Online education is an effective and efficient electronic source for students to gain knowledge. Online education modules allow educators to bridge the gap between theory and practice for students. The modules created during this project tackle several topics in Materials Science & Engineering such as ceramics, hardness of materials, the use of light optical microscopy, corrosion and more. They are designed to encourage students to think critically, form questions and go through the scientific method in order to solve complex problems. They are formatted to combine a variety of learning styles by combining a power point lecture, assigning reading materials and having the hands on experience via demonstration or experimentation. This benefits students immediately in that they will learn how to apply the knowledge in education, research and industry. The educational modules are evaluated several times in order to perfect the lesson plan. In having the modules evaluated by current educators and individuals in industry the modules can be altered and adjusted in order to focus on specific key points. A few of these modules are completed and ready to use in a classroom setting specifically tailored to advanced high school, technical schools, community colleges and four year educational institutions.

In recent years, gold nanoparticles have been utilized in biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility as well as unique optical properties. In order for the gold nanoparticles to become effective agents, they are functionalized with vectors that will target the nanoparticles to specific cells to be imaged. Conventionally, hybrid gold nanostructures have been produced by complex, multistep chemical cross-linking bioconjugation procedures usually involving biologically-unfriendly stringent conditions. To overcome difficulties related to conventional cross-linking methods, we propose a novel surface functionalization platform using biocompatible gold-binding peptide templates (AuBP). AuBPs were previously selected from combinatorial FliTrx peptide library and demonstrated nanomolar binding affinities to a gold surface under physiological conditions. We then conjugated AuBP with other binding domains engineered to bind to the constant Fc-region of an antibody (FcBP). This antibody is then recognized by receptors in the cell membrane for absorption. The bifunctional AuBP-FcBP peptides self-assemble on the surface of the gold nanoparticles, and effective gold binding is shown through a localized surface plasmon resonance, high-salinity stability assay and gel electrophoresis. A dot blotting assay is used to confirm the binding of the antibodies. These peptide-functionalized and cell-specific nanoprobes have a great potential for developing novel bioimaging tools for diagnostics and therapy.

This project uses commercially available CD printable inkjet printer with a chitosan solution as a replacement for ink to pattern chitosan nanofiber. Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide composed of randomly distributed β-(1-4)-linked D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine derived from chitin. Chitin is the second most abundant polymer in the world. It mainly occurs in the cell walls of fungi and exoskeletons of arthropods (i.e. shrimp, crab, and insects). Chitosan and chitin are used in many applications, such as functional food, wound dressing and sutures, and most recently bionanoelectronics. Unlike chitin which is insoluble in most common solvents, maleic chitosan dissolves in water at mild conditions. Printing is the most widely used technology to deposit small particles onto various surfaces. Since printing enables the fabrication of large areas and arbitrarily high-accuracy patterns and scales well to nanoscopic sizes, we can use it to pattern nanostructures. In this fashion, self-assembled 3 nm chitosan nanofibers are printed.

Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles have been extensively studied for biomedical applications including magnetic resonance imaging, chemotherapeutic delivery and gene delivery due to their advantageous properties of superparamagnetism, biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, ultrafine, monodisperse and sized controlled nanoparticles synthesized by thermal decomposition are commonly encapsulated by hydrophobic layers and can’t be dispersed in aqueous solutions. Besides, during the surface modification of nanoparticles, it is still difficult to obtain a highly stable and dense polymeric surface layer. To this end, a robust multi-step polyethylene glycol(PEG)ylation approach is presented to produce biocompatible multilayer surface coated magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles that are hydrophilic and display long-term stability in biological media. Ultrafine, monodisperse and 12nm hydrophobic nanoparticles were first synthesized by elevated temperature decomposition of nontoxic iron oleate complex in the presence of 1-octadecene and oleic acid. Subsequently, the oleic acid layer of nanoparticles was replaced by 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl succinic anhydride(SSA) through ligand exchange to form SSA layer coated nanoparticles. Then, during the first step of PEGylation, to prevent the aggregation of nanoparticles, adequate amount of methyl PEG-NH₂ was attached to the part of SSA layer through the coupling reaction of functional groups. And in the second step of PEGylation, NH₂-PEG-NH₂ was attached to SSA to achieve a SSA/PEG dense multilayer surface with an adequate number of functional groups for further conjugation of therapeutics or targeting agents. The tools such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were utilized to characterize the structure and properties of surface modified nanoparticles. The excellent dispensability and stability of surface modified nanoparticles in biological media was confirmed by no significant size change after at least 30 day’s incubation in Dulbecco’s phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) with 10% of fetal bovine serum (FBS), demonstrating a huge potential for biomedical applications.

Polymer-derived SiC and Si₃N₄ ceramics exhibit excellent high temperature properties and thermal shock resistance. Using polymeric precursors is attractive from a processing point of view since a wide variety of components can be produced. Finally, this approach allows the composition to be tailored at the molecular level. In this poster, we present our results on the use of this approach to make ceramics for two specific applications. Volumetric thermal absorbers are an integral component of the emerging field solar thermal energy conversion. The goal of the research is to work on developing the most efficient material for use as a volumetric thermal absorber. The most efficient absorbers typically have high permeability, high cell density, high porosity, good radial heat transport, and high absorption. Materials typically used are advanced fiber mesh cellular ceramics, SiC catalysts, and SiC foams. We are exploring the use of Si-based polymers (e.g. siloxanes) to make SiOC foams and investigating their thermal and optical properties for this application. The second project is on the processing and properties of Si₃N₄ – SiC composites for high temperature applications. In our project we are starting with polycarbosilane (SMP-10) which is a precursor for SiC. By heat treating it in ammonia, we are able to molecularly incorporate nitrogen. By controlling the heat treatment temperature and atmosphere we are able to produce a precursor that can make a wide spectrum of composites in the Si₃N₄ – SiC systems. Results on the effect of heat treatment temperature and atmosphere on the composition of the resultant composites will be presented.

