Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-8-2025
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
First Advisor
Eden Tanner
Second Advisor
Vignesh Sundaresan
Third Advisor
Cory Varner
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Due to the rise in incidents, sepsis is a leading cause of mortality and economic concern. Current treatment protocols rely on broad-spectrum antibiotics; however, due to the simultaneous rise in multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains, the number of suitable antibiotics for broad-spectrum treatment is steadily decreasing. Current explorations into treatment alternatives yield promising results but pose unresolved concerns about biocompatibility. This work aims to circumvent common biocompatibility limitations through the use of biocompatible starting materials. Herein, I outline an exploration of the use of choline carboxylate ionic liquid (IL)-coated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles for the ex-vivo capture of E. coli in human and mouse whole blood. Hemolysis assays indicated nonsignificant hemolytic activity against isolated human and mouse RBCs when compared against PLGA, with the exception of choline 2-heptenoate 1:1 (CA2HPE 1:1), choline 3-heptenoate 1:1 (CA3HPE 1:1), and choline 3-nonenoate 1:2 (CA3NE 1:2). Fluorescent-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) screening of E. coli affinity indicated five top candidates of varying carboxylate chain length, saturation, and molar ratio. Future work includes investigating gram-positive bacterial capture to ensure broad-spectrum efficacy, cytotoxicity assays to assess potential cell damage, and whole-animal models to evaluate pharmacokinetics and in vivo bacterial capture efficacy.
Recommended Citation
Heintz, Rebekah, "Harnessing Choline Carboxylate Ionic Liquid-Coated Polymeric Nanoparticles to Capture E. Coli in Whole Blood" (2025). Honors Theses. 3203.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3203
Creative Commons License
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