CAPSTONE DESIGN PARTICIPANTS
Hannah Bernstein, Megan Dawson, Victoria Ho, Jeriann Hsiao, Kiran Naidoo-Edwardson
Endonostix: A non-surgical diagnostic tool for endometriosis
1
190 million women have endometriosis, a condition in which endometrial tissue abnormally grows outside of the uterus and causes severe pelvic pain. Yet it takes an average of 8-10 years to be diagnosed because the symptoms are downplayed and confused with other diseases, and current diagnosis methods remain invasive and inaccurate. Endonostix uses self-assembled DNA structures to eliminate a performance-reducing byproduct in the company Nomic’s protein profiling platform. As a result, multiple biomarkers linked to endometriosis can be accurately and simultaneously measured in a patient sample, demonstrating the feasibility of a non-surgical diagnostic tool for endometriosis.
Consultant: Dr. Mahla Poudineh
Sponsor: Nomic, Engineer of the Future Fund (Winter 2022, Spring 2022)
Raegan Allan, Samuel Henriques, Luca Turkiewicz, Priyanka Verma
Nano-Enabled Biosensor for Non-Invasive Lactate Detection in Athletes
2
Lactate is a key biomarker used to assess the endurance levels of high-performance athletes. Current lactate monitoring devices available on the market use invasive blood sampling. Our device implements a non-invasive alternative using a sweat-based approach to provide real-time and continuous data to the athlete. Using a nano-structured material, we can create a lactate-sensitive patch to accurately measure the concentration in the subject’s sweat. Our design provides proof-of-concept for the future direction of lactate sensing giving athletes lab-quality testing and data in a wearable form.
Consultant: Dr. Vivek Maheshwari
Alina Alidina, Pritika Brodie, Terese Dimeck, Shakira Scaini
Nanozymes for Carbon Dioxide Recycling
3
Atmospheric CO2 emissions have become an increasingly imminent issue in recent years due to their disastrous effects on the environment. Our design proposes a method of converting carbon dioxide into ethanol by using a unique nanoparticle enzyme, or “nanozyme”. Ethanol is required in many different applications including as a solvent, disinfectant, and a renewable fuel source. Our design offers a way to recycle ambient carbon dioxide into ethanol, a fundamental chemical with a high market value.
Consultant: Dr. Ahmad Ghavami
Haneen Bakbak, Scott Graham, Musaab Siddiqui, Oceane Vandame
Elixir: Liposomal Treatment for Infraorbital Circles
4
The skin under the eyes is extremely sensitive and thin, has low cell regeneration, and often displays visible fatigue and early signs of aging. The resulting infraorbital circles are a prominent issue in the cosmeceutical industry. Current solutions ineffectively treat this issue by masking the dark circles without providing long-lasting effects to treat the root cause. Elixir presents a cost-effective and functional serum that delivers vitamin C and retinol encapsulated in a nanoliposome. By providing deeper penetration using a nanocarrier drug delivery system, our serum aims to promote long lasting effects for visibly healthier and nourished infraorbital skin.
Consultant: Dr. Shawn Wettig
Kellie Chong, Justin Pautler, Zaky Shaikh
LipoTAC
5
Despite being the most prevalent cancer among North American women, breast cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, suffer from undesirable delivery to healthy cells within the body, thus causing common side effects including hair loss, nausea, and fatigue. Currently, incompatible chemistries among drugs in combination chemotherapies, such as TAC, require sequential drug administration, thereby elongating the treatment period. For these reasons, we propose a novel formulation to simultaneously deliver the constituents of TAC, facilitated by a single biocompatible liposomal nanocarrier. Our solution introduces a folate targeting moiety, coupled with PEGylation to further enhance drug efficacy compared to that of conventional formulations.
Consultant: Dr. Shawn Wettig
Sponsor: Baylis Medical
Matthew Newport, Ethan Piercey, Skye Torrance, Joyce Zheng
Electric Switchable Smart Glass
6
In the current smart home market, window technology has been largely ignored; curtains are inconvenient, and windows have minimal privacy. We developed a smart, electronically switchable window that improves the ease-of-use, privacy, and natural light usage of traditional windows. Our design uses polymer-dispersed liquid crystal technology, which changes opacity based on applied voltage. It allows users to specify different operation modes, and can be controlled from anywhere in the room. This includes manually changing the window’s opacity, turning the window on and off at specified times, and automatically adjusting opacity depending on inside and outside light levels.
Consultant: Dr. Mustafa Yavuz