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Publication Metadata only “Smart poisoning” of Co/SiO2 catalysts by sulfidation for chirality-selective synthesis of (9,8) single-walled carbon nanotubes(2016) Yuan, Yang; Karahan, H. Enis; Wei, Li; Zhai, Shengli; Lau, Raymond; Chen, Yuan; N/A; Yıldırım, Cansu; Birer, Özgür; Master Student; Researcher; Koç University Surface Science and Technology Center (KUYTAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Yüzey Teknolojileri Araştırmaları Merkezi (KUYTAM); N/A; N/A; N/AThe chirality-selective synthesis of relatively large (diameter > 1 nm) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is of great interest for a variety of practical applications, but only a few catalysts are available so far. Previous studies suggested that S (compounds) can enhance the chirality-selectivity of Co catalysts in SWCNT synthesis, however, the mechanism behind is not fully understood, and no tailorable methodology has yet been developed. Here, we demonstrate a facile approach to achieve the chirality-selective synthesis of SWCNTs by the sulfidation-based poisoning of silica-supported Co catalysts using a mixture of H2S and H2. The UV-vis-NIR, photoluminescence, and Raman spectroscopy results together show that the resulting SWCNTs have a narrow diameter distribution of around 1.2 nm, and (9,8) nanotubes have an abundance of ∼38% among the semiconducting species. More importantly, the carbon yield achieved by the sulfided catalyst (2.5 wt%) is similar to that of the nonsulfided one (2.7 wt%). The characterization of the catalysts by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and H2 temperature-programmed reduction shows that the sulfidation leads to the formation of Co9S8 nanoparticles. However, Co9S8 nanoparticles are reduced back to regenerate metallic Co nanoparticles during the synthesis of SWCNTs, which maintain a high carbon yield. In this process, Co9S8 nanoparticles seemingly intermediate the production of Co nanoparticles with narrow size distribution. Due to the fact that the poisoning step improves the quality of the end-product rather than hampering the growth process, we have coined the process developed as “smart poisoning”. This study not only reveals the mechanism behind the beneficial role of S in the selective synthesis of relatively large SWCNTs but also presents a promising method to create chirality-selective catalysts with high activity for scalable synthesis.Publication Metadata only 3D printed styrax liquidus (liquidambar orientalis miller)-loaded poly (l-lactic acid)/chitosan based wound dressing material: fabrication, characterization, and biocompatibility results(Elsevier, 2023) Cakmak, Hanife Yuksel; Ege, Hasan; Yilmaz, Senanur; Agturk, Gokhan; Enguven, Gozde; Sarmis, Abdurrahman; Cakmak, Zeren; Gunduz, Oguzhan; Ege, Zeynep Ruya; Yöntem, Fulya Dal; Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Translasyonel Tıp Araştırma Merkezi (KUTTAM); School of MedicineThe medicinal plant of Styrax liquidus (ST) (sweet gum balsam) which extracted from Liquidambar orientalis Mill tree, was loaded into the 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA)/chitosan (CS) based 3D printed scaffolds to investigate its wound healing and closure effect, in this study. The morphological and chemical properties of the ST loaded 3D printed scaffolds with different concentrations (1 %, 2 %, and 3 % wt) were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), respectively. In addition, the me-chanical and thermal properties of the materials were investigated by Tensile test and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), respectively. The antimicrobial activities of the ST loaded 3D printed scaffolds and their incubation media in the PBS (pH 7.4, at 37 degrees C for 24 h) were investigated on two Gram-positive and two Gram -negative standard pathogenic bacteria with the agar disc diffusion method. The colorimetric MTT assay was used to determine the cell viability of human fibroblast cells (CCD-1072Sk) incubated with free ST, ST loaded, and unloaded 3D printed scaffolds. The 1 % and 2 % (wt) ST loaded PLA/CS/ST 3D printed scaffolds showed an increase in the cell number. Annexin V/PI double stain assay was performed to test whether early or late apoptosis was induced in the PLA/CS/1 % ST and PLA/CS/2 % ST loaded groups and the results were consistent with the MTT assay. Furthermore, a wound healing assay was carried out to investigate the effect of ST loaded 3D printed scaffolds on wound healing in CCD-1072Sk cells. The highest wound closure compared to the control group was observed on cells treated with PLA/CS/1 % ST for 72 h. According to the results, novel biocompatible ST loaded 3D printed scaffolds with antimicrobial effect can be used as wound healing material for potential tissue engineering applications.Publication Open Access 3D printing of elastomeric bioinspired complex adhesive