul Alshammari

Theses & Dissertations

EP67 is a human C5a-derived decapeptide agonist of C5a Receptor 1 (C5aR1/CD88) that selectively activates mononuclear phagocytes over neutrophils to stimulate protective innate and adaptive immune responses while potentially minimizing neutrophil-mediated toxicity. Two N-alkyl amino acids Pro7 and N-methyl-Leu8 (nme-Leu8) within EP67 induce structural changes that increase potency and selective activation of mononuclear phagocytes over neutrophils. Cis/trans isomerization at these positions, however, likely limits the activity of EP67 and low coupling efficiency between Pro7 and nme-Leu8 increases scale-up costs for clinical use. Thus, the goals of this study were to …


Engineering Hyaluronic Acid For Biomedical Applications, Deep S. Bhattacharya Dec 2019

Engineering Hyaluronic Acid For Biomedical Applications, Deep S. Bhattacharya

Theses & Dissertations

This work presents research using the naturally available non- sulfated carbohydrate glycosaminoglycan hyaluronic acid (HA) for the synthesis of different chemical derivatives of HA for evaluation of binding kinetics with CD44 and P- selectin proteins for applications in fluorescence image-guided surgery. Chemical derivatives of HA such as deacetylated HA (deHA), sulfated HA (sHA), and deacetylated and sulfated HA (s-deHA) were synthesized by modulating sulfating and deacetylating reagents to alter binding specificities to CD44. Modified HA derivatives and CD44 biophysical interactions were assessed by fluorescence polarization. In silico techniques were also used to determine binding using molecular docking and MM-PBSA approaches. …


Computational Studies And Design Of Pparγ And Glut1 Inhibitors, Suliman Almahmoud Dec 2019

Computational Studies And Design Of Pparγ And Glut1 Inhibitors, Suliman Almahmoud

Theses & Dissertations

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor of the nuclear receptor superfamily that controls the expression of a variety of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, adipogenesis, and insulin sensitivity. PPARγ is a target for insulin-sensitizing drugs, and it plays a significant function in prostate cancer. PPARγ antagonists have anti-proliferative effects in a broad range of hematopoietic and epithelial cell lines. The ligand binding domain (LBD) of PPARγ is large and has orthosteric and allosteric binding sites. Several PPARγ-ligand co-crystal structures show two bound molecules, one to the orthosteric pocket and a second to the allosteric …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Long Acting Darunavir Prodrugs, Mary Banoub Dec 2019

Synthesis And Characterization Of Long Acting Darunavir Prodrugs, Mary Banoub

Theses & Dissertations

Patient adherence is critical for ART success to ensure adequate viral suppression, therefore, long-acting antiretrovirals are soon replacing current daily regimens. In recent years, two drugs were successfully transformed into long-acting injectables; CAB LA and RPV LA. These long-acting nanoformulations made it possible to abandon the daily pill burden, instead approximately a bimonthly injection of both drugs is enough to suppress and maintain viral load suppression. Our laboratory has been instrumental in transforming FDA-approved and experimental-HIV medications into long-acting slow effective release drugs, also known as LASER ART. LASER ART consists of slow drug metabolism and high permeability and retention …


Delivery Of Small Molecule And Rna Using Synthetic Polymeric Micelles And Multifunctional Exosomes For The Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetes, Yang Peng Dec 2019

Delivery Of Small Molecule And Rna Using Synthetic Polymeric Micelles And Multifunctional Exosomes For The Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetes, Yang Peng

Theses & Dissertations

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most challenging chronic autoimmune diseases. The destruction and dysfunction of insulin-secreting β cells are the results of inflammatory infiltration and the synergistic effect of multiple immune cells. The aim of this dissertation is to develop novel and reliable therapeutic approaches to advance the treatment of T1D: including chemical modification of a broad-spectrum immunosuppressant, co-application of small molecule based immune intervention and siRNA based β cell preservative therapy, and administration of a PI3K-δ/γ dual inhibitor to specifically target immune cells, utilizing synthetic polymeric micelles or natural produced multi-functional exosomes derived from human bone marrow …


Theranostics For Antiretroviral Biodistribution And Pharmacokinetics, Brendan M. Ottemann Dec 2019

Theranostics For Antiretroviral Biodistribution And Pharmacokinetics, Brendan M. Ottemann

