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Theses/Dissertations

Chemistry

Theses and Dissertations

Biomarkers

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Discovery Of Low-Molecular Weight Novel Serum Biomarkers For Diagnosing Preeclampsia And Alzheimer's Disease, Swati Anand Mar 2016

Discovery Of Low-Molecular Weight Novel Serum Biomarkers For Diagnosing Preeclampsia And Alzheimer's Disease, Swati Anand

Theses and Dissertations

Preeclampsia (PE), a life threatening pregnancy-related disorder, is characterized mainly by new onset of hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. Currently, PE cannot be predicted prior to onset of symptoms and there is no cure for the disease. There is a clear value in having biomarkers able, early in a pregnancy, to identify women at risk for PE so that proper treatment therapies could be developed. Although a number of serum candidate markers have been proposed to be altered in PE patients, their use is limited due to poor sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, there is ongoing need for …


Design, Fabrication, And Optimization Of Miniaturized Devices For Bioanalytical Applications, Suresh Kumar Aug 2015

Design, Fabrication, And Optimization Of Miniaturized Devices For Bioanalytical Applications, Suresh Kumar

Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation work integrates the techniques of microfabrication, micro/nanofluidics, and bioanalytical chemistry to develop miniaturized devices for healthcare applications. Semiconductor processing techniques including photolithography, physical and chemical vapor deposition, and wet etching are used to build these devices in silicon and polymeric materials. On-chip micro-/nanochannels, pumps, and valves are used to manipulate the flow of fluid in these devices. Analytical techniques such as size-based filtration, solid-phase extraction (SPE), sample enrichment, on-chip labeling, microchip electrophoresis (µCE), and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) are utilized to analyze biomolecules. Such miniaturized devices offer the advantages of rapid analysis, low cost, and lab-on-a-chip scale integration …


Simple, Label-Free And Non-Instrumented Analyte Quantitation By Flow Distance Measurement In Microfluidic Devices, Debolina Chatterjee Aug 2014

Simple, Label-Free And Non-Instrumented Analyte Quantitation By Flow Distance Measurement In Microfluidic Devices, Debolina Chatterjee

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid determination of the concentrations of molecules related to diseases can provide timely information for treatment options. However, most biomarker quantitation methods require costly and complex equipment. On the other hand, point-of-care systems have less complex instrumentation needs than laboratory-based equipment, but often provide less information; for example, biomarker presence or absence instead of concentration. A complete analysis setup addressing key limitations of both laboratory-based and portable systems is highly desirable. I developed microfluidic devices with visual inspection readout of a target’s concentration from microliter volumes of solution flowed into a microchannel. Microchannels are formed within polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and the …


Identification And Differentiation Of Tier 1 Bacterial Agents Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Dan Li Jun 2013

Identification And Differentiation Of Tier 1 Bacterial Agents Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Dan Li

Theses and Dissertations

A simple method was developed for detection and differentiation of five Tier 1 bacterial agents, including Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei as well as their closely related near neighbors by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Generally, different classes of compounds can be used as biomarkers for biowarfare agent detection, including nucleic acids (i.e., DNA or RNA), proteins (i.e., antibodies), carbohydrates (i.e., sugars), lipopolysaccharides, lipids (i.e., fatty acids) and small molecules. One-step thermochemolysis (TCM) was developed to provide GC-MS detectable biomarker signatures, including sugars, fatty acids and small molecules. Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) was used for …


Microfluidic Devices With Integrated Sample Preparation For Improved Analysis Of Protein Biomarkers, Pamela Nsang Nge Dec 2012

Microfluidic Devices With Integrated Sample Preparation For Improved Analysis Of Protein Biomarkers, Pamela Nsang Nge

Theses and Dissertations

Biomarkers present a non-invasive means of detecting cancer because they can be obtained from body fluids. They can also be used for prognosis and assessing response to treatment. To limit interferences it is essential to pretreat biological samples before analysis. Sample preparation methods include extraction of analyte from an unsuitable matrix, purification, concentration or dilution and labeling. The many advantages offered by microfluidics include portability, speed, automation and integration. Because of the difficulties encountered in integrating this step in microfluidic devices most sample preparation methods are often carried out off-chip. In the fabrication of micro-total analysis systems it is important …


Integrated Affinity Column Capillary Electrophoresis Microdevices For Biomarker Analysis, Weichun Yang Aug 2010

Integrated Affinity Column Capillary Electrophoresis Microdevices For Biomarker Analysis, Weichun Yang

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, microfluidic systems that integrate antibody-based sample preparation methods with electrophoretic separation are developed to analyze multiple biomarkers in a point-of-care setting. To form an affinity column, both monolith materials and wall-coated channels were explored. I successfully demonstrated that monolith columns can be prepared in microfluidic devices via photopolymerization. The selectivity of monolith columns was improved by immobilizing antibodies on the surface. These affinity columns can selectively enrich target analytes and reduce the signal of contaminant proteins up to 25,000 fold after immunoaffinity extraction. These results clearly demonstrate that microchip affinity monoliths can selectively concentrate and purify target …


Characterization Of Microorganisms Of Interest To Homeland Security And Public Health Utilizing Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, Robert A. Everley Jan 2008

Characterization Of Microorganisms Of Interest To Homeland Security And Public Health Utilizing Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, Robert A. Everley

Theses and Dissertations

Liquid chromatography/quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC/QTOF MS) utilizing electrospray ionization was employed to monitor protein expression in Escherichia coli and Shigella organisms. Automated charge state deconvolution, spectral subtraction and spectral mirroring were used to reveal subtle differences in the LC/MS data. Reproducible intact protein biomarkers were discovered based on their unique mass, retention time and relative intensity. These markers were implemented to differentiate closely related strain types, (e.g. two distinct isolates of E. coli O157:H7) and to correctly identify unknown pathogens. Notable, was the distinction of multiple serotypes of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli which cannot be distinguished by clinical …