microstructures(Wiley, 2021) Dayan, Cem Balda; Chun, Sungwoo; Krishna Subbaiah, Nagaraj; Drotlef, Dirk Michael; Akolpoğlu, Mükrime Birgül; Department of Mechanical Engineering; Sitti, Metin; Faculty Member; Department of Mechanical Engineering; College of Engineering; School of Medicine; 297104Bioinspired elastomeric structural adhesives can provide reversible and controllable adhesion on dry/wet and synthetic/biological surfaces for a broad range of commercial applications. Shape complexity and performance of the existing structural adhesives are limited by the used specific fabrication technique, such as molding. To overcome these limitations by proposing complex 3D microstructured adhesive designs, a 3D elastomeric microstructure fabrication approach is implemented using two-photon-polymerization-based 3D printing. A custom aliphatic urethane-acrylate-based elastomer is used as the 3D printing material. Two designs are demonstrated with two combined biological inspirations to show the advanced capabilities enabled by the proposed fabrication approach and custom elastomer. The first design focuses on springtail- and gecko-inspired hybrid microfiber adhesive, which has the multifunctionalities of side-surface liquid super-repellency, top-surface liquid super-repellency, and strong reversible adhesion features in a single fiber array. The second design primarily centers on octopus- and gecko-inspired hybrid adhesive, which exhibits the benefits of both octopus- and gecko-inspired microstructured adhesives for strong reversible adhesion on both wet and dry surfaces, such as skin. This fabrication approach could be used to produce many other 3D complex elastomeric structural adhesives for future real-world applications.Publication Metadata only A genome-wide functional screen identifies enhancer and protective genes for amyloid beta-peptide toxicity(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2023) Picon-Pages, Pol; Bosch-Morato, Monica; Subirana, Laia; Rubio-Moscardo, Francisca; Guivernau, Biuse; Fanlo-Ucar, Hugo; Herrera-Fernandez, Victor; Vicente, Ruben; Fernandez-Fernandez, Jose M.; Garcia-Ojalvo, Jordi; Oliva, Baldomero; Posas, Francesc; de Nadal, Eulalia; Munoz, Francisco J.; N/A; N/A; N/A; Department of Computer Engineering; Department of Computer Engineering; Zeylan, Melisa Ece; Şenyüz, Simge; Gürsoy, Attila; Keskin, Özlem; PhD Student; Master Student; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Department of Computer Engineering; Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; College of Engineering; College of Engineering; N/A; N/A; 8745; 26605Alzheimer's disease (AD) is known to be caused by amyloid beta-peptide (A beta) misfolded into beta-sheets, but this knowledge has not yet led to treatments to prevent AD. To identify novel molecular players in A beta toxicity, we carried out a genome-wide screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, using a library of 5154 gene knock-out strains expressing A beta(1-42). We identified 81 mammalian orthologue genes that enhance A beta(1-42) toxicity, while 157 were protective. Next, we performed interactome and text-mining studies to increase the number of genes and to identify the main cellular functions affected by A beta oligomers (oA beta). We found that the most affected cellular functions were calcium regulation, protein translation and mitochondrial activity. We focused on SURF4, a protein that regulates the store-operated calcium channel (SOCE). An in vitro analysis using human neuroblastoma cells showed that SURF4 silencing induced higher intracellular calcium levels, while its overexpression decreased calcium entry. Furthermore, SURF4 silencing produced a significant reduction in cell death when cells were challenged with oA beta(1-42), whereas SURF4 overexpression induced A beta(1-42) cytotoxicity. In summary, we identified new enhancer and protective activities for A beta toxicity and showed that SURF4 contributes to oA beta(1-42) neurotoxicity by decreasing SOCE activity.Publication Open Access A micropatterned human-specific neuroepithelial tissue for modeling gene and drug-induced neurodevelopmental defects(Wiley, 2021) Sahni, Geetika; Chang, Shu-Yung; Meng, Jeremy Teo Choon; Tan, Jerome Zu Yao; Fatien, Jean Jacques Clement; Bonnard, Carine; Utami, Kagistia Hana; Chan, Puck Wee; Tan, Thong Teck; Altunoglu, Umut; Pouladi, Mahmoud; Toh, Yi-Chin; Kayserili, Hülya; Reversade, Bruno; Faculty Member; School of Medicine; 7945; N/AThe generation of structurally standardized human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived neural embryonic tissues has the potential to model genetic and environmental mediators of early neurodevelopmental defects. Current neural patterning systems have so far focused on directing cell fate specification spatio-temporally but not morphogenetic processes. Here, the formation of a structurally reproducible and highly-organized neuroepithelium (NE) tissue is