Nanotechnology Commons^™

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 …

Development And Testing Of Novel Antimicrobial Materials For Additive Manufacturing With Application In Space, Michael Thompson, Jorge Zuniga, Christopher Copeland, Roberto Saavedra, Claudia Cortes Reyes, Andres Acuña Velásquez, Daniel Martínez Pereira, Claudio Soto

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was twofold: (i) develop and test the antimicrobial properties of a polylactic acid- and a polyurethane-based filament, and (ii) use these filaments to manufacture a socket-based prosthesis to verify printability and longevity of the antimicrobial properties. It was hypothesized that the formulation of a novel biocidal copper-based nanocomposite with a biocompatible 3D printing polymer/copolymer can be used for the development of antimicrobial medical devices to mitigate microbial risks during long space flight missions [1, 2, 3].

METHODS: Polylactic Acid-based Filament Development-The development of a polylactic acid-based filament involved several processes, such as fermentation …

Plasmonic-Active Nanostructured Thin Films, Jay Bhattarai, Helal Maruf, Keith Stine

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

Plasmonic-active nanomaterials are of high interest to scientists because of their expanding applications in the field for medicine and energy. Chemical and biological sensors based on plasmonic nanomaterials are well-established and commercially available, but the role of plasmonic nanomaterials on photothermal therapeutics, solar cells, super-resolution imaging, organic synthesis, etc. is still emerging. The effectiveness of the plasmonic materials on these technologies depends on their stability and sensitivity. Preparing plasmonics-active nanostructured thin films (PANTFs) on a solid substrate improves their physical stability. More importantly, the surface plasmons of thin film and that of nanostructures can couple in PANTFs enhancing the sensitivity. …

Interfacial Current Distribution Between Helium Plasma Jet And Water Solution, Sui Wang, Dingxin Liu, Zifeng Wang, Yifan Liu, Qiaosong Li, Xiaohua Wang, Michael G. Kong, Mingzhe Rong

Bioelectrics Publications

The plasma-liquid interaction holds great importance for a number of emerging applications such as plasma biomedicine, yet a main fundamental question remains about the nature of the physiochemical processes occurring at the plasma-liquid interface. In this paper, the interfacial current distribution between helium plasma jet and water solution was measured for the first time by means of the splitting electrode method, which was borrowed from the field of arc plasma. For a plasma plume in continuous mode, it was found that the mean absolute current distribution at the plasma-liquid interface typically had an annular shape. This shape could be affected …

Investigation On Nanoparticle Based Combination Therapy For Targeted Cancer Treatment, Muhammad Raisul Abedin

Doctoral Dissertations

“The current treatment methods in cancer are associated with toxicity in healthy tissues, partial therapeutic response, drug resistance and finally recurrence of the disease. The cancer drugs are challenged by non-specific binding, undesired toxicity in healthy cells, low therapeutic index and finally poor therapeutic outcome. In this work, a targeted nanoscale therapeutic system Antibody Drug Nanoparticle (ADN) was engineered to selectively inhibit the breast cancer cell growth with reduced toxicity in healthy cells. The ADNs were designed by synthesizing rod shaped anoparticles using pure chemotherapeutic drug and covalently conjugating a therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) on the surface of the drug …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Human Health, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

The sustainable health IoT has the strong potential to bring tremendous improvements in human health and well-being through sensing, and monitoring of health impacts across the whole spectrum of climate change. The sustainable health IoT enables development of a systems approach in the area of human health and ecosystem. It allows integration of broader health sub-areas in a bigger archetype for improving sustainability in health in the realm of social, economic, and environmental sectors. This integration provides a powerful health IoT framework for sustainable health and community goals in the wake of changing climate. In this chapter, a detailed description …

Shape Tuning Of Silicon Nano-Tip Arrays Through Reactive Ion Etching For Cold Field Emission, Giridhar Tulasi Ram Sankabathula

