Echogenic liposomes for ultrasound-triggered drug delivery
- Authors: Izuchukwu, Ezekiel Charles
- Date: 2021-10
- Subjects: Liposomes , Drug delivery systems , Colon (Anatomy) Cancer Treatment , Transmission electron microscopy , Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , Liquid chromatography , Echogenic liposomes , Ultrasound-triggered drug delivery
- Language: English
- Type: Masters theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/188997 , vital:44805
- Description: Colorectal cancer is one of common cancers worldwide. It is the third most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of death. The use of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) alone or in a chemotherapy regime has been the effective treatment of colorectal cancer patients. The efficacy of 5-FU in colorectal cancer treatment is significantly limited by drug resistance, gastrointestinal, and bone marrow toxicity through high-level expression of thymidylate synthase, justifying a need to improve its therapeutic index. Liposomes are colloidal membranes comprising of one or more lipid bilayers enclosing an aqueous core. They have been used to improve the therapeutic index of many anti-cancer drugs by changing drug absorption, elongating biological half-life, reducing metabolism, and reducing toxicity to healthy tissues. Echogenic liposomes are specifically designed to respond to external triggering like ultrasound stimulation by entrapping a gas or an emulsion that can vaporize. A liposome's unique property is that it can entrap both hydrophobic and hydrophilic substances simultaneously in the lipid bilayer and the aqueous core, respectively. These stimuli-responsive liposomes can be triggered externally with ultrasound, to release the chemotherapeutic cargo only at the required site. This research aims to formulate echogenic liposomes encapsulating 5-FU for potential ultrasound triggered release (echogenic). Liposome formulations wereprepared with lipid composition of crude soybean lecithin and cholesterol by thin-filmhydration method and the drug was passively loaded in the formulation. The 5-FU loadedliposomes were evaluated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) for particle size, polydispersityindex, and zeta potential and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for morphology.Encapsulated liposomal formulations were also evaluated using physicochemical techniquesincluding thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC),Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Theencapsulation efficiency and release kinetics were studied using a validated high-performanceliquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Echogenic properties were explored by entrapping abiocompatible gas (argon) at the same time as the drug (5-FU) using a pressure/freezemethodology. The liposomal formulations were typically spherical with a size of about 150 nmand encapsulation efficiency of 62%. Low-frequency ultrasound (20 kHz) was used to triggerthe drug release from the complete formulation at 10%, 15%, and 20% amplitude and exposuretime of 5 min and 10 min. The rate of drug release from the nano-carrier was a function of theultrasound amplitude and exposure time and reached a maximum of 65% release under theconditions investigated. The cumulative release was investigated, with and without theapplication of ultrasound. It was demonstrated that the application of ultrasound resulted in complete release (99%) after 12 h while this dropped to 70% without ultrasound. These results are encouraging for optimizing ultrasound parameters for triggered and controlled release of the 5-FU, for conditions such as the management of cancer where low-power ultrasound can be applied. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Chemistry, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10
Modification of Gelatin-Methacrylate, Hyaluronic-Methacrylate and Poly(ethylene) glycol Diacrylate hydrogel bioinks towards the additive manufacturing of articular cartilage
- Authors: Barwick, Matthew William
- Date: 2021-10
- Subjects: Cartilage Diseases , Cartilage Regeneration , Articular cartilage Diseases , Chondrogenesis , Stem cells , Scanning electron microscopy , Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , Three-dimensional printing , Gelatin-Methacrylate , Hyaluronic-Methacrylate , Poly(ethylene) glycolDiacrylate , Hydrogel bioinks , Real-Time Quantitative Cell Analysis (RTCA) , Bioprinting
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191181 , vital:45068
- Description: Cartilage degradation is most commonly associated with Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. Joint transplants commonly use titanium alloys, which have a shelf life of between 10-15 years. Although the titanium transplant restores partial mobility, side effects such as inflammation, swelling, faulty implants, and metal poisoning in some cases resulting from the transplant. The use of additive manufacturing of articular cartilage sheds new, innovative prospects for joint replacements. This study sets out to formulate and characterize five different hydrogel types towards the additive manufacturing of articular cartilage. Chondrogenic and Adipogenic differentiation was carried out on two separate adipose-mesenchymal stem cell lines A270620-01A, and A311019-02T and validation and efficiency of the differentiation and chondrogenic gene expression was carried out using Alcian Blue stain, Oil Red O stain and Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). Hydrogel formulation and characterisation of 10 % Gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA), 10 % Poly (ethylene) glycol diacrylate (PEGDA), 5 % GelMA/5 % PEGDA, 10 % GelMA/0.5 % Hyaluronic Acid Methacrylate (HAMA) and 10 % PEGDA/0.5 % HAMA was carried out through swelling and degradation ratios, surface area and porosity characterisation using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Hydrogel component and spectroscopic analysis were carried using Real-Time Quantitative Cell Analysis (RTCA) and Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis for each formulated hydrogel's chemical characterisation. Three-dimensional printing (3D) of 10 % PEGDA/0.5 % HAMA and 5 % GelMA/5 % PEGDA was performed using the Zortrax INKSPIRE Resin Ultra-Violet (UV) LCD Desktop 3D Printer. Hydrogel sterility and cell viability were carried out for each hydrogel type using fluorescence microscopy. Both