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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Department of Chemical Engineering
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241104T130000
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DTSTAMP:20260515T113636
CREATED:20241031T175809Z
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UID:5236-1730725200-1730732400@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Rudolf Abdelmessih
DESCRIPTION:Name:\nRudolf Abdelmessih \nTitle: \nInvestigating Strategies for Engineering More Efficient Drug Nanocarriers for Treatment of Human Metastatic Breast Cancer the Impact of Hydrophobic Drug Encapsulation on the Properties of Lipid-Based Nanoparticles and Drug Bioavailability \nDate:\n11/04/2024 \nTime:\n1:00:00 PM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Debra T. Auguste (Advisor)\nProf. Rebecca Carrier\nProf. Stephen Hatfield\nProf. Francisco Hung\nProf. Benjamin Woolston \nLocation:\nEXP 401-A \nAbstract:\nA significant challenge in cancer treatment is the delivery of water-insoluble\, hydrophobic drugs to tumor tissue at concentrations that are therapeutically effective. One way to address this challenge is by encapsulating hydrophobic drugs into drug delivery systems that would allow them to circulate with blood and diffuse into tumor tissue. Lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs) constitute most of the drug delivery systems currently approved for clinical use\, owing to their degradability\, lack of toxicity and their wide range of tunable properties. Liposomes are one example of LNPs; they are spherical vesicles comprised of a bilayer phospholipid membrane surrounding an aqueous core\, that can be used to encapsulate hydrophobic drugs. However\, hydrophobic drug encapsulation can change the structure and mechanical properties of the lipid\nmembrane of liposomes\, and the way they interact with cancer cells. Herein\, we investigated the impact of encapsulating different hydrophobic\, anticancer drugs into liposomes on cellular uptake\, tumor accumulation\, gene expression and tumor growth\, in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). \nOur data show that the encapsulation of an LPA receptor antagonist (Ki16425) into liposomes decreased the stiffness of the lipid membrane\, and enhanced their cellular internalization\, and tumor accumulation. Moreover\, we show that the encapsulation of an HDAC inhibitor (NVP) into liposomes increased their cellular uptake\, upregulated the expression of tumor suppressor genes\, and led to a significant cell death in MBC cells. Similarly\, we tested the effect of encapsulating an adenosine receptor antagonist (KW-6002) in a liposomal formulation that can activate cancer-related immune responses. \nIn conclusion\, our results offer insights into the chemical and mechanical behavior of drug-lipid complexes that can impact cellular internalization and tumor delivery\, and may aid in the treatment of MBC.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-rudolf-abdelmessih/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241106T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241106T130000
DTSTAMP:20260515T113636
CREATED:20240806T211708Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241101T191234Z
UID:5133-1730894400-1730898000@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:Chemical Engineering Fall Seminar Series: Susan Roberts
DESCRIPTION:Molecular Engineering for Production of Anti-cancer Compounds in Plant Cell Culture \nLocation: 305 Shillman Hall \nAbstract: Our research is focused on cellular engineering and design of bioprocesses using plant-based systems. Plants produce sophisticated small molecules that play key roles in defense against predators and environmental elements. These natural products are synthesized through specialized metabolic pathways\, that have both shared and unique components when compared amongst plant systems. These specialized metabolites are useful in a variety of societal applications including as nutraceuticals\, flavorings\, colorings and pharmaceuticals. The supply of these compounds is often hindered due to low yields in nature and the inability to chemically synthesize at scale. We use plant cell culture technology as both a system of study and a scalable production system due to the ability to engineer cells and the environment to optimize accumulation of products of interest. Our group uses a combination of traditional bioprocess engineering techniques (e.g.\, bioreactor design\, cell culture\, media optimization) and modern molecular biology and analytical chemistry techniques (e.g.\, gene transfer\, transcriptomics analyses\, UPLC). Today\, I will focus my talk on molecular engineering strategies to understand and increase paclitaxel production in Taxus plant cell suspension culture. We have applied transcriptomics analyses and genetic engineering tools to understand and manipulate the pathway to paclitaxel\, identify paclitaxel transporters\, and engineer epigenetic mechanisms that can lead to decreased production over time in culture. \n\nDr. Susan Roberts is Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering at WPI. She received her BS degree in Chemical Engineering from WPI in 1992\, PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 1998\, served on the faculty at UMass Amherst Chemical Engineering for 17 years and joined WPI as Professor and Head in 2015. Her work has raised over $10M from NSF\, NIH\, industry and government. She is a program builder and has established new interdisciplinary research and education programs through strategic partnerships and external funding from the NSF ADVANCE Program\, NIIMBL Workforce Development Award\, Mass Life Sciences Center\, NSF IGERT and NIH T32 Programs. She is a passionate about faculty development\, training interdisciplinary engineers\, innovating graduate education and advocating for advancement of women and underrepresented groups in STEM fields.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/chemical-engineering-fall-seminar-series-susan-roberts/
