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Ultrasound Mediated Delivery of Therapeutics and Disruption of Drug Resistant Biofilms
20-0102 – Background Biofilms are aggregates of microorganisms embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix and can attach to each other or to surfaces, including a patient’s skin or soft tissue, or an implanted medical device, such as a catheter. Microorganisms that make up biofilms can include bacteria, fungi, and protists. Biofilms are prevalent in many infections and are resistant to... Read More
Brain Infusion System Safety Sheath
19-0045 – Convection enhanced delivery (CED) is a method for delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier to the brain and central nervous system. CED can be used to treat various disease, including brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, and is generally characterized as a minimally invasive technique. While CED has shown some promise in clinical applications, the current... Read More
Grow-Up Declarative Memory Task
19-0068 – It is difficult to test a cognitive ability across development, because tasks needed to test cognitive ability evolve as the child grows. To solve this problem, UNC has designed and developed events for testing infant and toddler declarative memory that grow with the child. This product consists of 3-D printed objects and can be as simple as assembling a box and hammering a nail into the... Read More
Rapidly Synthesized Radiolabeled PET Tracers with Improved Biological Characteristics
16-0078 – Background Positron-emission tomography (PET) is a medical imaging technique that utilizes radiolabeled tracers to aid in disease diagnosis for oncology, neurology, cardiology, and infectious diseases. PET imaging allows for detailed characterization of physiological processes, such as metabolism and blood flow. Most often PET is utilized by oncologists for cancer diagnosis and identification... Read More
Surgical Bed and Ligature Holder for Generating a Mouse Model to Study Periodontitis
18-0024 – Periodontal disease results in a loss of gingival tissue, periodontal ligament, and is a major contributor to tooth loss in adults. It is estimated that nearly 50% of the adult population in the United States is affected by periodontal disease. Experimental animal models for periodontal disease are essential for understanding the origin and evolution of the pathology in humans and are... Read More
Early breast cancer screening method by differentiating malignant from benign lesions
20-0104 – Current ultrasound-based systems are not able to differentiate between malignant or benign breast cancer, which is an important aspect of early breast cancer screening. A method has been developed combining acoustic radiation force-based ultrasound and measurement of tissue anisotropy to identify malignant breast cancer. Several viscoelastic characteristics are measured in the lesion and... Read More
Quantitative Viscoelastic Response (QVisR) Ultrasound to Diagnose, Treat, and Monitor Disease in Patients
20-0010 – Diagnosis of a disease using non-invasive biomarkers is a much safer alternative compared to surgical methods. Non-invasive biomarkers also accelerate the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients. Researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering have developed a method, termed Quantitative Viscoelastic Response (QVisR) ultrasound, to quantitatively assess underlying tissue... Read More
Double-Profile Intersection (DoPIo) Elastography to Diagnose, Treat, and Monitor Disease in Patients
20-0015 – Diagnosis of a disease using non-invasive biomarkers is a much safer alternative compared to surgical methods. Non-invasive biomarkers also accelerate the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients. Researchers in the Department of Biomedical Engineering have developed Double-Profile Intersection (DoPIo) elastography, which is an acoustic radiation force (ARF)-based ultrasound imaging... Read More
Rapid Production of Perovskite Films for Photovoltaic Solar Cells
18-0139 – Current methods for the deposition of perovskite inks require high temperature and pressure to produce large area films for photovoltaic (PV) applications at a commercially relevant scale. The present invention uses a novel solvent mixture in conjunction with an air knife to produce uniform perovskite films at room temperature. The solvent mixture components are selected to facilitate fast... Read More
Interconnection Layers for Perovskite-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells
