a Chemistry Thesis Defense ft. Michelle Tran (Remcho Group)

Evaluating individual response to radiation, or biodosimetry, is challenging, especially in resource-limited environments. The motivation for this work was to develop portable biodosimetry technologies for two separate applications where traditional evaluation approaches are unfeasible.

The first approach is a paper-based microfluidic biodosimeter that can be deployed at large scale in the aftermath of mass nuclear events. The device is intended for rapid medical triage, a preliminary assessment of patients to determine those in most urgent need. Having the tools for mass screening to differentiate exposed and unexposed individuals is integral to improving survival of the affected. The device quantifies total antioxidant capacity, a proposed biomarker for radiation dose, in human serum samples.  Assay chemistry, optimization, and validation of the technology using spectroscopic methods is discussed.

               The second approach is a hybrid microfluidic chip-capillary electrophoresis (CE) device intended for use in astronaut health monitoring in space. Astronauts are exposed to constant, low intensity ionizing radiation, which has been shown to have negative cardiovascular and carcinogenic prognosis. In this work, components of CE and microchip electrophoresis are combined using 3D-printed interfaces. Detection of fluorescently labeled biomolecules is demonstrated to show the potential of this technology for bioanalyses. Further work on optimizing CE methods on benchtop instrumentation to detect microRNA-150, an emerging biomarker for monitoring human response to radiation, is also discussed.