Read the entire news release here ]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:34:32 EST http://www.grad.clemson.edu/news/recentNews.php?tag=nanoparticles http://www.grad.clemson.edu/news/recentNews.php?tag=nanoparticles Clemson bioengineer Frank Alexis is designing new ways to target drugs and lower the chances for side effects.

Read the entire news release here.

Clemson University bioengineer Martine LaBerge has been inducted as a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering at the World Biomaterials Congress in Amsterdam.

The international honor is reserved for accomplished members and role models in the field of biomaterials science and engineering.

In addition to being professor and chairwoman of the department of bioengineering at Clemson, LaBerge is president of the Society for Biomaterials. The organization is a professional society that promotes advances in all phases of materials research and development through cooperative educational programs, clinical applications and professional standards in the biomaterials field.

Her current research projects include the investigation of the wear performance of total knee-joint replacements, total knee-joint design and dynamic contact mechanics, as well as the mechanisms of friction, lubrication and wear of vascular implants.

Also in the department of bioengineering, Shalaby W. Shalaby, adjunct professor, was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. He was recognized for his pioneering role and innovation in the field of polymeric medical devices.

The College of Fellows consists of outstanding bioengineers in academia, industry and government. These leaders in the field have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and education. The College of Fellows leads the way in technological advancement, advocating for public policies facilitating progress in medical and biological research and development to benefit the public. Since 1991, AIMBE Fellows have helped to revolutionize medicine, engineering and related fields that enhance and extend the lives of people all over the world.

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in bioengineering, please visit www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Bioeng/index.php.

The researchers are developing drug-free ways to keep chickens and humans from contracting illnesses.

More than 200 million broilers and layers are raised in the Palmetto State. The industry has moved toward bigger broiler farms with flocks of between 150,000 and 300,000 birds becoming common.

Chickens are susceptible to disease. An illness in a handful of birds can spread throughout a facility housing thousands. Vaccines and medications can be effective but pose risks to growers and consumers. Each flock has particular health and immunity profiles, so chicks from different breeders do not respond to vaccines and diseases the same way. What's more, bacteria can build up "antibiotic resistance" making the drugs less effective.

For consumers, poultry can harbor bacteria, viruses and fungi that do not affect them but do cause human illnesses, especially when poultry is undercooked or mishandled during food preparation.

Researchers are looking for drug-free alternatives. Clemson scientists have made a promising discovery using nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is tiny science--working with materials 1/100,000th the size of a human hair. Scientists are seeking to shrink materials down to the scale of atoms, creating particles that show promise for making better medicines, faster computers and safer foods.

Jeremy Tzeng and Clemson colleagues Fred Stutzenberger, Robert Latour Jr. and Ya-Ping Sun have built nanoparticles that mimic the host cell surface in poultry and locks to the targeted pathogens. The particles then bind together and are purged through the bowel. Tzeng calls it "intelligent chicken feed."

"If we use this physical purging, physical removal, we are not using antibiotics so the chance of the microorganism becoming resistant to it is really small," Tzeng said.

To protect the discovery, Clemson technology transfer officials are patenting it. Tzeng says that it will take more research and testing before the nanoparticle is ready to be used, but in the not-so-distant future, chickens and humans may live better lives due to intelligent chicken feed.

For more information on Clemson's related graduate programs, visit the appropriate link below:
*Biological Engineering - www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Bioeng/index.php
*Biological Sciences - www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/BioSci/index.php
*Chemistry - www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Chemistry/index.php
*Microbiology - www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Microbio/index.php

To commemorate the contributions of bioengineers that have benefited so many since the 1960s, Clemson University hosts the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) History Summit Feb. 20-22 at the Madren Center. The society's founders and past presidents, an international group, will gather to record an audio history of the society and origins of bioengineering inventions and devices from the last four decades.

"This is an unprecedented gathering of the greatest minds in bioengineering," said Martine LaBerge, chairwoman of the department of bioengineering and president of the SFB. "It is a great honor for Clemson University to host this memorable event where the enthusiasm of participating past presidents and founders of the SFB is only surpassed by their dedication for a field that is the cornerstone of medical technology today."

Recording sessions take place from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Teleconference Room.

The outcome of the summit will be the audio recording and the publication of a monograph that captures the historical background of the society to be shared and built upon by present and future bioengineers.

