Date of Award

11-28-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Applied Science

First Advisor

Alexandru Biris

Abstract

The highest cause of death and illness around the world is cancer, and the range of cancers continues to increase. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women today, mainly in older women (over 40 years), younger women can also be affected, especially those with a genetic predisposition. Early detection of breast cancer is needed in order to limit the risk of this disease and make significant improvements in the rate of cure. Combining clinical trials with bionanotechnology for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has received considerable attention in the last several years. Different nanomaterials have been used as tools for cancer targeting and treatment, among these materials is graphene (Gn). Graphene has an unusual chemical structure in which the sp2 hybridized carbon atoms are arranged in the two-dimensional structure of a honeycomb lattice to form a monolayer of carbon atoms. This arrangement of atoms gives graphene unique physicochemical properties that make graphene-based materials very useful for catalysis, sensors, and bioscience/biotechnologies, and more. Gn also shows promise for various biomedical applications, but the main struggle with graphene is how to trace and confirm its location inside the body or the cell when it is used for cell imaging or as a drug carrier. To address this problem, we have developed a fluorescent graphene nanomaterial with SP dye as a new approach to detect cancer cells.

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