Novel Method to Assess Macrophage Phenotype Using Eluted Media.

Introduction: Macrophages exist on a spectrum from pro-inflammatory (M1) to pro-healing (M2). Characterization of macrophage phenotype is important to understand tissue healing and response. The gold standard for assessing macrophage phenotypes is immunocytochemistry (ICC), which stains inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) and arginase (Arg1), the proteins secreted before nitrite and urea production.

Encapsulation of Manganese Porphyrin in Chondroitin Sulfate-A Microparticles for Long Term Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenging.

Introduction: Oxidative stress due to excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) is related to many chronic illnesses including degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis. MnTnBuOE-2-PyP (BuOE), a manganese porphyrin analog, is a synthetic superoxide dismutase mimetic that scavenges ROS and has established good treatment efficacy at preventing radiation-induced oxidative damage in healthy cells. BuOE has not been studied in degenerative disc disease applications and only few studies have loaded BuOE into drug delivery systems.

Novel methods to extract and quantify sensors based on single wall carbon nanotube fluorescence from animal tissue and hydrogel-based platforms.

Sensors that can quickly and accurately diagnose and monitor human health are currently at the forefront of medical research. Single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) based optical biosensors are a growing area of research due to the high spatiotemporal resolution of their near infrared fluorescence leading to high tissue transparency and unparalleled sensitivity to analytes of interest. Unfortunately, due to the functionalization requirements of SWNT-based sensors, there are concerns surrounding accumulation and persistence when applied in vivo.