Nancy Dankwah

First Name: 
Nancy
Last Name: 
Dankwah
Mentor: 
Dr. Brian Meckes
Abstract: 
Degenerative arthritis, also known as osteoarthritis, is caused by the deterioration of the bone cells (osteocytes) and cartilage cells (chondrocytes), causing joint pain and inflammation. Specifically, osteoarthritis causes the decay of the bone and cartilage interface, resulting in new interactions between the two cell types. Due to the lack of methods available to study contact-dependent cell-cell communication, there is some uncertainty behind the effects of these interactions and its contribution to osteoarthritis. To further understand how the disease progresses, we are synthesizing a photolabile silane-coupled glass substrate and testing it against our previous photocleavable gold conjugated o-Nitrobenzyl substrate. Upon completion of this research, we expect to find if the glass substrate functions similarly, if not better, than our current substrate and provides a stable environment for hMSC and other cell proliferation.
Poster: 
Synthesis of Photoresponsive Self-Assembled Monolayers for Controlling Cell-Cell Interactions
Year: 
2021