"We are, in essence, passing the torch," said Samuel F. Hulbert, chairman of the event and president-emeritus of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He also is the founder and a past president of the SFB. "The outcome of this summit will assure that the SFB's rich past and the foundation for an exciting future is not forgotten."

The SFB is the premier professional society that promotes advances in all phases of materials research and development by encouraging cooperative educational programs, clinical applications and professional standards in the biomaterials field. More than 1,500 members worldwide represent industry, medicine, academia and regulation.

The SFB has been a pillar in Clemson University's international reputation as the landmark for the field of biomaterials. In 1969, Clemson hosted the first in a series of annual symposia that lead to the founding of the Society for Biomaterials in 1974. The SFB annually recognizes three outstanding researchers in the field through the prestigious Clemson Award for Contributions to Literature, the Clemson Award for Basic Research and the Clemson Award for Applied Research.

For information about the C. William Hall Biomaterials Documentation Center and the SFB History Summit at Clemson, go to: www.ces.clemson.edu/Hall_CTR/news.html.

For information on the Society for Biomaterials, go to www.biomaterials.org.

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in bioengineering, visit www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Bioeng/index.php.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $2 million to the Center for Biological Interfaces of Engineering (CBIOE) at Clemson University for the development of engineered tissues that will be used to study the causes, progression and treatment of breast cancer.

Breast cancer cells migrate and intertwine with stem cells. Clemson researchers will study the formation of patterns/migration.The tissue engineering technology, which was pioneered at Clemson, is based on inkjet printing and will allow the creation of identical tissue samples that can be used to build cause and effect models.

"We will expose these identical tissue models to different environmental conditions to better understand what causes and then stimulates the development of breast cancer. Our research team includes breast cancer surgeons, engineers and scientists - the breadth of expertise is tremendous and absolutely crucial for this very complex problem," said CBIOE director Karen Burg, who will lead the multi-disciplinary research team.

Other collaborating investigators include Steve Ellis and Susan Duckett in animal and veterinary sciences, Thomas Boland in bioengineering, Amy Moran in biological sciences, Jason McNeill in chemistry and Rick Groff and Timothy Burg in electrical and computer engineering. The initiative will benefit from input from CBIOE partnering institutions Carolinas Medical Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The CBIOE, located in Rhodes Engineering Research Building at Clemson University, is a state-approved research and training center. Its mission is to promote the development of clinically relevant biomaterials technology and products for disease treatment and the transfer of this technology for patient care.

The NSF grant was among seven awarded to institutions to advance basic knowledge and control in the area of cellular and biomolecular engineering through the newly established NSF Emerging Frontiers in Research Innovation Office (EFRI). Other institutions receiving EFRI awards are John Hopkins University, University of Maryland, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin.

Both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a branch of NASA, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), are primary contributors of funds to the study as a result of its two-dimensional application.

The mechanical testing of mouse bones allows for the examination of changes in bone strength after irradiation, modeling both clinical and space exposure. The study addresses bone loss that occurs as the result of radiation therapy for cancer treatment and from solar and cosmic radiation during space exploration.

NIH is contributing nearly $400,000 in grant money for Clemson researchers to develop an animal model that will enable them to study bone loss caused by radiation therapy. The research could result in the kind of knowledge necessary to develop bone-loss therapies to aid a large and increasing community of cancer survivors.

Concurrently, NASA and NSBRI are funding a $1.6 million grant to support research that will examine the effect of space radiation on bone loss for astronauts.

The two dimensions of the bone-loss study are similar in that both involve testing mouse and rat bones after exposure to radiation, but the two studies vary in the type and amount of radiation. Clinical doses of radiation treatment for pelvic cancers come largely from high-dose X-rays compared to lower doses of proton and heavy ion radiation to which astronauts will be exposed in future spaceflight missions.

Solar particle events can expose astronauts to damaging levels of proton radiation.Ted Bateman, professor and director of the Osteoporosis Biomechanics Laboratory (www.batemanlab.com), is conducting the research to understand the molecular and cellular basis for bone loss caused by radiation. The knowledge that his lab develops will assist in the development of countermeasures applicable to both cancer treatment and spaceflight.

"These grants are a tremendous endorsement of our bone-loss research," said Bateman.