Theses & Dissertations

RATIONALE: Our laboratories birthed the field of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) theranostics. The new field allows simultaneous detection (diagnostics) and treatment (therapeutic) for the identification, treatment and inevitable elimination of virus in cell and tissue compartments. By employing theranostics, antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) can be tracked in lymph nodes, gut, spleen and liver. Cellular viral reservoirs including CD4+ T cell populations and mononuclear phagocytes (MP; monocytes, macrophages, microglia and dendritic cells) along with subcellular endosomal structures can now be targeted for drug delivery bringing therapeutics to areas where virus replicates. The overarching idea rests in improving precision targeted ARV delivery. …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Long-Acting Rilpivirine Prodrugs, James R. Hilaire Aug 2019

Synthesis And Characterization Of Long-Acting Rilpivirine Prodrugs, James R. Hilaire

Theses & Dissertations

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) requires lifelong daily dosing to suppress viral replication, restore or maintain immune function and improve quality of life. As an alternative, long-acting (LA) antiretrovirals (ARVs) aim to deliver therapeutic drug concentrations over an extended period, ultimately requiring monthly or even more extended dosing intervals. Specifically, the success of recent clinical trials examining LA cabotegravir and rilpivirine (CAB and RPV LA) highlight the advent of these novel HIV-1 therapeutics. Further optimization of LA dosage forms are required and rests upon improving dosing frequency, injection volumes and tissue distribution to viral compartments. To this end, we report the synthesis …


Synthesis And Characterization Of A Long-Acting Emtricitabine Prodrug Nanoformulation, Ibrahim M. Ibrahim May 2019

Synthesis And Characterization Of A Long-Acting Emtricitabine Prodrug Nanoformulation, Ibrahim M. Ibrahim

Theses & Dissertations

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy led to a paradigm shift in the management of HIV/AIDS changing a disease considered “a death sentence” to “a manageable chronic disease”. Nevertheless, challenges exist for successful treatment of HIV, including patient adherence to the complex daily regimens and the inability of current formulations to target viral sanctuaries. Introduction of nanoformulated antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a promising alternative to tackle these challenges. Our laboratory has been focusing on developing long-acting (LA) nanoformulated antiretrovirals and has succeeded in developing LA integrase inhibitors. However, challenges for this approach extend to a range of short-acting hydrophilic …


Development Of Macromolecular Prodrug Conjugates For The Treatment Of Inflammatory Diseases, Gang Zhao May 2019

Development Of Macromolecular Prodrug Conjugates For The Treatment Of Inflammatory Diseases, Gang Zhao

Theses & Dissertations

Inflammation is the complex biological response to the stimuli triggered by various factors like pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Constant uncontrolled acute inflammation may become chronic conditions, leading to significant tissue damage, contributing to a series of chronic inflammatory diseases. Our lab has been working on the different types of inflammatory diseases and has developed multiple macromolecular prodrug conjugates for the better therapeutic efficacy and reduced toxicity. The general approach we have taken is to incorporate small molecules containing monomers into water-soluble and biocompatible polymers, such as N-(2-Hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers. The superior and the sustained efficacy of those macromolecular …


Development Of Approaches Of Tumor Trapping Enhanced Bb2r-Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals For Prostate Cancer, Wenting Zhang May 2019

Development Of Approaches Of Tumor Trapping Enhanced Bb2r-Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals For Prostate Cancer, Wenting Zhang

Theses & Dissertations

The Gastrin-Releasing Peptide Receptor (BB2r) has been intensively investigated as a cancer target over the years. Numerous diagnostic and therapeutic BB2r-targeted agents have been developed for various solid tumors, including prostate cancers, due to the high expression level of BB2r on neoplastic relative to normal tissues. The development of those targeted agents have mainly utilized the modified c-terminal of bombesin(BBN), a peptide that has nanomolar binding affinity to human BB2r. However, a major issue that hinders the clinical translational potential of low-molecular weight, receptor-targted agents, is their short residence time at tumor tissues due to the intrinsically high diffusion and …


Human Immunodeficiency Virus Theranostics, Christopher J. Woldstad May 2019

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Theranostics, Christopher J. Woldstad

Theses & Dissertations

RATIONALE: Long-acting slow effective release antiretroviral therapy (LASER ART) was developed to improve patient regimen adherence, prevent new infections, and facilitate drug delivery to human immunodeficiency virus cell and tissue reservoirs. However, maintenance of sustained plasma drug levels, for weeks or months, after a single high-level dosing, could improve regimen adherence but, at the same time, affect systemic toxicities. Of these, the most troubling are those that affect the central nervous system (CNS) In an effort to facilitate LASER ART development, “multimodal imaging theranostic nanoprobes” were created. These allow combined bioimaging, drug pharmacokinetics and tissue biodistribution tests in animal …