directed from hPSCs, which recapitulates morphogenetic cellular processes relevant to early neurulation. These include having a continuous, polarized epithelium and a distinct invagination-like folding, where primitive ectodermal cells undergo E-to-N-cadherin switching and apical constriction as they acquire a NE fate. This is accomplished by spatio-temporal patterning of the mesoendoderm, which guides the development and self-organization of the adjacent primitive ectoderm into the NE. It is uncovered that TGF beta signaling emanating from endodermal cells support tissue folding of the prospective NE. Evaluation of NE tissue structural dysmorphia, which is uniquely achievable in the model, enables the detection of apical constriction and cell adhesion dysfunctions in patient-derived hPSCs as well as differentiating between different classes of neural tube defect-inducing drugs.Publication Open Access A multi-state coarse grained modeling approach for an intrinsically disordered peptide(American Institute of Physics (AIP) Publishing, 2017) Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; N/A; Sayar, Mehmet; Dalgıçdır, Cahit; Ramezanghorbani, Farhad; Faculty Member; PhD Student; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; College of Engineering; Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; 109820; N/A; N/AMany proteins display a marginally stable tertiary structure, which can be altered via external stimuli. Since a majority of coarse grained (CG) models are aimed at structure prediction, their success for an intrinsically disordered peptide's conformational space with marginal stability and sensitivity to external stimuli cannot be taken for granted. In this study, by using the LK alpha 14 peptide as a test system, we demonstrate a bottom-up approach for constructing a multi-state CG model, which can capture the conformational behavior of this peptide in three distinct environments with a unique set of interaction parameters. LK alpha 14 is disordered in dilute solutions; however, it strictly adopts the alpha-helix conformation upon aggregation or when in contact with a hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface. Our bottom-up approach combines a generic base model, that is unbiased for any particular secondary structure, with nonbonded interactions which represent hydrogen bonds, electrostatics, and hydrophobic forces. We demonstrate that by using carefully designed all atom potential of mean force calculations from all three states of interest, one can get a balanced representation of the nonbonded interactions. Our CG model behaves intrinsically disordered in bulk water, folds into an alpha-helix in the presence of an interface or a neighboring peptide, and is stable as a tetrameric unit, successfully reproducing the all atom molecular dynamics simulations and experimental results.Publication Open Access A new class of porous materials for efficient CO2 separation: ionic liquid/graphene aerogel composites(Elsevier, 2021) Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; N/A; Department of Chemistry; Zeeshan, Muhammad; Yalçın, Kaan; Keskin, Seda; Uzun, Alper; Öztuna, Feriha Eylül Saraç; Ünal, Uğur; PhD Student; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Department of Chemistry; Koç University Tüpraş Energy Center (KUTEM) / Koç Üniversitesi Tüpraş Enerji Merkezi (KÜTEM); Koç University Surface Science and Technology Center (KUYTAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Yüzey Teknolojileri Araştırmaları Merkezi (KUYTAM); Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; College of Engineering; College of Sciences; N/A; N/A; 40548; 59917; N/A; 42079Here, we report a new post-synthesis modification strategy for functionalizing reduced graphene aerogels (rGAs) towards an exceptional CO2 separation performance. 1-N-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF6]) was impregnated on a rGA, prepared by reducing GA at 700 degrees C, at various ionic liquid (IL) loadings of 5, 10, 30, and 50 wt%. The resulting composites were characterized in deep detail by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, N-2 physical adsorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopies, and thermogravimetric analysis. Results indicated the presence of interactions between the rGA surface and the anion of the IL, potentially improving the CO2 affinity. Volumetric gas adsorption measurements using these materials showed that the deposition of [BMIM][PF6] on rGA surface at an IL loading of 50 wt% boosts the CO2/CH4 selectivity by more than 20-times, exceeding an absolute value of 120, a remarkably higher CO2/CH4 selectivity compared to that of other functionalized materials under similar operating conditions. Tunability of both the IL structure and the surface characteristics of rGA offer a tremendous degree of flexibility for the rational design of these IL/rGA composites towards high performance in gas separation