"This is an untreated problem in cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy and also a problem we will see as space travel expands to the moon and Mars. Currently, astronauts on the International Space Station lose bone mass at five times the rate that women lose bone mass following menopause. Past studies confirm that patients who are undergoing radiation treatment for cancer experience more fractures, and hip fractures are particularly damaging to long-term health. We hope to provide data that contributes to prevention of these fractures, and ultimately to improve quality of life for cancer survivors."

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported a 60 to 200 percent increase in hip-fracture rates following radiation treatment for pelvic cancers in women. Breaking a hip often causes a large decline in quality of life and leads to death in approximately 20 percent of people with fractures.

Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals also is supporting the clinical application of this research to examine prevention of fractures.

In the space application of the research, rapid bone loss occurs as a result of the weightless environment and may be made worse by the radiation astronauts will experience on extended missions to the moon and Mars.

Related grant support includes a fellowship from NASA's Kennedy Space Center for graduate student Eric Bandstra to study space radiation and bone loss. Senior graduate student Jeff Willey has received a post-doctoral fellowship from NSBRI to support his continued research with radiation-induced bone loss at Clemson and Wake Forest universities.

Collaborators on the NIH grant include Wake Forest University Medical Center. The NIH project is Grant Number R21AR054889 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Collaborators on the NSBRI grant include NASA's Johnson Space Center and Loma Linda University Medical Center.

For more information about Clemson's graduate programs in bioengineering, please visit www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Bioeng.

Mike Zebuhr in the lab at Clemson. Zebuhr was fatally shot March 18, 2006, during a robbery in Minneapolis, where he was visiting family on spring break. He was a PhD student in Clemson's department of bioengineering conducting research on orthopaedic biomechanics.

"Everybody was so shocked by what happened to Mike; it was so senseless," said Lisa Benson, assistant professor in the department of engineering and science education and Zebuhr's adviser. "People were so preoccupied with how he died. I want students to remember who he was and how he lived his life, especially students who never had a chance to meet him."

The goal is to raise $10,000 for the fund, which will be given as grants to undergraduate or graduate students in bioengineering to help with their independent research projects.

"The fund will help students finish the type of work that Mike never got to complete," said Benson.

At the time of his death, Zebuhr was researching sensors that would be placed on the legs of patients recovering from injury or surgery to give feedback on how they walk. The sensors could help a patient track progress in rehabilitation. The sensors also could be used as an educational tool to teach students the mechanics of how the human body moves. Benson said Zebuhr's research continues, as Tripp Mostertz, another graduate student in the program, picked it up after his death.

Donations to the fund are tax deductible. Checks can be mailed to the Michael A. Zebuhr Memorial Fund, c/o Clemson University Foundation, PO Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633. Checks should be made out to the Clemson University Foundation.

The biochip, about the size of a grain of rice, Implantable biochip, about the size of a grain of rice.could measure and relay such information as lactate and glucose levels in the event of a major hemorrhage, whether on the battlefield, at home or on the highway.

Anthony Guiseppi-Elie, C3B director and Dow Chemical Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and professor of bioengineering says first responders to the trauma scene could inject the biochip into the wounded victim and gather data almost immediately. The device has other long-term potential applications, such as monitoring astronauts' vital signs during long-duration space flights and reading blood-sugar levels for diabetics.

"We now lose a large percentage of patients to bleeding, and getting vital information such as how much oxygen is in the tissue back to ER physicians and medical personnel can often mean the difference between life and death," said Guiseppi-Elie. "Our goal is to improve the quality and expediency of care for fallen soldiers and civilian trauma victims." The biochip also may be injected as a precaution to future traumas, he adds.

Clemson scientists have formulated a gel that mimics human tissue and reduces the chances of the body rejecting the biochip, which has been a problem in the past. The researcher predicts the biochip is five years away from human trials. The award is funded by the Department of Defense through the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program and is a joint study with the department of molecular pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Telesensors Inc. in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Center for Bioelectronics, Biosensors and Biochips ( http://www.clemson.edu/c3b/ ), located in the Clemson University Advanced Materials Center, operates cooperatively with industry in molecular bioanalytics and biometrology research. The center focuses on the development of platform technologies that are of mutual interest to the industrial consortium members and faculty while providing education and training for science-, technology-, engineering- and mathematics-oriented high school students, science teachers, undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral trainees.

