Date of Award:

5-2015

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Biological Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Elizabeth Vargis

Committee

Elizabeth Vargis

Committee

Vincent B. Wickwar

Committee

David Britt

Abstract

B-cells are responsible for the production of antibodies and the recognition of dangerous pathogens. When B-cells become cancerous, they no longer perform these vital functions. This reduced B-cell activity results in greater susceptibility to opportunistic infections and increasing health risks. To effectively care for different cancer subtypes, targeted diagnosis and treatment is required. To determine the specific B-cell cancer type, up to twenty different cancer biomarkers on the cell surface need to be detected at the same time. Traditional methods are not capable of detecting such a large number of biomarkers simultaneously. This paper presents the design of a system for biomarker detection, which could be applied to the quantification of multiple B-cell biomarkers. This system uses a near-infrared laser to excite gold nanoparticles bound to the biomarkers. The system then detects light scattered off the particles to determine the concentration of biomarkers in the sample. With this method, it is possible to detect multiple biomarkers simultaneously. This method has the potential to increase the accuracy of B-cell cancer diagnosis and improve cancer prognosis through targeted cancer treatment.

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