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Large area silicon nano-tip arrays have been predominantly used as cold cathode electron sources in the wide range of field emission applications. Various fabrication methodologies have been developed over the decades to obtain sharp-pointed field emitters. In this thesis, we mainly emphasized on reproducing high aspect ratio field emitters and to study their surface topographical changes encountered through reactive ion etching. A discrete set of high-density field emitters have been fabricated over the large area surfaces through a three-step nanofabrication process. The surface curvatures of the obtained emitter tips are finely tuned with multiple oxidation cycles to achieve a tip’s …

Formulation And Validation Of Nanoparticle Controlled Delivery For Chemotherapeutic Drug Products, Shani L. Levit

Theses and Dissertations

Taxol, a formulation of paclitaxel (PTX), is one of the most widely used anticancer drugs, particularly for treating recurring ovarian carcinomas following surgery. Clinically, PTX is used in combination with other drugs such as lapatinib (LAP) to increase treatment efficacy. Delivering drug combinations with nanoparticles has the potential to improve chemotherapy outcomes. In this study, we use Flash NanoPrecipitation, a rapid, scalable process to encapsulate weakly hydrophobic drugs (logP in vitro. Encapsulating either PTX or LAP into nanoparticles increases drug potency. When PTX and LAP are co-loaded in the same nanoparticle, they have a synergistic effect that is greater than …

Nanoporous Gold And Other Related Materials, Keith Stine

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Using Green Emitting Ph-Responsive Nanogels To Report Environmental Changes Within Hydrogels: A Nanoprobe For Versatile Sensing, Mingning Zhu, Dongdong Lu, Shanglin Wu, Qing Lian, Wenkai Wang, L. Andrew Lyon, Weiguang Wang, Paulo Bártolo, Brian R. Saunders

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Remotely reporting the local environment within hydrogels using inexpensive laboratory techniques has excellent potential to improve our understanding of the nanometer-scale changes that cause macroscopic swelling or deswelling. Whilst photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy is a popular method for such studies this approach commonly requires bespoke and time-consuming synthesis to attach fluorophores which may leave toxic residues. A promising and more versatile alternative is to use a pre-formed nanogel probe that contains a donor/acceptor pair and then “dope” that into the gel during gel assembly. Here, we introduce green-emitting methacrylic acid-based nanogel probe particles and use them to report the local environment …

All-Optical Control Of Lead Halide Perovskite Microlasers, Nan Zhang, Yubin Fan, Kaiyang Wang, Zhiyuan Gu, Yuhan Wang, Li Ge, Shumin Xiao, Qinghai Song

Publications and Research

Lead halide perovskites based microlasers have recently shown their potential in nanophotonics. However, up to now, all of the perovskite microlasers are static and cannot be dynamically tuned in use. Herein, we demonstrate a robust mechanism to realize the alloptical control of perovskite microlasers. In lead halide perovskite microrods, deterministic mode switching takes place as the external excitation is increased: the onset of a new lasing mode switches off the initial one via a negative power slope, while the main laser characteristics are well kept. This mode switching is reversible with the excitation and has been explained via cross-gain saturation. …

Å-Indentation For Non-Destructive Elastic Moduli Measurements Of Supported Ultra-Hard Ultra-Thin Films And Nanostructures, Filippo Cellini, Yang Gao, Elisa Riedo

Publications and Research

During conventional nanoindentation measurements, the indentation depths are usually larger than 1–10 nm, which hinders the ability to study ultra-thin films (<10 >nm) and supported atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials. Here, we discuss the development of modulated Å-indentation to achieve sub-Å indentations depths during force-indentation measurements while also imaging materials with nanoscale resolution. Modulated nanoindentation (MoNI) was originally invented to measure the radial elasticity of multi-walled nanotubes. w, by using extremely small amplitude oscillations (<<1 Å) at high frequency, and stiff cantilevers, we show how modulated nano/Å-indentation (MoNI/ÅI) enables non-destructive measurements of the contact stiffness and indentation modulus of ultra-thin ultra-stiff films, including CVD diamond films (~1000 GPa stiffness), as well as the transverse modulus of 2D materials. Our analysis demonstrates that in presence of a standard laboratory noise floor, the signal to noise ratio of MoNI/ÅI implemented with a commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) is such that a dynamic range of 80 dB –– achievable with commercial Lock-in amplifiers –– is sufficient to observe superior indentation curves, having indentation depths as small as 0.3 Å, resolution in indentation <0.05 Å, and in normal load <0.5 nN. Being implemented on a standard AFM, this method has the potential for a broad applicability.

