Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Nanofiller Coating And Loading On Facial Elastomer Physical Properties, Rahmi K. Aulia

Theses & Dissertations

Current materials used for facial prostheses are far from being desirable, and improved properties with “skin-like” feel are needed. This study evaluates property changes induced by sequential additions of uncoated and hydrophobic-coated nano-SiO₂ to polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and compares them with those measured for conventional submicron SiO₂-filled materials. Each filler type was sequentially added to vinyl-terminated PDMS at 0%, 0.5%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight. Tensile, tear, Durometer hardness, translucency and viscoelastic properties were evaluated, with hardness and translucency also evaluated following 3000 hours of outdoor weathering. Results demonstrated that 15% coated nano-SiO₂-filled PDMS materials …

Development Of Fluorescent Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles For Intraoperative Tumor Detection, Nicholas E. Wojtynek

Theses & Dissertations

Surgical resection remains to be the primary treatment for the majority of solid tumors, including breast cancer. The complete removal of the primary tumor, local metastases, and metastatic lymph nodes dramatically improve a patient’s treatment outcome and prognosis. Nevertheless, surgeons are limited to tactile and visual cues in distinguishing malignant and healthy tissue. This can result in a positive surgical margin (PSM), which occurs when tumor goes undetected and is left behind in the surgical cavity. PSMs decreases a patient’s prognosis and necessitate additional treatment in the form of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. An emerging imaging modality, known as fluorescence-guided …

Delivery Of Microrna With Cxcr4-Targeted Nanoparticles In Metastatic Cancer Treatment, Ying Xie

Theses & Dissertations

Metastasis is the main contributor to cancer-associated deaths. Inhibition of CXCR4 emerged as one promising approach in metastatic cancer therapy. MiRNAs represent a new class of therapeutics for cancer treatment through RNA interference-mediated gene silencing. Polymeric CXCR4 antagonist (PCX) is a dual-functional polycation to inhibit CXCR4 and deliver nucleic acids. This dissertation hypothesized that blockade of CXCR4 by PCX combined with delivery of miRNA cooperatively enhances metastatic cancer therapy.

In chapter 1, an overview of CXCR4 inhibition, miRNA delivery and CXCR4 targeted nanomedicine in cancer therapy is given.

Chapter 2 reports that PCX can effectively deliver miR-200c mimic and that …

Color Stability, Physical Properties And Antifungal Effects Of Zro2 And Tio2 Nanoparticle Additions To Pigmented Polydimethylsiloxanes, Mazen Alkahtany

Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Color changes, physical degradation and fungal infections are potential challenges to the longevity of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential improvements in color change, physical properties and anti fungal properties of PDMS loaded with TiO2 and ZrO2 nanoparticles.

Methods: 1% weight of 40 nm or 200 nm diameter TiO2 or ZrO2 nanoparticles were mixed into PDMS with 2% functional intrinsic yellow pigment and polymerized. Control materials contained 13% weight 200 nm silica. Samples were exposed to either 3000 hours of UVB radiation (200 μW/cm2) or darkness. Color parameters L*a*b* and ΔE*, ultimate tensile …

Polymeric Nanocarriers For Treatment Of Melanoma And Genetically Modified Mesenchymal Stem Cells To Improve Outcome Of Islet Transplantation, Vaibhav Mundra

Theses & Dissertations

Melanoma is a lethal malignancy with limited treatment options for advanced metastatic stages. New targeted therapeutic options with discovery of BRAF and MEK inhibitors have shown significant survival benefit. Despite the recent progress, inefficient tumor accumulation and dose limiting systemic toxicity remains pressing challenges for treating metastatic melanoma and there is a need for drug delivery approach to improve therapeutic index of chemotherapeutics. Nanoparticle based drug delivery represents promising approach to enhance efficacy and reduce the dose limiting systemic toxicity. Nanoparticles can be formulated either by physical encapsulation of drugs or by covalent conjugation of drugs to the polymeric backbone. …