18-0158 – Fullerene / SnO2-x interconnection layers for perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells are shown to improve power conversion efficiency while simplifying device fabrication. These interconnection layers obviate the need for sputtered ITO layers, and they form Ohmic contact with both the narrow band gap and wide band gap sub-cells of the tandem devices. This invention challenges previous... Read More
Metal Ion Doping of Perovskite Films
18-0169 – Addition of extrinsic metal ions is shown to induce n-type doping of polycrystalline perovskite films. The resulting polycrystalline films exhibit doping at the film surface and along grain boundaries. Addition of optimized amounts of metal ions lead to formation of p-n junctions within individual perovskite grains. The resulting lateral homojunction structure increases charge carrier... Read More
Ionic Fluorogels for Remediation of Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances from Water
19-0149 – This invention describes ionic fluorogel resins that remove per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) from water with high affinity and selectivity. The resin design relies on a fluorophilic resin matrix material that is decorated with ionic functional groups. The fluorophilic backbone selectively partitions PFAS into the resin, and the ionic functional groups sequester charged PFAS... Read More
Enhanced Virtual Crossmatch
20-0038 – In the field of organ transplant matching, UNC has developed algorithms using data-driven mathematical models to predict flow cytometric crossmatch outcomes. If the virtual crossmatch is determined to be likely positive, indicating likely reactivity between recipient and donor, the organ offer is typically declined and issued to another potential recipient. This process is lengthy and delays... Read More
Muscle Vibration Stimulator
19-0114 – This device provides vibration designed to stimulate skeletal muscle and sensory neurons during rehabilitation of orthopaedic injuries and disease (initially demonstrated in quadriceps and knees). The device is patient-portable, has a large contact area, provides localized effect, and is variably adjustable. UNC has also recently demonstrated that this device improves gait biomechanics... Read More
Advanced Disinfectant Formulations
18-0097 – The Water Institute at UNC has developed novel chemical disinfectant formulations to enhance inactivation of protozoan cysts and other chlorine-resistant pathogens with particular emphasis on improving water safety in emergencies and low and middle income settings. Based on the results of this work to date, UNC has developed at least three paths to rapidly achieving significant reduction in... Read More
Hogel-free Holography
18-0160 – UNC has developed a software simulation (novel algorithmic method) and benchmarking for production of holographic (3D) images in an augmented reality environment. Near-eye displays using holographic projection are emerging as an exciting display approach for virtual and augmented reality at high-resolution without complex optical setups — shifting optical complexity to computation. The UNC... Read More
Nanofibers for targeted treatment of aortic aneurysms
20-0042 – Background Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), occurs when there is an enlarged portion of the abdominal aorta, and accounts for approximately 10,000 deaths per year in the United States. Current treatments include surgical intervention or minimally invasive laparoscopic repair. However, the AAA can rupture, and the patient will not survive surgery or sometimes even reach the hospital. There are... Read More
Nanofibers for targeted treatment of pulmonary disease
20-0070 – Background Pulmonary hypertension is a progressive and severe condition with severe, and often fatal, consequences. Despite remarkable therapeutic advancements over the last thirty years, mortality rates remain as high as 40%. Current therapies largely target the major regulatory pathways involved in vascular tone. These therapies are associated with considerable limitations such as, a short... Read More
Assessment of Pulmonary Fibrosis Using Ultrasound Multiple Scattering
20-0036 – Pulmonary fibrosis affects is a progressive, inflammatory and fibro-proliferative lung disease and affects approximately 200,000 patients in the United States. The disease causes a change in the micro-architecture of the lung, such as thickening of the alveolar walls and the formation of patchy scars. Conventional uses of lung ultrasound in these patients is based on a standardized set of... Read More
Mouse: Human ACE2 Expression
20-0133 – Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the cellular entry receptor for many SARS-like coronaviruses. SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 bind and enter human cells via the ACE2 receptor. This mouse line expresses human ACE2 under the control of HFH4, a lung ciliated epithelial promoter. HFH4-hACE2-expressing mice are sensitized to infection by SARS-like coronaviruses when compared with wild-type... Read More
