Computer Assisted Detection for Liver Neoplams

Imaging is currently performed in oncologic patients for staging. Images are evaluated by radiologist and lesions with the liver are detected manually. Currently there is no software available which is able to detect and measure tumor volumes automatically. We are developing a software that may be able to detect tumor and give volumetric measurements automatically. Using this software a radiologist may be able to compare computer generated volumetric data in serial imaging of the patients over time, which may help in assessing progression or regression of disease and help in treatment planning

Computer Assisted Detection of Liver Neoplasms and its 3D Volumetric Measurement

Imaging is currently performed in oncologic patients for staging. Images are evaluated by radiologist and lesions with the liver are detected manually. Currently there is no software available which is able to detect and measure tumor volumes automatically. We are developing a software that may be able to detect tumor and give volumetric measurements automatically. Using this software a radiologist may be able to compare computer generated volumetric data in serial imaging of the patients over time, which may help in assessing progression or regression of disease and help in treatment planning

Selective Manipulation of Nanoparticles in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) using Magnetotactic Bacteria

Magnetotactic bacteria are a group of prokaryotic cells that orient and migrate along the geomagnetic field lines for their physiological functions and anaerobic/microaerophilic requirements. We report the use of magnetotaxis i.e. sensitivity towadrs megnetic field of Magnetospirillum magneticum as a functional component in very large scale integration (VLSI) design and fabrication. It is known that magnetotaxis arises out of a chain of magnetic nanoparticles within the bacterial cell that acts as a dipole. We propose a simple MATLAB based analysis and modeling of magnetic field acting on the chain of nanoparticles around a current carrying microwire. COMSOL was used to design the appropriate solenoid mesh containing the microwires.Our simulation results show that it is possible to manipulate the bacteria as "skilled workers" to transport select nanoparticles conducive to microchip fabrication. The use of magnetotactic bacteria may lead to the design of biomolecule based transformative integrated circuits well below the current feature size

Analyzing structural DNA binding with nanoparticles for gene therapy

The study of DNA binding with nanoparticles and their packaging assembly is an essential requirement for gene therapy. The structural features of DNA and nanoparticles would be very useful in development of novel gene therapy in genes. Plants being good test system as they are tolerant of being bombarded with small particulates and usually grow normally even after such treatments. We used primers from plant named "Frigida"

Functional Study of Magnetotactic Bacteria in VLSI Design

Magnetotactic bacteria are a type of prokaryotic cells that can orient and migrate along the geomagnetic field lines in order to fulfill their physiological functions and anaerobic/microaerophilic requirements. This work investigates the magnetotaxis (sensitivity to magnetic field) of Magnetospirillum magneticum and studies the ability to apply this function to very large scale integration (VLSI) design and fabrication. It is known that magnetotaxis is closely associated with a chain of magnetic particles inside the bacterial cell that acts as a dipole. MATLAB analysis and modeling as well as control of a mesh of current carrying conductors using Mentor Graphics indicate that there is a possibility of these bacteria being manipulated (through their shapes, sizes and speeds) to use them as "skilled workers" to transport one or more atoms/molecules in order to form a nano-scale, bottom-up construction methodology beneficial to the field of integrated circuit fabrication. A further study would be to analyze the various pathways responsible for the formation of magnetic crystals through nucleation inside the bacterial cell in order to increase the sensitivity for cells much smaller than currently available. The engineering education component that stems from this research is to potentially realize the use of biomolecules to fabricate integrated circuits below the current state of art feature size possible

2D atomically thin graphene nanoribbons - DNA self-assembled piezo structures for energy harvesting

Graphene[1], widely known as single layered graphite, has generated lot of interests as generation next electronic material since its practical existence as free standing film. Its structural flexibility provides an opportunity to tune its electronic properties from being semimetal to semiconductor [2,3] for the fabrication of nanoscale devices[4]. Graphene nanoribbons (GNR) are defined as stretched graphene with straight edges and they transform from semiconductor to semimetal as the width of the ribbon changes and hence offer a variety of graphene. While there have been increasing interest in elucidating graphene nano-scale structures the development of a reproducible nanostructured assembly of graphene (nanoribbon) and DNA that could potentially lead to controllable and manipulative nano-scale mechanical devices have been very less explored. Recently Razdan, Patra and co-workers[5] have developed self assembled carbon nanotube-conducting polymer fibers. Also Sinha and members of his research group have a provisional patent and a pending patent application on a biosensor whose principle is based on the Carbon Nanotube (CNT)/DNA interaction. We will build on from the understanding on the previous work to establish a reproducible graphene- DNA nanostructured assembly that may consequently help develop graphene-DNA based biodevices. We plan to understand the attachment of graphene with single-stranded DNA by a self-assembly process under strong ultrasonication and in the resulting water-dispersible graphene-DNA hybrids. We intend to achieve monolayers of ss-DNA molecules adsorbed on both sides of the graphene sheets by a non-covalent stacking and other secondary forces that will eventually lead to development of graphene-DNA based devices in the long run

Simple Point of Care microfluidic device for detection of Tuberculosis

Nano/microfluidic technologies are emerging as powerful enabling tools for diagnosis and monitoring of infectious diseases in both developed and developing countries. Miniaturized nano/ microfluidic platforms that precisely manipulate small fluid volumes can be used to enable medical diagnosis in a more rapid and accurate manner. In particular, these nano/microfluidic diagnostic technologies are potentially applicable to global health applications, because they are disposable, inexpensive, portable, and easy-to-use for detection of infectious diseases

Fabrication of aligned PVA nanofibers: A new collector technique

We report a laboratory developed efficient metal rotating collector design in electrospinning that aligns majority of the polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers with or without carbon nanotube inclusions. The average diameter of PVA and PVA-CNT composite nanofibers fabricated is 200 nm. A comparison of fiber diameter distribution and alignment has been established in case of static and laboratory designed rotating disc collector. Raman analysis suggests the presence of carbon nanotubes in the electrospun web. AFM suggests the thinness of the fibrous filaments and SEM shows the structural morphology of the fibers

Graphene and amyloid peptide binding and its implications in Alzheimer's disease

A poster discussing the relation of graphene and amyloid peptide binding to Alzheimer's disease

Fabrication of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and CNT Filled PVA Nanofibers by Electro Hydro Jets Spinning

Electrospinning is a versatile tool for the formation of nanofibers from the materials of diverse origin like organic polymers, ceramics, and polymers/ceramics composites. Here we demonstrate the formation of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) nanofibers with an average diameter in the range of 60 nm to 150 nm. The FTIR data gives the presence of PolyvinylAlcohol (PVA) and their chemical bonding. The structure and the alignment of the nanofibers were observed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)