applications.Publication Metadata only A new generation of highly branched polymers: hyperbranched, segmented poly(urethane urea) elastomers(American Chemical Society (ACS), 2004) Ünal, S.; Sheth, J.P.; Wilkes, G.L.; Long, T.E.; Department of Chemistry; Department of Chemistry; Yılgör, Emel; Yılgör, İskender; Researcher; Faculty Member; Department of Chemistry; College of Sciences; College of Sciences; 40527; 24181A simple oligomeric A 2 + B 2 approach was described for the preparation of segmented, hyperbranched polyureas and poly(urethane urea). The approach utilized an isocyanate end-capped polyether as an oligomeric A 2 monomer and B 3 triamine monomer. The approach can be extended to a large number of telechelic oligomers including poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) or poly (ethylene glycol) and trifunctional polymer (B 3) to prepare polymeric materials. The similarity in soft segment glass transition behavior and strain hardening character of the hyperbranched systems suggested considerable promise for future applications.Publication Metadata only A potential non-invasive glioblastoma treatment: nose-to-brain delivery of farnesylthiosalicylic acid incorporated hybrid nanoparticles(Elsevier, 2017) Lüle, Sevda; Pehlivan, Sibel Bozdağ; Öztürk, Naile; Kara, Aslı; Kaffashi, Abbas; Vural, Imran; Işıkay, Ilkay; Yavuz, Burçin; Oguz, Kader Karlı; Söylemezoğlu, Figen; Mut, Melike; Şekerdağ, Emine; Özdemir, Yasemin Gürsoy; PhD Student; Faculty Member; Koç University Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Translasyonel Tıp Araştırma Merkezi (KUTTAM); Graduate School of Health Sciences; School of Medicine; N/A; 170592New drug delivery systems are highly needed in research and clinical area to effectively treat gliomas by reaching a high antineoplastic drug concentration at the target site without damaging healthy tissues. Intranasal (IN) administration, an alternative route for non-invasive drug delivery to the brain, bypasses the blood-brainbarrier (BBB) and eliminates systemic side effects. This study evaluated the antitumor efficacy of farnesylthiosalicylic acid (FTA) loaded (lipid-cationic) lipid-PEG-PLGA hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) after IN application in rats. FTA loaded HNPs were prepared, characterized and evaluated for cytotoxicity. Rat glioma 2 (RG2) cells were implanted unilaterally into the right striatum of female Wistar rats. 10 days later, glioma bearing rats received either no treatment, or 5 repeated doses of 500 mu M freshly prepared FTA loaded HNPs via IN or intravenous (IV) application. Pre-treatment and post-treatment tumor sizes were determined with MRI. After a treatment period of 5 days, IN applied FTA loaded HNPs achieved a significant decrease of 55.7% in tumor area, equal to IV applied FTA loaded HNPs. Herewith, we showed the potential utility of IN application of FTA loaded HNPs as a non-invasive approach in glioblastoma treatment.Publication Metadata only A responsive aie-active fluorescent probe for visualization of acetylcholinesterase activity in vitro and in vivo(Royal Soc Chemistry, 2022) Xiang, Chunbai; Dirak, Musa; Luo, Yuan; Peng, Yonglin; Cai, Lintao; Gong, Ping; Zhang, Pengfei; Department of Chemistry; Kölemen, Safacan; Faculty Member; Department of Chemistry; Koç University Surface Science and Technology Center (KUYTAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Yüzey Teknolojileri Araştırmaları Merkezi (KUYTAM); Koç University Boron and Advanced Materials Application and Research Center (KUBAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Bor ve İleri Malzemeler Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi (KUBAM); Koç University Tüpraş Energy Center (KUTEM) / Koç Üniversitesi Tüpraş Enerji Merkezi (KÜTEM); College of Sciences; 272051Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is a significant enzyme, which plays critical roles in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Thus, selective, and sensitive real-time imaging of AChE activity in vivo has great importance to further understand its contribution to cellular activities and to develop diagnostic tools for several disease states including neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. To this end, we introduced an AChE selective light up fluorescent probe (TCFPB-AChE) with aggregation induced emission (AIE) characteristics to visualize AChE activity both in vitro and in vivo. TCFPB-AChE displayed a selective turn-on fluorescence response upon addition of AChE with a very low detection limit. TCFPB-AChE was further used to image endogenous AChE activity in a glioblastoma cell line and Alzheimer's disease mice brain tissue with a high signal to noise ratio. In addition to these, the probe was also utilized to visualize varying concentrations of AChE in living mice brains in vivo. Remarkably, TCFPB-AChE marks the first ever example of an AChE responsive AIE-based fluorescent probe.