DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

In my sophomore year at ASU, I applied and was accepted into Molecular and Nanoscale Bioengineering Lab under the tutelage of Dr. Kaushal Rege. 

 

With an increase in cancer diagnosis in recent years, a treatment that is often prescribed is radiation therapy. A small difference in the radiation dosage can be a critical factor in the patient’s battle against cancer. Unfortunately, even the smallest shift in the patient’s body, such as breathing during the treatment process, can shift the tumor and reduce the amount of effective radiation dosage.

 

A highly viable possibility is the implementation of an aqueous nanoparticle sensor. When irradiated this gold salt solution is reduced to a gold nanoparticle dispersion. In order to create a solution in which the gold nanoparticles stay dispersed in solution, a templating molecule is used to separate the gold particles from each other. In our case, we use Cetrimonium bromide (C16TAB). C16TAB is acutely toxic and can cause serious respiratory irritation and damage to the gastrointestinal tract through prolonged exposure.  In order to reduce the toxicity of the gold nanoparticle dosimeter, we used amino acids to replace the CTAB while mimicking the functionality. Amino acids are naturally occurring in the human body. The methodology behind the research is the amino acids will reduce the toxicity of the gold nanoparticle ionizing radiation dosimeter to applicable levels. When the samples are irradiated, the sample turns pink; the intensity of the hue increases proportionally with higher radiation levels.

 

Out of the 32 amino acids screened, we have 5 strong leads. These amino acids exhibited surfactant behavior and prevented the gold salt from prematurely precipitating out of the solution. The key results that were obtained from these amino acid experiments were that not every amino acid creates a suspension of gold nanoparticles once irradiated. Each of these amino acid and gold salt indicators have shown a response at 325 Gray. We screened the five lead amino acid solutions at lower radiation doses as well. This is a critical component to the research as radiation treatment typically consists of thirty 2 to 5 Gray dose treatments. We screened the functionality of the solutions at 0, 5, 25, 50, 100, and 200 Gray. Of the five amino acids screened, the Phenylalanine and Threonine exhibited effective indication abilities at radiation doses upwards of 50 Gray. This region is not the desired region for our purposes. The most effective amino acid indicator at the 0 to 25 Gray dose treatment was the Aspartic Acid solution. Further lead amino acid screenings will need to be done in order to solidify the data. 

 

In the research that is being conducted, the aspects that I primarily worked on was creating the amino acid samples for radiation bombardment. Additionally, I tested and collected absorption spectra of the amino acid samples at 2 hours and 6 hours with and without irradiation. 

 

I have worked on this research project for almost 5 semesters and am currently working on compiling this work into a thesis. 

 

This work went hand-in-hand with the Grand Challenge Scholars Program and effectively helped me work towards the overarching theme of health advancements in my time as an undergraduate. 

 

The research I have had the opportunity to conduct through the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering have played a significant role in helping me gain valuable lab processing skills, data collection and processing skills, and the ability to present research and complex graphs in an easy to understand format. These skills will serve me in, not only my academic career, but also my professional career. This research closely clorrelated with the health theme of the GCSP due to the nature of the research conducted. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.