Improved Techniques for Quantitative MRI
19-0061 – Background Quantification of tissue properties, such as the T1 and T2 relaxation times, in the human body through quantitative magnetic resonance imaging, is desired for clinical applications and research areas. Compared to qualitative imaging techniques, quantitative imaging can provide more accurate and unbiased information of a patient and make it easier to objectively compare different... Read More
Smart Medical Imaging Protocols
17-0036 – Background Currently, a wide array of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols are pre-defined for different diseases. For example, in neurological diseases, there are protocols for epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, etc. Under each disease category, the protocols are further divided into pediatric or adult patients, and each protocol consists of a collection of MRI sequences aiming to... Read More
A red blood cell-mediated light-responsive platform for thrombolytics delivery
19-0138 – The red blood cell-mediated light-responsive platform is a novel drug delivery system that uses red blood cells to deliver thrombolytics with controlled release triggered by a specific wavelength of light. Thrombolytics, such as tPA and urokinase, have been used for the pharmacological removal of a thrombus for three decades. However, significant challenges have prevented the anticipated... Read More
Local delivery of deferoxamine to promote tendon healing
20-0021 – Background Hypovascularity of dense connective tissue limits its healing potential after injury. Because of this, surgically repaired tendons and other dense connective tissues heal slowly and often don’t retain the structural and mechanical integrity of healthy tissues. For example, rotator cuff repairs have surgical repair failure rates as high at 95%. Accelerating and/or improving the... Read More
A next generation FOLFOX for colorectal cancer and liver metastasis
20-0002 – FOLFOX is a combination of chemotherapy drugs, consisting of folinic acid (FnA), f-fluorouracil (5-Fu) and oxaplatin (OxP). The new generation of FOLFOX is comprised of targeted nano-formulation of Folox (FnA and OxP) and free 5-Fu, allowing for enhanced drug pharmacokinetics and therapeutic effect for the treatment of colorectal cancer and metastasis. FOLFOX has been used to treat... Read More
Synthetic adhesins for enhanced probiotic efficacy
20-0006 – Synthetic adhesin in probiotic delivery is a modular platform for the conjugation of targeting ligands to the surface of live therapeutic bacteria, allowing for more specific and enhanced attachment to live mammalian cells. It is known that the efficacy of therapeutic bacteria is dependent on the ability of the bacteria to interact with and adhere to specific host niches. However, current... Read More
Accelerated Acquisition of Diffusion MRI
20-0058 – At present, diffusion MRI (dMRI) techniques typically requires a lengthy acquisition time in various directions and scales. This is especially problematic in certain applications or measurements where the subject must remain relatively motionless in a scanner, such as in pediatric patients or patients that cannot remain still (e.g. patient with Parkinson’s disease). Therefore, any reduction... Read More
Retrospective Artifact Correction of MRI through Unsupervised Deep Learning
20-0060 – Structural MRI is highly susceptible to motion artifacts, which can be difficult to avoid, especially when the subject must remain relatively motionless in a scanner, such as in pediatric patients or patients that cannot remain still (e.g. patient with Parkinson’s disease). Currently, deep learning based retrospective MRI artifact correction can be employed to improve image quality. Deep... Read More
Novel affinity molecule that synergizes that immune checkpoint blockade therapy
20-0063 – BisCCL2/5i is a novel single domain antibody that binds and neutralizes both murine CCL2 and CCL5. The dual blockade of CCL2 and CCL5 signaling with BisCCL2/5i leads to metabolic reprogramming of tumor-associated macrophages, providing enhanced therapeutic effect to treat liver malignancies when in combination with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. It has been known that... Read More
Nano co-delivery of quercetin and alantolactone for colorectal cancer treatment
19-0065 – Quercetin (Q) and alantolactone (A) are two traditional Chinese medicines that have shown a wide spectrum of medical benefits, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. A micelle-based nano-formulation was used to encapsulate these two drugs in a unique ratio (Q:A = 1:4) and to achieve drug delivery to colorectal cancer site, providing optimal drug pharmacokinetics and synergistic... Read More