LOCATION:305 Shillman\, 360 Huntington Ave\, 305 Shillman\, Boston\, MA\, 02115\, United States
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241125T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241125T130000
DTSTAMP:20260515T113636
CREATED:20241120T011317Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241120T011317Z
UID:5271-1732532400-1732539600@che.northeastern.edu
SUMMARY:ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Dominick Guida
DESCRIPTION:  \nName: \n\nDominick Guida \nTitle: \nCharacterizing and Modeling Heterogeneity in Alkaline Zn-MnO2 Batteries Using Synchrotron CT and EDXRD \nDate:\n11/25/2024 \nTime:\n11:00:00 AM \nCommittee Members:\nProf. Joshua Gallaway (Advisor)\nProf. Leila Deravi\nProf. Richard West \nLocation:\nEXP 610 and Teams \nAbstract:\nAlkaline Zn-MnO2 cells have dominated the primary battery industry for decades\, enabled by their inherent safety\, minimal environmental impact\, and low cost. Despite their widespread use\, the internal phenomena that occur within alkaline Zn anodes and MnO2 cathodes remain incompletely characterized. Within alkaline Zn anodes\, unaccounted discharge phenomena result in an inability to predict active material distribution\, internal resistance\, and eventual cell failure. In the MnO2 cathode\, heterogeneous protonation and subsequent gradient relaxation impacts cell performance\, yet remains incompletely characterized. A robust understanding of the function of alkaline Zn-MnO2 batteries is a necessary step in further improving their performance and expanding on their usefulness. \nTo better understand Zn anodes\, high resolution computed tomography (CT) was used to determine the material distribution and morphology of active phases in situ for Zn anodes discharged under various conditions. A novel algorithm was then developed to segment each individual phase from the CT data and obtain 1-D radial material distributions for direct comparison with computational modeling. The evaluation of material distributions and battery performance data provided invaluable insights on the function of alkaline Zn anodes\, including percolation effects on the Zn particle network\, maintenance of the electronic network through ZnO bridging\, and solid phase mobility due to granular flow. Identifying these phenomena have been a significant step towards elucidating the functional mechanisms within alkaline Zn anodes\, representing critical behaviors that had previously gone undetected. Not accounting for such pivotal electrode characteristics provides ample evidence as to why early modeling attempts failed to adequately capture Zn anode function. By incorporating these newly discovered phenomena\, it is now possible to predict the behavior of alkaline Zn anodes with excellent accuracy. \nIn studying MnO2 cathodes\, spatially resolved energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) was used to measure the heterogeneity in protonation of the active material. When using a pulsed discharge protocol\, it was identified that a significant gradient in MnO2 proton content forms across the cathode thickness during a discharge pulse and partially relaxes during a subsequent rest. The rate of gradient relaxation suggested a redox-based mechanism for proton redistribution\, which was not accurately predicted when using typical kinetic models. A fundamental kinetics experiment was performed on prismatic MnO2 electrodes\, identifying that the core-shell discharge behavior of MnO2\, where undischarged cores of MnO2 are surrounded by shells of MnOOH discharge products\, has significant implications for the reaction kinetics. As a result\, the kinetic expression used for MnO2 cathodes was modified to account for the effects of proton transport limitations induced from the MnOOH shell\, as well as kinetic effects of the active particle surface. This new expression dramatically improved MnO2 cathode model accuracy\, with simulated proton gradient formation and relaxation rates being in excellent agreement with EDXRD measurements. \nThe experimentally driven insights into alkaline Zn anodes and MnO2 cathodes have led to significant discoveries of previously unknown and uncharacterized phenomena that impact cell performance. These results were then incorporated into computational models to improve their accuracy and effectiveness\, while also representing an improved overall understanding of alkaline Zn-MnO2 batteries.
URL:https://che.northeastern.edu/event/che-phd-dissertation-defense-dominick-guida/
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