A270620-01A and A311019-02T cell lines showed adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation ability, with A311019-02T cell line showing greater chondrogenic differentiation of Alcian blue staining. The A270620-01A cell line resulted in a greater collagen gene expression based on the RT-qPCR results. The hydrogel 10 % GelMA showed the greatest swelling ratio of 1260 % in DPBS and 1192 % in DMEM. A significant difference between hydrogel swelling and swelling with Dulbecco's Phosphate Buffered Saline (DPBS) and Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) was observed. The 10 % PEGDA hydrogel had the greatest degradation ratio of 59 % mass remaining, where the 10 % GelMA/0.5 % HAMA showed the least amount of degradation with a mass remaining at 91 %. The 10 % GelMA showed the greatest porosity will the largest pore size of 14 μm in diameter. Hydrogel component and spectroscopic analysis showed no cytotoxic effects for the visible light photoinitiator used to polymerize the hydrogel and no cytotoxic effects for the concentrations used in chondrogenic differentiation. The FTIR analysis showed partial gelatin and hyaluronic acid modification with methacrylic anhydride; however, the distinction between the hybrid hydrogels and single polymer hydrogels could not be made effectively. UV and ethanol washing showed to completely sterilise the hydrogel disks from any contaminants, making them suitable for tissue culture. The cell viability analysis showed the 10 % GelMA/HAMA having the highest cell viability of 77.3 % using 5000 cells/disk and 89.64 % viability using 50 000 cells/disk over a 7-day incubation period. Overall, the combination of two polymers, GelMA and HAMA, has good potential as a 3D hydrogel scaffold towards additive manufacturing of articular cartilage. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biotechnology Innovation Centre, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10
Synthesis, characterisation and electrocatalytic behaviour of three series of Metal Organic Frameworks
- Authors: Murinzi, Tafadzwa Wendy
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Electrochemistry , Metal-organic frameworks , Polyoxometalates , Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , Electrocatalysis , Cysteine
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167598 , vital:41495
- Description: Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have received a lot of attention over the past few years due to their vast range of interesting properties and applications, such as catalysis, environmental sensing and storage. This wide range of potential applications is afforded by careful selection and manipulation of the components chosen in assembling of MOFs. In this study, three series of MOFs were synthesized from Co(II), Cu(II) and Mo(VI) polyoxometallates with either 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid, 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid or 2,6- pyridinedicarboxylic acid as the ligands. In series 1, the common 1,3,5- benzenetricarboxylic acid MOF, HKUST-1, and POM modified HKUST-1 compounds involving encapsulation and encorporation of the POM were utilised. In series 2, flexible cobalt(II) benzenepolycarboxylate MOFs which investigated the effect of varying the degree of carboxylate substituent were utilised. In series 3, flexibly reduced heterocyclic polycarboxylate MOFs using 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylate were utilised. Solvothermal and slow evaporation synthesis conditions were employed. Where single crystals of good quality were produced, single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) was employed for structural elucidation. In the absence of such crystals, a combination of elemental analysis, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) was used. Characterization of the MOFs was done by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and thermal methods, namely thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The electrocatalytic potential of the compounds in the oxidation of L-cysteine was then investigated using a variety of techniques. Cyclic voltammetry was used for L-cysteine detection whilst chronoamperometry and differential pulse voltammetry were used to determine the nanoprobes’ sensitivity, rate constants and detection limits. Electrochemical impedence spectroscopy was used to investigate the charge transfer resistance (RCT) and electron transfer kinetics. Of the three, series 3 gave the best signals and sensitivities for electrocatalysis of L-cysteine followed by series 2 and lastly series 1. Series 2 showed the highest stability and series 1 required the least overpotential. The results highlight the effects of different metal centres and ligands on electrocatalysis. The application of MOFs in electrochemistry is a relatively new field making the findings of this study a significant addition to the body of knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Bacterial colonisation and degradation of geologically weathered and discard coal
- Authors: Olawale, Jacob Taiwo
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Coal mine waste , Coal -- Biodegradation , Coal mines and mining -- Environmental aspects , Land degradation , Electron microscopy , Extracellular polymeric substances , Flagella (Microbiology) , Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , Microbiologically influenced corrosion
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61625 , vital:28043