Multiple antigen-targeting T-cell immunotherapy for cancer treatment
19-0073 – The multiple antigen-targeting T-cell immunotherapy is a new T-cell therapy mediated by the expression of a novel antibody mimics that is able to simultaneously recognize two epitopes of the same antigens or two distinct antigens on the tumor cells, allowing for significant improvement on tumor cell capture and killing. Despite the remarkable clinical activity of adoptive therapy with... Read More
Fumarate prodrugs to treat or prevent schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders
19-0155 – Background The incidence of psychotic disorders is increasing worldwide. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that can become chronic, severe, and is often socially and occupationally disabling. Antipsychotic drugs are currently used to treat schizophrenia and other brain disorders like depression, dementia, and bipolar disorder. These drugs don’t work for approximately one third of... Read More
Composition of a Nanoparticle for Gene Delivery in Animals
09-0134 – A novel nanoparticle (NP) formulation that shows enhanced delivery of siRNA to its target cells has been developed. siRNA shows promise as a therapeutic; however, its delivery to its target tissue or cell is often a challenge. We have developed lipid calcium phosphate (LCP) NPs that efficiently deliver siRNAs to their targets. We have demonstrated the ability of these LCP NPs to deliver... Read More
Classifyiers for Tumor Phenotype based on DNA Copy Number Alterations
18-0018 – This technology is a method of using alterarions in DNA copy number to predict the phenotype of a breast cancer tumor. This is a significantly different approach to identifying tumor phenotype because it relies only on DNA-based data. This method is able to predict the estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, and HER2 status of breast cancer tumors. Additionally, this method... Read More
Method and Reagent for Decarboxylative Functionalization of Carboxylic Acids
19-0131 – A method and associated reagent for direct decarboxylative functionalization of aliphatic compounds via photo-induced hydrogen atom transfer has been developed. This method provides a new route for late-stage modification of natural products, biological compounds, and drugs through introduction of a xanthyl group that is further elaborated into a variety of derivatives. High reaction yields... Read More
Functionalized Poly-oxazoline Drug Delivery
19-0121 – A novel poly(2-oxazoline) based polymer functionalized with the condensed form of N, N-dimethylbiguanide (cBOx) has been developed. cBOx was synthesized via the condensation of N, N-dimethylbiguanide with the methyl ester side chain in poly (2-methoxycarboxyethyl-2-oxazoline) of the diblock copolymer composed of poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) and poly (2-methoxycarboxyethyl-2-oxazoline). The new... Read More
Nano-Puerarin Formulation for the regulation of the tumor microenvironment
19-0070 – Puerarin is one of several known isoflavones and it has been identified to effectively downregulate ROS production. The targeted nano-formulation delivers puerarin to tumor associated fibroblasts (TAFs) to deactivate tumor stromal microenvironment, allowing for facilitated chemotherapy and immunotherapy effect. It has been found that tumor stromal microenvironment serves as a physical... Read More
High Definition Cyclic Voltammetry Software
20-0028 – To accommodate recent and future advances in fast-scan cyclic voltammetry applications, researchers at UNC have developed High Definition Cyclic Voltammetry (HDCV). HDCV is an electrochemical software suite that includes data acquisition and analysis programs. The data collection program delivers greater experimental flexibility and better user feedback through live displays. It supports... Read More
Mouse: Ccdc8 KO
20-0031 – To determine the mechanism underlying the 3-M syndrome, we knocked out Ccdc8 in the C57BL/6J mouse strain by standard homologous recombination methods. Ccdc8 conditional and conventional mice were generated by gene targeting in ES cells from C57BL/6 background strain microinjected into albino-C57BL/6 blastocysts. Successful Ccdc8 knockout was confirmed by Southern, PCR and DNA sequence.... Read More
Luminal Bladder Cancer Cell Lines
18-0020 – We have generated a novel GEM (Genetically Engineered Murine) Model of luminal bladder cancer, called UPPL, by knocking out Pten and Trp53 in Upk3a expressing cells (Upk3a-CreERT2). Once bladder tumors formed, cell lines were generated that can be passaged in vitro as well as form tumors in immunocompetent B6 mice Related Publications:
