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Gold as a Sensing Platform for the Rapid Detection of Explosives and Malarial Biomarkers
(2014-11-24)
Gold’s resistance to oxidation and exhibition of unique chemical and physical properties enable the development of current sensor and diagnostic platforms. This dissertation elucidates novel sensor platforms for the rapid ...
Transcriptional profiling and functional modeling of the chemosensory appendages of anopheles gambiae
(2015-11-27)
Mosquitoes are vectors of many human diseases. The vectorial capacity of mosquitoes is directly a consequence of olfactory driven, host seeking behaviors. Olfaction in mosquitoes is mediated by several gene families which ...
Low-resource diagnostic assay based on disruption of radial flow in an evaporating drop
(2010-12-16)
More than 700,000 deaths are attributed to malarial infection annually in the rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Effective and reliable early detection is inadequate with currently available technology. Development of a ...
Improving Methods of Malaria Diagnosis and Undergraduate Education Using Sample Preparation Techniques and Lateral Flow Assays
(2021-05-10)
Lateral flow assays (LFAs) are paper-based, point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests that have become ubiquitous in healthcare systems because they are inexpensive, rapid, robust, and easy to use. LFAs have been indispensable ...
Hemozoin: A Target-Based Approach to Antimalarial Drug Discovery
(2013-02-26)
The emergence of drug resistant strains of Plasmodium spp. creates a critical need for the development of novel antimalarials. Hemozoin, a crystalline heme detoxification biomineral vital to parasite survival, serves as ...
Exploring the importance of mosquito hemocoelic and salivary gland components during host-pathogen interactions
(2012-09-27)
Traversal of the hemocoel, avoiding or surviving interactions with the insect’s innate immune system, invasion of the female mosquito’s salivary glands, and injection into the vertebrate host, are necessary steps for disease ...
Hemozoin: a case of heme crystal engineering
(2010-07-28)
During the pathogenic blood stage of a malaria infection, the Plasmodium parasites degrade hemoglobin as a source of nutrition. As a consequence, free heme, known to be toxic to the parasite, is released. It is believed ...
From diatoms to malaria: synthesis and application of functional materials
(2011-09-15)
This dissertation focuses on two projects that attempt to solve two unique challenges. Biomimetic synthesis inspired by diatoms provides the mechanism for developing functional materials under ambient conditions. The goal ...
A Point-of-Care Diagnostic Assay Utilizing the Hydrodynamics of an Evaporating Drop
(2013-07-31)
Point-of-care diagnostics suitable for the resource-limited environment should be low-cost and simple-to-use while maintaining a clinically meaningful performance capability. This thesis explores harnessing the hydrodynamics ...
Strategies to Improve Malaria Diagnostics at the Point of Care by Understanding Protein Behavior and Developing Low-Resource DNA Detection Methods
(2017-03-31)
Point-of-care diagnostics for malaria currently rely on antibody-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), but these tests are in danger of becoming obsolete as the world moves to eliminate malaria. More sensitive and robust ...