Category: PhD Projects

Synthesis of Spin Labeled Nanosensors for the Estrogen Receptor

Synthesis of Spin Labeled Nanosensors for the Estrogen Receptor Student: Adam Hendricks Department: Chemistry Advisor: Robert Hanson Abstract Since the term “nanotechnology” was introduced in 1986 by Eric Drexler, it has grown to include a variety of disciplines; such as medicine. The goal of my research is to apply nanotechnology to the field of medicinal…

Synthesis of Nanoencapsulated Aminoglycosides as Small-Molecule Gene Therapeutics

Synthesis of Nanoencapsulated Aminoglycosides as Small-Molecule Gene Therapeutics Student: Michael Cuccarese Department: Chemistry Advisor: George O’Doherty Abstract Aminoglycosides are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Neomycin is the active ingredient in the topical antibiotic Neosporin and other aminoglycosides, such as Kanamycin and Gentamicin, are regularly used to treat life-threatening bacterial infections. The bad news is that…

Site-Specific delivery of anti-infective therapies in neglected tropical diseases using nano-sized formulations

Site-Specific delivery of anti-infective therapies in neglected tropical diseases using nano-sized formulations Student: Jennifer Woodring Department: Chemistry Advisor: Michael Pollastri Abstract Neglected tropical diseases are comprised of 13 parasitic and bacterial diseases. They put 2.7 billion of the world’s population at risk and their disability adjusted life years outnumber well known diseases like malaria and…

Raman-active gold nanoparticles as beacons in breast cancer cells

Raman-active gold nanoparticles as beacons in breast cancer cells Student: Jennifer Monahan Department: Chemistry Advisor: Max Diem Abstract Nanoparticles can be utilized to overcome the undesired side effects that occur with current chemotherapeutic treatments by delivering the drug directly to the tumor site. Raman-active gold nanoparticles (RA-AuNPs) can be used as biotags to deliver and…

Piezoactive Bio-NanoMechanical Cantilever Force Sensor for Disease Diagnosis

Piezoactive Bio-NanoMechanical Cantilever Force Sensor for Disease Diagnosis Student: Samira Faegh Department: Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Advisor: Nader Jalili Abstract Detection of multiple analytes for the purpose of disease diagnosis requires sensitive biosensing tools capable of transducing molecular interactions into some physical quantity. For this, a microdiagnostic platform based on arrays of microcantilevers with self-sensing…

Photocatalytic activity of AuFe/TiO2 composites

Photocatalytic activity of AuFe/TiO2 composites Student: Savidra Lucatero Department: Chemical Engineering Advisor: Elizabeth Podiaha-Murphy Abstract My research project focuses on characterizing the photocatalytic performance of FeAu/TiO2 composites for the degradation of chlorinated contaminants and hydrogen generation. This system is designed to prevent catalyst aging or deactivation effects observed in Au/TiO2 through cathodic protection by galvanic…