Title:
Development of cancer diagnostics using nanoparticles and amphiphilic polymers

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dc.contributor.advisor Nie, Shuming
dc.contributor.author Rhyner, Matthew N. en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Bao, Gang
dc.contributor.committeeMember Chung, Leland
dc.contributor.committeeMember Murthy, Niren
dc.contributor.committeeMember Prausnitz, Mark
dc.contributor.department Biomedical Engineering en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2008-06-10T20:38:34Z
dc.date.available 2008-06-10T20:38:34Z
dc.date.issued 2008-01-14 en_US
dc.description.abstract This dissertation presents a new class of cancer diagnostic agents composed of quantum dots, magnetic nanoparticles, and amphiphilic polymers. The central hypothesis is that biocompatible, amphiphilic block copolymers can be used to create multinanoparticle micellar probes with imaging capabilities and surface properties optimized for applications in cancer diagnostics. To test this hypothesis, we investigated a number of different block copolymer structures and synthetic procedures. We found that use of a poly(methyl methacrylate)-poly(ethylene oxide) polymer in conjunction with a dialysis-based procedure produced uniform probes with excellent imaging properties. We also found that the probes formed using these materials and methods were surprisingly stable, even after incubation in whole human blood for 24 hrs at 37oC. As a corollary, we hypothesized that modified polymer structures could be used to introduce functional groups for use in linking the micellar probes to biological molecules. To test this hypothesis, we used a modified version of our synthetic procedure and utilized a novel method for studying nanoparticle binding to biological molecules in real time. We found that active amine groups could be added to the polymer shell using these methods, and that surface plasmon resonance could be used for studying nanoparticle binding. In sum, this dissertation makes several contributions to the field of cancer nanotechnology. First, we provide a new encapsulation procedure and nanostructure that has promising physical and biological properties. Secondly, we provide general strategies that can be used for future nanoprobe development. Finally, we demonstrate the capability of a new method for quantitative study of probe binding characteristics. Together, these contributions drive the field of cancer nanotechnology forward by providing a deeper understanding of the relationship between surface design and behavior in biological systems. en_US
dc.description.degree Ph.D. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/22582
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject Nanotechnology en_US
dc.subject Amphiphilic polymers en_US
dc.subject Magnetic nanoparticles en_US
dc.subject Quantum dots en_US
dc.subject Diagnostics en_US
dc.subject Cancer en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Cancer
dc.subject.lcsh Diagnosis
dc.subject.lcsh Nanostructured materials
dc.subject.lcsh Quantum dots
dc.subject.lcsh Magnetic materials
dc.subject.lcsh Block copolymers
dc.subject.lcsh Molecular probes
dc.subject.lcsh Microencapsulation
dc.title Development of cancer diagnostics using nanoparticles and amphiphilic polymers en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Dissertation
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.advisor Nie, Shuming
local.contributor.corporatename Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename College of Engineering
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication 422e2692-c56b-49f5-8899-cc305444af91
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication da59be3c-3d0a-41da-91b9-ebe2ecc83b66
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
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