Development Of 3d Printed And 3d Metal-Based Micro/Nanofabricated, And Nano-Functionalized, Microelectrode Array (Mea) Biosensors For Flexible, Conformable, And In Vitro Applications, Charles Didier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging fields such as "Organs on a Chip", disease modeling in vitro, stem cell manufacturing and wearable bioelectronics are demanding rapid development of 3D Microelectrode Arrays (MEAs) for electrical interfacing with biological constructs. The work reported in this thesis focuses on two developmental tracks: "Dynamic 3D MEAs" and metal microfabrication for 3D MEAs. In the first part of the thesis, we explore the capabilities and limitations of 3D printed microserpentines (µserpentines) and utilize these structures to develop dynamic 3D microelectrodes. Analytical modeling of µserpentines flexibility followed by integration into a flexible Kapton® package and PDMS insulation are demonstrated. These 3D …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Nanofiber Nylon-6-Mwcnt As An Electrochemical Sensor For Sodium Ions Concentration Detection In Sweat, Kelsey Mills

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Fabrication and characterization nylon-6-MWCNT nanofiber as an electrochemical sensor to detect sodium ion concentrations specifically in sweat. Using contact angle to determine surface morphology and chronoamperometry testing to identify ideal sensor conditions, tests optimized parameters like weight percent of nylon or other polymers, carbon nanotube (CNT) isomer, and solution concentration to determine reproducibility of functional sensors. Utilizing the electric qualities of carbon nanotubes partnered with the sodium ion selectivity of calixarene treatment and polymers unique properties like flexibility and scalability create open an arena for optimizing sodium ion sensors for further development for functional prototypes. Morphology tests showed that the …

Towards An In Vitro Model Of Testing Osteoblast Cellular Function In Contact With Various Surfaces, Raheleh Miralami

Theses & Dissertations

Past studies have shown that the success of total joint replacements depends on the biocompatibility of orthopaedic materials, which can be improved by modifying the implant surface. However, the exact roles of these modifications and their effective mechanisms are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a model system to investigate the impact of nano-structured surfaces, produced by the ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) technique, on biomarkers of osteointegration using an in vitro model. The IBAD technique was employed to deposit zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), Titanium oxide (TiO₂), and Titanium (Ti) nano-films on …

Engineered Coating Of Natural Fibers And Oil-Water Interfaces With Self-Assembly Of Clay Nanotubes, Abhishek Panchal

Doctoral Dissertations

Taking into consideration two different types of surfaces, this dissertation proposes techniques to coat the surface of natural fibers and oil-water interfaces by spontaneous self-assembly of halloysite clay nanotubes. The material of choice, halloysite clay, is a widely available natural resource and can be used after minimal processing. In regards to chemical composition, halloysite clay resembles aluminosilicate mineral kaolin; physically, a defect in the crystal structure ordering causes the sheets of kaolinite to roll into halloysite nanotubes. The dimensions of halloysite nanotubes are dependent on the source, but generally vary from 200 nm to 3 µm in length, 100-150 nm …

Evaluation Of Drug-Loaded Gold Nanoparticle Cytotoxicity As A Function Of Tumor Tissue Heterogeneity., Hunter Allan Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The inherent heterogeneity of tumor tissue presents a major challenge to nanoparticle-medicated drug delivery. This heterogeneity spans from the molecular to the cellular (cell types) and to the tissue (vasculature, extra-cellular matrix) scales. Here we employ computational modeling to evaluate therapeutic response as a function of vascular-induced tumor tissue heterogeneity. Using data with three-layered gold nanoparticles loaded with cisplatin, nanotherapy is simulated with different levels of tissue heterogeneity, and the treatment response is measured in terms of tumor regression. The results show that tumor vascular density non-trivially influences the nanoparticle uptake and washout, and the associated tissue response. The drug …

Distribution And Localization Of Novel Iodine Nanoparticles In The Human Glioma 1242 Growing In The Brains Of Mice, Benjamin Billings