Software for the Analysis of Electrocochleograms
20-0019 – The Electrocochleogram (ECochG) is an electrophysiologic signal acquired from the cochlea in response to sound or electrical stimulaton. This recorded signal is a mixture of potentials generated by hair cells and nerve activity. Although many companies make products which can acquire the ECochG signal, the interpretation of that signal is largely qualitative. Our investigators have developed... Read More
Synthetic Peptide Mimetic for the Treatment of Cancer and Hematalogical Disorders
19-0178 – Researchers at UNC have recently developed a cell penetrating, synthetic peptide for the treatment of heamtological cancer, sickle cell anemia and ß-thalassemia. This peptide exerts its therapeutic effect by disrupting the MBD2:NuRD complex in human cells. Recent studies have indicated that disrupting MBD2:NuRD complex formation can inhibit DNA methylation, making this complex a target for... Read More
Biologically Targeted Photo-Crosslinkable Nano-Patch to Prevent Postsurgical Peritoneal Adhesion
18-0101 – A biologically targeted, photo-crosslinkable nanopatch (pCNP) that prevents postsurgical adhesion has been developed. Peritoneal adhesion occurs in a majority of patients following abdominal surgery and can result in significant side effects and complications. Current strategies to minimize adhesions involve the use of nontargeted anatomical barriers that are either inefficient in protecting... Read More
Small Molecules for the Treatment of Central Nervous System Disorders
10-0118 – Small molecules that can bind dopamine receptor D2 have been developed for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The compounds developed have both agonist and antagonist activity and were proven effective in in vitro and in vivo models. Significantly, in hyperlocomotion mouse models, these compounds showed efficacy and potency without inducing catalepsy. These compounds can... Read More
Advanced Colonoscopy Imaging Technology
19-0148 – Colonoscopy reduces the rate of colorectal cancers following colonoscopy (interval cancers) by 50-60%. However, colonoscopy fails to find at least 20% of polyps, especially “flat” polyps. Polyps are missed because not all of the colon surface is effectively surveyed by current visualization systems or the polyps were seen but not effectively recognized by the current imaging technology. This... Read More
Hydrogen-bond Enriched Ion Exchange Membranes
19-0027 – The UNC innovation is polymer chemistry for synthesizing ion-selective membranes (anion and cation exchange membranes) that increase the number of hydrogen bonding sites inside the polymer. The addition of hydrogen bonding sites can dramatically increase the conductivity of the membrane without substantially changing its selectivity. This behavior is in contrast to conventional membranes,... Read More
Rate Sorted Entropy Coding
19-0098 – Entropy coding techniques such as arithmetic coding are well-known and commonly used in many compression algorithms including all modern video coding standards. UNC is developing rated sorted entropy coding that improves upon existing methods. The UNC approach can be applied to existing standardized video compression schemes that rely on arithmetic encoding without having to fully decode and... Read More
Assessing Lower Extremity Movement Quality
18-0003 – Clinical assessment tools can provide a simple and efficient method for identifying problems in the musculoskeletal system that may result in athletic injury. Sports medicine clinicians can often use the results of such assessment tools to develop effective intervention programs for injury prevention and rehabilitation. This innovation provides an objective and autonomous system to classify... Read More
Dynamic Vision Correction for In-focus Viewing of Real and Virtual Objects
18-0094 – The UNC invention provides a system that corrects dynamically for the focus of the real world surrounding a near-eye display of an augmented reality user, simultaneously with the internal display of augmented synthetic imagery, with an aim of completely replacing the user’s prescription eyeglasses. The ability to adjust focus for both real and virtual stimuli will be useful for a wide variety... Read More
Novel Estimation of Pose Configuration
18-0112 – It is well understood that high tracking rates are critical for AR/VR systems for immersive experiences, yet there currently exists no practical, portable system that comes close to next-generation tracking performance. This UNC innovation utilizes rolling shutter and radial distortion – two image features typically treated as camera artifacts to be corrrected – and leverages them to... Read More