Former CCEW Technologies/Projects
Fall of 2007 Engaged Technologies
Water Repellant Cotton Fabric Composite
Inventor(s):
Edgar O'Rear III
Description
Using nanotechnology, a research team led by Edgar O’Rear III, Francis W. Winn professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, has developed a cotton fabric that is water repellent while still retaining its most desirable features – softness, comfort and breathability.
Individual fibers of white cotton fabric are covered with an ultra-thin, virtually imperceptible coating that makes the fabric hydrophobic yet still comfortable. A water droplet placed on top of a flat swatch will sit over the fabric for hours without being absorbed.
Potential applications for the hydrophobic cotton include clothing – particularly outerwear – as well as tents, cardboard boxes and other packing material, bed and table linens and disposable diapers.
Alleviation of Chronic Pain with Glutamate Inhibition
Inventor(s):
Ken Miller
Description
Chronic pain is a major complication of arthritis and other disorders but is difficult to treat for long periods of time. Persistent stimulation of sensory nerves in the area of inflammation is one of the contributors to chronic pain. One stimulator of sensory nerve fibers is glutamate. Sensory fibers release glutamate causing sensitization of surrounding sensory nerves producing the feeling of pain.
The inventors have discovered that during experimental arthritis in rats, sensory nerve cells increase their production of glutaminase causing increased amounts of glutamate to be produced. Local administration of glutaminase inhibitors into the inflammatory field causes a reduction in glutamate, reducing pain responses for days.
Retinal Disease Prevention
Inventor(s):
James McGinnis
Description
The technology proposes the use of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles for neuronal protection of retinal cells from damage due to reactive oxygen species. The technology is initially proposed as a preventative treatment for age-related macular degeneration and light-induced retinal degeneration. It is further proposed as a potential treatment for a variety of diseases and conditions attributable, in whole or in part, to apoptosis induced by reactive oxygen species.
These conditions include other eye diseases, such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy as well as other diseases and conditions, such as strokes, cardiac infarction, pulmonary fibrosis, neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s), and diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system.
