Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Saponin Penetration And Interactions With Membranes, Sarai Guerrero
Saponin Penetration And Interactions With Membranes, Sarai Guerrero
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The saponin QS21 has been used and studied for years as an adjuvant agent to improve vaccines for both humans and animals. However, how the saponin interacts with the membrane and itself remains poorly understood. We studied the QS21-A majority isomer using all-atom classical molecular dynamics simulations in model bilayers composed of cholesterol and either DOPC or DPPC. As this is one of the few computational studies on QS21-A, we had very few resources to compare our results to. Nevertheless, we were able to gain insight into possible configurations that QS21-A takes after penetration, the effect of the bilayer on …
Haptics-Enabled, Gpu Augmented Surgical Simulation Platform For Glenoid Reaming, Vlad Popa
Haptics-Enabled, Gpu Augmented Surgical Simulation Platform For Glenoid Reaming, Vlad Popa
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Surgical simulators are technological platforms that provide virtual substitutes to the current cadaver-based medical training models. The advantages of exposure to these devices have been thoroughly studied, with enhanced surgical proficiency being one of the assets gained after extensive use. While simulators have already penetrated numerous medical domains, the field of orthopedics remains stagnant despite a demand for the ability to practice uncommon surgeries, such as total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). Here we extrapolate the algorithms of an inhouse software engine revolving around glenoid reaming, a critical step of TSA. The project’s purpose is to provide efficient techniques for future simulators, …
Development Of In Situ Forming Hydrogels For Intra-Articular Drug Delivery, Andy Prince
Development Of In Situ Forming Hydrogels For Intra-Articular Drug Delivery, Andy Prince
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Hydrogels are 3-dimensional crosslinked polymer networks that can absorb significant amounts of water. The physical properties associated with hydrogels affords them resemblance to biological tissues making them good candidates for biomedical applications. Many pharmaceuticals, specifically non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), have poor aqueous solubility, which limits their bioavailability and efficacy. People suffering from chronic osteoarthritis (OA) are required to frequently take large doses to mitigate pain, which can lead to serious side effects. Hydrogels are good strategies to deliver NSAIDs via articular injection because they can form solid gels in situ. This thesis describes the synthesis, formulation, mechanical testing, in …