Hello, my research is on Using nanoporous gold as a potential electrically

triggered drug delivery device for epileptic seizures.

Epilepsy is basically a condition where the patient has recurrent and unprovoked
seizures. These seizures occur when excitatory neurons lose their normal resistance
to over firing, and that creates a positive feedback loop of excitation, causing
convulsions and loss of consciousness. This causes symptoms ranging from minor
damage such as bruising to major concerns like drowning and Sudden Unexpected
Death (SUDEP). To help visualize, the figure on the left shows normal brain activity
while the figure on the right shows the activity of someone going through a seizure.
According to Citizens United in Research for Epilepsy, approximately 3
million Americans and 65 million people worldwide currently live with epilepsy
and it is estimated that up to 50,000 deaths occur annually in the U.S. alone.
Patients suffering from epilepsy use anticonvulsants to stabilize neuron firing and to
prevent the seizure from spreading. However, patients must take these regularly for
long periods of time, some may need to take them for their entire lifetime.
Prolonged exposure to anticonvulsants is usually dangerous due to their debilitating
side effects that can be minor like nausea and weight or dangerous like the ones on
the slide, however taking anticonvulsants is necessary to prevent seizures for most
patients.
Read directly off slide.
We have 3 aims. #1 is to fabricate the np-Au film and characterize using scanning
electron microscopy. #2, evaluate the compatibility of np-Au with hippocampal rat
neurons that show symptoms of epilepsy and examine the effects caused by the npAu. #3, evaluate the different effects of a control group of neurons and our epileptic
neurons on np-Au.
To fabricate np-Au, we make a film of Au:Ag alloy by co-evaporating gold and silver
at a 65 to 35 ratio. By co-evaporating we have better control of film thickness and
alloy composition. Then to dealloy, we place the alloy into a solution of perchloric
acid and apply an anodic potential. Using perchloric acid gives us a finer porosity
due to the silver dissolution rate being greater than the gold diffusion rate. After
that we characterize using scanning electron microscopy and ImageJ.
For our second aim, we will be using hippocampal rat neurons to test combatibility with np-Au.
Well be using protocols shown in research from Kaech displayed in the figure on the side and
well be using fluorescence microscopy to assess any changes displayed by interfacing the
neurons with our film. Then well be looking for parameters such as topography and feature size
that will optimize the interface using information and techniques found in other research.
Our last aim is to analyze the morphological changes in the np-Au that has been exposed to the
signal of neurons undergoing seizure. To do this we use two cell cultures, one where the
neurons have epileptic properties and another that is a control group. Well record the electrical
activity using EEG and characterize the pore morphology using scanning electron microscopy.
Then we can determine the rate at which the electro-annealing caused by the neurons occurs
and use that for fine tuning the pores to develop the drug delivery device in later research.

Notes for questions: Cause of SUDEP currently unknown but researchers think that it could be caused by irregular
heart rhythm, suffocate from impaired breathing, fluid in the lungs, and being face down on the bedding.
the hippocampus's being one of the most electrically excitable parts of the brain. The hippocampus is often the focus of
epileptic seizures: hippocampal sclerosis is the most commonly visible type of tissue damage in temporal lobe epilepsy