To learn more about Clemson's graduate program in bioengineering, visit http://www.grad.clemson.edu/programs/Bioeng/ .

The Translational Bioengineering Research Center will be located in a building under construction at the Greenville Hospital System's Patewood Campus. As many as 50 Clemson scientists and engineers will work with GHS doctors, nurses and business researchers at the center to develop new medical technology.

Clemson, the Greenville Hospital System and the Orthopedic Research Foundation of the Carolinas, representing the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, are the core partners in the center. Several corporate partners have initially invested more than $5 million in the project. They are Smith and Nephew, a United Kingdom company; Ziehm Imaging, a German-based company; Agfa Healthcare of Greenville; and Virturad of Phoenix, Ariz.

The University will lease space for 15 years at the center to develop orthopedic and cardiovascular devices, enhance methods of rehabilitation and performance and analyze trauma data. The center also will house incubator space for spin-off companies.

The trustees approved an agreement for Clemson to pay the maintenance costs for the center, which it will get from research grants and contracts. The University has requested $3.5 million from the Research University Infrastructure Act to upfit the facility. The request has been approved by the Joint Bond Review Committee but still requires final approval by the Budget and Control Board.

For information about Clemson's graduate program in Bioengineering, visit www.ces.clemson.edu/bio/grad/grad-degrees.html or contact Dr. Robert Latour at 864-656-5552 or latourr@clemson.edu.

As SFB president, LaBerge supervises and controls the business and affairs of the corporation and chairs the meetings committee and the board of directors.

"It is a great honor to lead the SFB. Clemson University has played a pivotal role in the establishment of the society. I am proud to carry the torch that my predecessors have passed to me," she said.

LaBerge joined the Clemson faculty in 1990 and has served as head of bioengineering since 2004. Her research expertise is focused on the evaluation and characterization of natural and artificial surfaces used in the design of implants for orthopedic and vascular applications. Her laboratory addresses fundamental lubrication and wear problems encountered with artificial models. Current research projects include the investigation of the wear performance of total knee joint replacements, total knee joint design, dynamic contact mechanics and surface design for lubrication improvement.

A fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, she also is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society for Engineering Education, the Biomedical Engineering Society and the Orthopedic Research Society. The Clemson University President's Commission on the Status of Women presented her with its 2001 Outstanding Woman Faculty award, recognizing her as an exceptional teacher, mentor and role model for all students, especially potential women engineers.

She holds a bachelor's degree in biological sciences/physiology from the University of Montreal and bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering/biomedical engineering from the University of Montreal/Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal. She received her PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Montreal and completed post-doctorate work in civil and mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo.

For more information about Clemson University's bioengineering graduate program, visit www.ces.clemson.edu/bio/grad/grad-degrees.html or contact Dr. Robert Latour at latourr@clemson.edu.

For more information about Clemson's graduate program in biochemistry and molecular biology, visit: www.clemson.edu/genbiochem/gradprograms.html

The Translational Bioengineering Research Center will be located in a building under construction at the Greenville Hospital System's Patewood Campus. As many as 50 Clemson scientists and engineers will work with GHS doctors, nurses and business researchers at the center to develop new medical technology.

Clemson, the Greenville Hospital System and the Orthopedic Research Foundation of the Carolinas, representing the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, are the core partners in the center. Several corporate partners have initially invested more than $5 million in the project. They are Smith and Nephew, a United Kingdom company; Ziehm Imaging, a German-based company; Agfa Healthcare of Greenville; and Virturad of Phoenix, Ariz.

The university will lease space for 15 years at the center to develop orthopedic and cardiovascular devices, enhance methods of rehabilitation and performance and analyze trauma data. The center also will house incubator space for spin-off companies.

The trustees approved an agreement for Clemson to pay the maintenance costs for the center, which it will get from research grants and contracts. The university has requested $3.5 million from the Research University Infrastructure Act to upfit the facility. The request has been approved by the Joint Bond Review Committee but still requires final approval by the Budget and Control Board.

For information about Clemson's graduate program in Bioengineering, visit www.ces.clemson.edu/bio/grad/grad-degrees.html or contact Dr. Robert Latour at 864-656-5552 or latourr@clemson.edu.