Honors Scholar Theses

Observing and designing the in vivo distribution and localization of therapeutic nanoparticles is an essential aspect of developing and understanding novel nanoparticle- based medical treatments. This study investigates novel PEGylated Iodine-based nanoparticles (INPs), an alternate composition to the more widely researched gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which may help avoid adverse effects associated with AuNPs, such as potential toxicity and skin discoloration, when used in similar applications. Determining the localization of the novel INPs within murine brains containing human glioma U-1242MG cells is critical in assisting the development of radiation dose enhancement therapy for this aggressive cancer. Radiation dose enhancement utilizes the …

Nanoparticle-Mediated Therapeutic Agent Delivery For Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer—Challenges And Opportunities, Yunfei Li, Brock Humphries, Chengfeng Yang, Zhishan Wang

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Breast cancer (BC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in American women and more than 90% of BC-related death is caused by metastatic BC (MBC). This review stresses the limited success of traditional therapies as well as the use of nanomedicine for treating MBC. Understanding the biological barriers of MBC that nanoparticle in vivo trafficking must overcome could provide valuable new insights for translating nanomedicine from the bench side to the bedside. A view about nanomedicine applied in BC therapy has been summarized with their present status, which is gaining attention in the clinically-applied landscape. The progressions of …

Preparation, Modification, Characterization, And Biosensing Application Of Nanoporous Gold Using Electrochemical Techniques, Jay Bhattarai, Dharmendra Neupane, Bishal Nepal, Vasilii Mikhaylov, Alexei Demchenko, Keith Stine

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works

Nanoporous gold (np-Au), because of its high surface area-to-volume ratio, excellent conductivity, chemical inertness, physical stability, biocompatibility, easily tunable pores, and plasmonic properties, has attracted much interested in the field of nanotechnology. It has promising applications in the fields of catalysis, bio/chemical sensing, drug delivery, biomolecules separation and purification, fuel cell development, surface-chemistry-driven actuation, and supercapacitor design. Many chemical and electrochemical procedures are known for the preparation of np-Au. Recently, researchers are focusing on easier and controlled ways to tune the pores and ligaments size of np-Au for its use in different applications. Electrochemical methods have good control over fine-tuning …

Multimodal Noncontact Diffuse Optical Reflectance Imaging Of Blood Flow And Fluorescence Contrasts, Daniel Irwin

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

In this study we design a succession of three increasingly adept diffuse optical devices towards the simultaneous 3D imaging of blood flow and fluorescence contrasts in relatively deep tissues. These metrics together can provide future insights into the relationship between blood flow distributions and fluorescent or fluorescently tagged agents. A noncontact diffuse correlation tomography (ncDCT) device was firstly developed to recover flow by mechanically scanning a lens-based apparatus across the sample. The novel flow reconstruction technique and measuring boundary curvature were advanced in tandem. The establishment of CCD camera detection with a high sampling density and flow recovery by speckle …

Investigating The Effects Of Orientation Control Of Graphene Nanoplatelet Suspensions By A Magnetic Field On The Viscosity Of A Nanofluid System, Radhika Iyer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this investigation, the rheological behavior of paraffin oil containing diamagnetic suspensions is characterized under varying magnetic field conditions. The particles suspended in the white paraffin oil at mass concentrations of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1% m/m are two-dimensional graphene nanoplatelets with an average thickness of 2 – 8 nm. Rheological experiments were conducted using a Brookfield DV2T viscometer with a modified cylindrical spindle over the range of shear rates between 192 s-1 to 1928 s-1. A Neodymium N42 ring magnet with a surface strength of 1.32 T generated the magnetic field conditions for the rheological experiments and was …

Atomic Layer Deposition Prepared Nanostructured Materials For Various Catalytic Reactions, Xiaofeng Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been widely used for thin film coating and metal nanoparticles (NPs) preparation. In this report, the applications of ALD prepared nanostructured materials in catalysis were examined.

