Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Abstract Indwelling catheterization is a leading cause of nosocomial infections that present an enormous drain of health care funding in the US. Clinical infections associated with urinary catheterization have been estimated to add more than $1000 to patient care. Those that occur with central venous catheterization escalate the cost to between $35,000 and $50, ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of the proposed research is to develop tools for the prediction of the distribution of drug compounds in the human body. There is currently no experimental high throughput screening (HTS) method for determining compound tissue distribution. A drug compound's propensity to be taken up by different tissues and organs affects whether it will reach its acti ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There are very few proven biological markers to support complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) adherence investigations. Most tools currently available to CAM investigators are oriented to bio-feedback techniques and of little proven efficacy for use in quantitative research investigations. To support their work, CAM investigators need tools and technolog ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): LED based curing lights are beginning to replace conventional halogen lamps as the first choice for dental photo-curing applications. The target of this proposal is to develop a new generation LED dental curing light. It will be the first curing light that is optimized according to the kinetic response of the dental composite, which plays a key role in determin ...

THE TRANSDERMAL ROUTE TO DRUG DELIVERY HAS THE ADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH RATE-CONTROLLED DRUG-DELIVERY SYSTEMS (E.G.,GREATER SAFETY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND CONVENIENCE). IN ADDITION, UNLIKE OTHER RATE-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS, TRANSDERMAL DRUG DELIVERY AVOIDS HEPATIC "FIRST-PASS" EFFECTS AND GASTROINTESTINAL INCOMPATIBILITY, AND OFFERS THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALIZED DRUG DELIVERY. THE PRIMARY FACTOR RESPONSIB ...

PROTEINS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING USED AS PHARMACEUTICALS, DIAGNOSTIC AGENTS, CATALYSTS IN BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES, AND GROWTH PROMOTERS IN MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURE. COMMERCIAL PROCESSES INVOLVING THE ISOLATION, STORAGE, AND USE OF THIOL-CONTAINING PROTEINS ARE HAMPERED BY THE LACK OF PRACTICAL PROCESSES TO MANIPULATE THE OXIDATION STATE OF PROTEIN THIOLS. ALTHOUGH PROTEIN THIOLS CAN BE MANIPULATED BY T ...

ONE GOAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH ON HEMATOPOIESIS-THE GROWTH AND DIFFERENTIATION OF PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS WITHIN THE BONE MARROW-IS TO DUPLICATE THAT PROCESS IN VITRO FOR TREATMENT OF DISEASE. CURRENT METHODS ARE PLAGUED BY THE INHERENT COMPLEXITY OF THE PROCESS; FOR EXAMPLE, THE SAME GROWTH FACTORS THAT STIMULATE STEM-CELL GROWTH CAN ALSO STIMULATE UNWANTED DIFFERENTIATION. A METHOD THAT COULD REMOV ...

OPIOID PEPTIDES ARE AN IMPORTANT CLASS OF BIOREGULATORS, INVOLVED IN PAIN RECOGNITION, AND GASTRIC, RESPIRATORY, AND BEHAVIORAL PROCESSES. TO SUPPLY OPIOID PEPTIDES FOR RESEARCH USE AND EVENTUALLY PHARMACEUTICAL USE, NEW METHODOLOGIES FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF OPIOID PEPTIDES MUST BE DEVELOPED THAT AVOID THE PROBLEMS OF CURRENT TECHNIQUES. THIS PROGRAM IS AIMED AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL PEPTIDE SEG ...

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AN NOVEL ENZYMATIC PROCESS FOR THE SEMI-SYNTHESIS OF TAXOL. TAXOL IS A PROMISING DRUG FOR TREATMENT OF OVARIAN AND OTHER CANCERS. HOWEVER, IT IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ONLY IN LIMITED QUANTITY BY EXTRACTION FROM A RARE TREE; CHEMICAL SYNTHESIS IS DIFFICULT AND IMPRACTICAL. THIS LIMITED AVAILABILITY HAS PREVENTED WIDE-SCALE CL ...

CHIRAL DRUGS ADMINISTERED IN ENANTIOMERICALLY PURE FORM OFFER SIGNIFICANT CLINICAL ADVANTAGES OVER THEIR RACEMIC COUNTERPARTS. HOWEVER, AVAILABLE METHODS TO PREPARE ENANTIONMERICALLY PURE COMPOUNDS HAVE DRAWBACKS, INCLUDING HIGH COST, LIMITS ON CHEMICAL AND ENANTIOMERIC PURITY, AND DIFFICULTY WITH PROCESS SCALE-UP. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBLITY OF A RELIABLE, ECONOMICAL ...