- Description: Bacterial beneficiation of low-grade coal, coal discard, and waste has the potential to mitigate land degradation, water and soil pollution and, be a strategy for mining companies to responsibly extract and process coal with environmental sustainability. This study investigated the colonisation and biodegradation or depolymerisation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal by selected strains of bacteria, and an attempt has been made to describe the mechanisms associated with colonisation and biodegradation of this carbonaceous material. Ten bacterial strains, Bacillus strain ECCN 18b, Citrobacter strain ECCN 19b, Proteus strain ECCN 20b, Exiguobacterium strain ECCN 21b, Microbacterium strain ECCN 22b, Proteus strain ECCN 23b, Serratia strain ECCN 24b, Escherichia strain ECCN 25b, Bacillus strain ECCN 26b and Bacillus strain ECCN 41b, isolated from diesel-contaminated soil and coal slurry and identified using DNA sequencing, were rescreened and their coal biodegradation potential ranked. The ranking of the bacterial strains was undertaken using several indicators including; formation of brown halos on the plate culture (solid), change in colour intensity of the medium in liquid culture, change in culture media pH, and an increase in absorbance at 280nm and 450nm. Although, all the ten strains showed evidence of biodegradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal based on the ranking employed, and the three strains considered the best candidates were Citrobacter strain ECCN 19b, Exiguobacterium strain ECCN 21b and Serratia strain ECCN 24b. The actions of the three bacterial strains were further studied and characterised in relation to coal degradation. Electron microscopy revealed that Citrobacter strain ECCN 19b, Exiguobacterium strain ECCN 21b and Serratia strain ECCN 24b attached to the surface of coal discard and geologically weathered coal by a process that appeared to involve extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and flagella. The presence of flagella for Citrobacter strain ECCN 19b and Serratia strain ECCN 24b was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal by these selected strains resulted in the release of soluble and insoluble products. Ultraviolet/ visible spectrophotometric (UV/VIS) analysis revealed that the soluble products resembled humic acid-like substances, which was confirmed following Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Analysis revealed that the coal-derived humic acid-like substances were similar to commercial humic acid extracted from bituminous coal. Elemental analysis of the insoluble product residue after bacterial biodegradation revealed the modification of the chemical compositions of the coal discard and geologically weathered coal substrates. Characterisation of the functional groups of the insoluble product using FTIR spectroscopy indicated changes, with the appearance of new peaks at 1737cm-1, 1366cm-1, 1228cm-1, and 1216cm-1 characteristic of aldehyde, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amines, and alkanes. Broad spectra regions of 3500 -3200cm-1, characteristic of alcohol and phenol, were also observed. Together, these results were taken as evidence for increased oxidation of the coal substrates, presumably as a consequence of bacterial catalysed biodegradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal. During bacterial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal, strains produced extracellular protein, which was detected and further investigated using sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS- PAGE). At least three protein bands with molecular mass 53 kDa, 72 kDa, and 82 kDa were common to the three bacterial strains. Following ammonium sulphate precipitation and gel filtration chromatography, additional bands with molecular mass 16 kDa, 33 kDa, 37 kDa, and 43 kDa were detected. An extracellular laccase activity was detected in cultures of Exiguobacterium strain ECCN 21b and Serratia strain ECCN 24b. Cytochrome P450 activity was detected in all the bacterial strains in the presence of both coal discard and geologically weathered coal. This is the first time that cytochrome P450 activity has been reported following exposure of these three bacterial strains to a coal substrate. Overall, this research has successfully demonstrated the partial degradation of coal discard and geologically weathered coal by Citrobacter strain ECCN 19b, Exiguobacterium strain ECCN 21b and Serratia strain ECCN 24b and the release of humic acid-like substances. Thus, the biodegradation process involved adherence to and growth of the bacteria on the surface of coal substrate and appeared to require the formation of alkaline substances and the combined activities of extracellular LAC and cytochrome P450. Since bacterial degradation of low-grade coal and discard appears to be viable, the bacteria isolated in this study can potentially be used either for conversion of discard into valuable chemicals or to mitigate the deleterious effects of stockpiled coal discard on the environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Characterisation of InAs-based epilayers by FTIR spectroscopy
- Authors: Baisitse, Tshepiso Revonia
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , Gallium arsenide semiconductors
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10534 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/474 , Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , Gallium arsenide semiconductors
- Description: This study focuses on the characterization of InAs and InAs1-xSbx epitaxial layers by infrared reflectance and transmittance spectroscopy and Hall measurements. Reflectance measurements were performed in order to obtain the dielectric parameters and to extract from these information about the electrical properties (mobility and carrier concentration) of this important III-V material system. The transmittance measurements were used to determine the bandgap of InAsSb. Infrared reflectivity and transmittance measurements were performed in the wavelength range 200 – 2000 cm-1 on InAs and InAsSb layers grown on three types of substrates. A classical two oscillator model that takes into account both the free carriers and the lattice, was used to analyse the reflectance data using the BMDP® computer curve fitting software. The dielectric parameters and the electrical properties (carrier concentration and mobility) were extracted from the simulations. Due to the low free carrier concentration in the epitaxial structures, the plasma resonance frequency (ωp) values obtained from the simulations of reflectance spectra measured above 200 cm-1, were in the order of 20-30 cm-1. These low values were confirmed by direct measurements of ωp in reflectance spectra obtained in the range 15-200 cm-1. The simulated carrier concentration and mobility values determined optically were compared to the values determined by Hall measurements at room temperature and previously reported values by other researchers. The simulated values obtained were in reasonable agreement with the Hall values. The simulated and measured carrier concentrations obtained for InAs layers were significantly higher than the intrinsic carrier concentration for InAs at room temperature, indicating notable concentrations of donors resulting from the growth process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007