Now showing items 41-50 of 64
Fibrin Networks Infected by Staphylococcal Biofilms: Mechanics, Structure and Instability
(2018)
In this dissertation, we study a new model of medical device infection – that of a fibrin infected with the common blood borne pathogen Staphylococcus epidermidis, which is shown to influence fibrin mechanically and ...
Equilibrium Phase Behavior and Mass Transport in Neutral and Oppositely Charged Polymer Assemblies
(2018)
Polyelectrolyte (PE) complexation (PEC) occurs upon mixing solutions of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. This electrostatic self-assembly paradigm is also extended to layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled polyelectrolyte ...
An Investigation of the Destabilization, Aggregation, and Deposition of Asphaltenes
(2018)
Asphaltenes are a class of molecules in crude oil that are soluble in aromatic solvents, such as toluene, and insoluble in n-alkanes, such as heptane. The amount of asphaltenes that is destabilized and the rate of aggregation ...
Improving Antibody-drug Conjugate Tumor Distribution and Efficacy Using Single-Cell Imaging and Multiscale Modeling
(2018)
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a targeted cancer therapy combining the tumor cell specificity of antibodies with small-molecule chemotherapy. Despite the widespread use of ADC therapeutics, they exhibit a heterogeneous, ...
A Two-Prong Approach for Targeting the mRNA Cap-Dependent Translation Initiation: Small Molecules and Hydrocarbon Stapled Peptides
(2018)
Cap-dependent protein translation (CdT) is dysregulated in many types of cancer and leads to overexpression of oncogenes promoting angiogenesis, evasion of apoptosis, and cell proliferation. The protein-protein interactions ...
Linking the Continuum and Molecular Scales of Adsorption Modeling for Non-Ionic Small Molecules and Homopolymers
(2018)
Computational tensiometry and other quantitative adsorption predictions for small molecules and polymers are possible in the foreseeable future, but first, the application of the techniques to surfactant adsorption must ...
Engineering Multicomponent Nanomaterials for Plasmonic Catalysis
(2018)
Heterogenous catalysis is an important technology used to facilitate chemical transformations. As increasing demand for chemicals and materials stresses the availability of resources and the environment, it is becoming ...
Controlling the Structure, Dynamics, and Rheology of Colloidal Gels with Active Motion
(2018)
In this dissertation, we investigate the connection between the microscopic structure and dynamics and the macroscopic rheology of gels. We study two different types of gels – fractal cluster gels made of polystyrene ...
Catalysis with Dispersed Cation-Exchanged Polyoxometalates
(2018)
Heterogeneous catalysts are complex materials that present challenges in understanding their physical and chemical properties as well as improving their performance in chemical processes. The pursuit of catalysts with ...
Optimizing the Physical Properties of Vascular Targeted Carriers for Maximum Efficacy in Inflammatory Disease
(2018)
Vascular targeted carriers (VTCs) increase the specificity of drug delivery while also protecting drugs from degradation in the bloodstream, and therefore, have the potential to revolutionize many clinical treatments of ...