Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Biomedical Applications Of Protein Films And Polymeric Nanomaterials, Sanjana Gopalakrishnan

Doctoral Dissertations

Biomaterials are widely applied for the diagnosis and treatment of numerous diseases. In addition to fulfilling specific biological functions, biomaterials must also be non-toxic, biocompatible, and sterilizable to be regarded as safe-for-use. Polymers are excellent candidates for fabricating functional biomaterials due to their wide availability and varied properties and may be natural or synthetic. Polymer precursors are fabricated into coatings, foams, scaffolds, gels, composites, and nanomaterials for several biomedical applications. This dissertation focuses on two types of polymeric biomaterials – protein-based materials and synthetic polymeric nanoparticles. Proteins are biopolymers that naturally occur with a variety of structural and functional properties. …

Total Joint Implant Alloy Oxide Layer Cell-Induced Damage, Chandler K. Sears

Longitudinal Scholar's Project

Cobalt-Chromium alloy is commonly used in total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Several studies have investigated evidence of inflammatory-cell-induced-corrosion (ICIC) causing pitting in TJA retrieved implants. Others have determined that placing orthopedic alloys into lower pH solutions will increase the rate of corrosion. We have determined that electrochemical potential and corrosion rates of human knee synovial fluid show a variation greater than an order of magnitude. This means there is going to be a significant variation between a patient’s local environment of the TJA implant and may affect how macrophages interact with alloy oxide layers. Knee disability can be quantified by using …

Preparation Of Zein-Based Nanoparticles : Nanoprecipitation Versus Microfluidic-Assisted Manufacture, Effects Of Pegylation On Nanoparticle Characteristics And Cellular Uptake By Melanoma Cells, Jitkasem Meewan, Sukrut Somani, Jamal Almowalad, Partha Laskar, Margaret Mullin, Graeme Mackenzie, Swapnil Khadke, Yvonne Perrie, Christine Dufès

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Background: The manufacture of nanoparticles using manual methods is hampered by its challenging scaleup and poor reproducibility. To overcome this issue, the production of zein nanoparticles entrapping a lipophilic drug model, coumarin-6, by using a microfluidic system was assessed in this study. The influence of PEG density and chain length on zein nanoparticle characteristics, as well as their uptake efficacy in melanoma cancer cells, was also evaluated.

Methods: Zein nanoparticles were prepared by both manual and microfluidic approaches to allow comparison between the two processes. PEGylated zein nanoparticles with various PEG densities and chain lengths were produced by …

A Highly Conductive, Flexible, And 3d-Printable Carbon Nanotube-Elastomer Ink For Additive Bio-Manufacturing, Andy Shar, Phillip Glass, Daeha Joung Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research Posters

The synthesis of a highly conductive, flexible, 3D-printable, and biocompatible ink has been of great interest in the field of bio-based additive manufacturing. Various applications include ultra-sensitive, microscale tactile sensors, patient-customizable scaffolds for cardiac and nerve tissue regeneration, and flexible electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes. Here, a novel elastomeric carbon nanocomposite is presented consisting of amino-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT-NH₂) homogenously dispersed in a one-part room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone matrix. The use of acetone as a swelling solvent aids in electrical percolation through the elastomer matrix. CNT-NH₂ ratios can be tuned to fit various needs; higher tensile strength is favored …