Glioblastoma multiforms (GBMs) are malignant brain tumors and are among the most lethal cancers in the United States. Current clinical treatments involve surgical resection followed by chemo radiation therapy. Temozolomide (TMZ) is a DNA methylating agent that has shown promise in post-operative chemo radiation therapy, yet its effects are mediated greatly by the DNA repair protein O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). The addition of DNA repair inhibitor O6-benzylguanine (BG) as part of a concurrent treatment with TMZ has shown promise, but suffers from unacceptable toxicity due to BGs poor pharmacokinetics. Here we report the development of nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with a BG payload that can efficiently cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and with the addition of targeting agents may be a more effective method for drug delivery by reducing toxicity in healthy tissue. These NPs are composed of a magnetic core and biocompatible polymer surface coating. The NPs are then conjugated with BG (NP-BG) by attachment to the polymer surface. NP-BG is further modified with chlorotoxin (NP-BG-CTX), a tumor targeting peptide, through a polyethylene glycol linker. NP-BG-CTX had a mean hydrodynamic size of 75nm with a surface charge of about +4mV and have demonstrated specific targeting in vitro of GBM cell line SF767. Finally, we have shown that NP-BG substantially reduces MGMT activity in SF767 cells in vitro. These results suggest that NP-BG-CTX have a higher specificity to tumor cells than normal healthy cells in cancer patients. This would decrease drug toxicity in patients and reduce tumor resistance to TMZ, potentially providing a more effective treatment and improve clinical outcome.

In this study, chitosan, a biocompatible, biodegradable, and nontoxic polymer obtained from crab shells, was used to produce 3D scaffolds which closely resemble the mechanical and physical properties of human bone tissue. One of the critical stages in tissue engineering for successful regeneration is to design a scaffold that mimics the architecture of actual human tissue. While chitosan has been acknowledged for its potential to be used in human tissue engineering, its weak mechanical strength restrained chitosan usage in bone tissue engineering. In order to cope with the drawbacks, mechanical properties of 3D chitosan scaffolds were examined in relation to different chitosan concentration (4, 6, 8, 12 wt%). Compression test and tensile test were done on each scaffold to measure the mechanical properties and study the relationship between increasing chitosan concentration and mechanical strengths. Then, MG-63 osteoblasts were seeded on each scaffold to examine attachment and proliferation of the cells. Immunoblotting will be performed to detect the levels of osteocalcin expression on walls of the scaffolds, and Scanning Electron Microscope imaging will be used to assess the proliferation pattern of MG-63. Upon completion of the study, we predict to observe direct relations between the concentration of chitosan and mechanical properties of the scaffolds.

There are numerous applications of porous ceramics, including electrodes for solid oxide fuel cell, membranes and filters, and thermal insulation.  Most of these applications utilize uniform isotropic porous ceramics. Directional freeze-casting offers a novel way to make porous ceramics with tailored microstructures. Using this process, followed by partial sintering, we are able to fabricate ceramics with directionally aligned and hierarchical porosity. Freeze-casting involves directional freezing of a liquid suspension and then sublimation of the solvent by freeze drying in order to achieve uni-directional pores. Overall porosity and pore size and alignment can be controlled by several variables including: solvent to powder ratio, freezing rate, and sintering temperature. Our research focuses on two different applications of anisotropic porous zirconia ceramics. One project focuses on creating filters for catalytic hydrogen peroxide decomposition. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is an undesirable byproduct and hindrance of a new process to produce chlorine using solar radiation. Porous ceramics provide the means of developing a filter with sufficient surface area and structure for photochemical reactor solutions to be continuously scrubbed of H₂O₂; thereby enabling unhindered chlorine production by this photochemical process at levels sufficient for water purification. The other project focuses on developing a glass-infiltrated reusable ablative ceramic surface for high temperature aeronautical applications. Porous yttrium stabilized zirconia is used as a substrate through which glass can be both initially infiltrated and subsequently drawn to a high temperature surface through capillary action for ablative purposes. At high use temperatures, the glass rises in the capillaries reaching the hot surface where it is ablated. The heating required for ablation reduces the surface temperature of the system.

Lithium batteries have been used in electronics and increasingly in hybrid and all electrical vehicles due to their lightweight and improved electrochemical performance. However, there are still several limitations with these batteries including slow charging rate, incomplete discharge and cyclic degradation in performance. Most of these problems have been related to the performance of the cathode. This project is focused on optimizing the microstructure of the porous cathode. We are investigating LiMnPO₄, which has a high theoretical capacity (171 mAh g-1) and better electrochemical stability compared to other lithium-based metal oxide cathode materials. Unfortunately LiMnPO₄ has a low electrical conductivity, which is improved by mixing it with carbon.  LiMnPO₄ powder is synthesized using the polyol process. This produces extremely fine high surface area particles. By using directional freeze casting with different weight percentages of solids and freezing rates, it is possible to create aligned pores throughout the structure, which have the potential to increase the energy density and reduce the transport distances. We are making cathodes with a broad range of microstructures and investigating their electrochemical performance.  Another process to enhance the performance is through partial sintering to make cathodes with uniform porous microstructures. By controlling the sintering temperature between 500 º-700º C, cathodes with a range of uniform isotropic porosity are being made. Structural and physical characterization will be conducted for both types of cathodes to evaluate the microstructure. The electrochemical performance of the two types of cathodes at different densities will be compared in order to optimize the microstructure.