<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><div><br></div><span id="OLK_SRC_BODY_SECTION"><div xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:18.0pt"><a name="_Toc434675189"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">PhD DEFENSE STUDENT: </span></b></a><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">Gavin Garvey</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; "><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:18.0pt"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">DATE: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">November 23, 2015</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; "><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:18.0pt"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">TIME: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">3:00 PM</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; "><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:18.0pt"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">PLACE: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">Chemical Engineering Conference Room</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; "><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:18.0pt"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">DISSERTATION CHAIRS: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">Dr. Richard Willson</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; "><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 105%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; "><hr size="2" width="100%" align="center"></span></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 105%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">TITLE:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 105%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: black; ">Lithographically Fabricated Micro-Reflectors for Sensitive Point of Care Diagnostics.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Timely diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases calls for highly sensitive diagnostic assays. Traditional diagnostic methods include microscopy, polymerase chain reaction
(PCR), immunofluorescence (IF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Many of these diagnostic methods, however, require complex sample processing steps or labels (typically a dye, enzyme or fluor) which can suffer from low signal strength or photo-bleaching
(of fluors), and can require elaborate instrumentation for their detection. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Here, we propose several diagnostic platforms utilizing lithographically-fabricated, micron-scale, reflective particles as novel, optical labels conjugated to antibodies.
The particles, in the shape of cubes, serve as ultra-bright labels which are easily detectable using inexpensive, low-numerical aperture optics. The cubes, unlike traditional labels, are not susceptible to photo-bleaching and do not require any signal amplification.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:150%"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">In this research work, we investigate the use of these novel particulate labels for the development of new immunoassay formats which are simple-to-use, cheap and possess sensitivities
comparable to or better than well-established clinical diagnostic methods. First, the fabrication and use of suspended, micro-fabricated retroreflector cubes as optical labels will be demonstrated. The cubes will be used in a novel flotation format in which
a low density polymer module acts as a capture surface. Antibody-functionalized cubes, bridged to the capture surface by the target present in the sample, are floated to the top of the sample where they can be observed and counted. In a second assay format
the cubes, which are engineered to be denser than the sample matrix, are allowed to mix with the sample and fall to a detection surface within a reaction vessel. Simply inverting the vessel allows non-specifically bound cubes to fall away leaving behind specifically
bound particles. Lastly, the use of these reflective particles in a centrifugal diagnostics format will be presented. Centrifugal forces are tailored to improve signal to background ratios by removing non-specifically bound particles in a highly controllable
way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div></div></span><style><!--
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