Highly dispersed Pt monometallic catalysts with different substrates and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) supported Pt-Co bimetallic catalysts were synthesized by ALD for selective hydrogenation of α, β-unsaturated aldehydes to unsaturated alcohols (UA). Pt/MWCNTs showed the highest selectivity of UA in selective hydrogenation of citral, as compared to Pt/SiO₂, Pt/ALD-Al₂O₃, and Pt/γ-Al₂O₃. After adding Co, the highest selectivity was achieved …

Delayed Hypersensitivity To Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field In Electroporated Cells, Sarah D. Jensen, Vera A. Khorokhorina, Claudia Muratori, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Olga N. Pakhomova

Bioelectrics Publications

We demonstrate that conditioning of mammalian cells by electroporation with nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) facilitates their response to the next nsPEF treatment. The experiments were designed to unambiguously separate the electroporation-induced sensitization and desensitization effects. Electroporation was achieved by bursts of 300-ns, 9 kV/cm pulses (50 Hz, n = 3–100) and quantified by propidium dye uptake within 11 min after the nsPEF exposure. We observed either sensitization to nsPEF or no change (when the conditioning was either too weak or too intense, or when the wait time after conditioning was too short). Within studied limits, conditioning never caused desensitization. …

Three-Dimensional Microfluidic Tumor Vascular Model For Investigating Breast Cancer Metastasis, Anastasiia Vasiukhina, Brian H. Jun, Luis Solorio, Pavlos P. Vlachos

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Metastasis is one of the primary reasons for the high mortality rates in female patients diagnosed with breast cancer. It involves the migration of cancer cells into the circulatory system allowing for the dissemination of cancer cells in distal tissues. Understanding the major processes that occur in cells and tissues during metastasis can help improve currently existing therapeutic methods. In order to understand such mechanisms, developing physiologically relevant tissue models is crucial. Advancements in microfluidics have led to the fabrication of 3D culture models with shear stress gradients and flow control that can recapitulate aspects of the tumor microenvironment in …

Chitosan Nanoparticle Modifications For Improved Gene Delivery In An Oral Dna Vaccine Application, Austin Helmink

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Vaccines represent one of the most significant medical innovations of the 20^th century, resulting in the eradication or near eradication of a handful of deadly diseases. However, many infectious diseases remain resistant to effective vaccination, largely due to a lack full immune activation by traditional protein-based vaccines. A promising alternative vaccination strategy is the emerging development of DNA vaccines, which rely upon the delivery of exogenous genetic material to host cells encoding for a viral or bacterial antigen in order to induce a robust immune response by closely mimicking live infection. The delivery of genetic material requires a carrier …

Structural Mrsa Resistance Through Carbon-Infiltrated Carbon Nanotube Coating Of External Fixator Pins, Jaclyn Larsen, Stephanie Morco, Brian Jensen, Anton Bowden

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

No abstract provided.

Engineering Fret Biosensors For Microrna Presence/Absence Analysis, Nicholas E. Larkey, Sean M. Burrows

Biomedical Engineering Western Regional Conference

No abstract provided.

Electrospraying Extracellular Matrix To Form Nanoparticles, Patrick Link

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death worldwide. Alveolar wall destruction is a significant contributor to COPD. Inflammatory macrophages are a major source of the Extracellular Matrix (ECM) proteolysis. ECM breakdown causes air to get trapped in the alveoli, obstructing airflow. One step in curing COPD may be to convert inflammatory to pro-regenerative macrophages. Recently, decellularized ECM scaffolds have shown the ability to induce a pro-regenerative phenotype.

Yet these scaffolds are incapable for reaching the alveolar region of the lungs. To reach the alveolar region particles need a diameter of 1-5 μm or smaller than 300 …

Design Of A Modified Stewart Platform Manipulator For Misalignment Correction, Adekunle Ayoko

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

This thesis work is about the design of a modified Stewart platform manipulator for misalignment correction. The common version of the Stewart platform uses six actuators. The traditional Stewart platform of this kind has a moving top plate and a fixed base plate. However, in this research, the modified design of the traditional Stewart platform is studied. It is designed to be an easy connect-disconnect platform that can wrap around different structures with different cross sections and symmetrically designed. It is able to adjust position easily by using four identical but independent linear actuators populated evenly in two parts fastened …