(5bc) The Development of Corrosion Resistant Implants Using Biocompatible Films and the Effects of Different Silanes and Metal Treatments

            There are
three major endeavors of any university, which include research, teaching, and
service to others.  During my time at
Mississippi State University, I have had the opportunity to perform work in
each of these three different segments.

            My dissertation
project dealt with different methods of coating metal implant materials.  Currently, we are working on applying
chitosan, a biopolymer, to commercially pure titanium, grade 4, using four
different treatment combinations.  We
are investigating the effects of two metal surface treatments, passivation as
guided by ASTM F86 and a piranha treatment to increase the Ti-OH groups
present.  We are also investigating the
effects of two different silane treatments. 
We are using a silane commonly seen in biomedical journals,
3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane with a linker molecule of gluteraldehyde, and
triethoxsilylbutyraldehyde, to determine the effects on the binding of chitosan
to the surface.  X-Ray Photoelectron
Spectroscopy was used to document each of the steps in the reaction series, to
demonstrate that the theoretical reactions were occurring.  Atomic Force Microscopy was used to
determine the film thickness and film roughness.  Nanoindentation was use to determine the hardness of the film,
while Scratch Testing was used to determine the resistance to shearing of the
biopolymer.  In-Vitro biological
testing was performed to determine the cellular interactions with the
biocompatible film.

            I have had
many opportunities to assist the professors in Chemical Engineering and
professors in other departments and at other universities.  I have been a teaching assistant for the
Unit Operations laboratory, along with teaching both Unit Operations I and Unit
Operations II.  I also helped create,
and then subsequently taught, the simulation laboratory that accompanied
Mississippi State University's Process Design class.  As a graduate student, I was responsible for the operation and
maintenance of the X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) machine.  This operation has helped me meet many
different professors around the campus, the country, and the world.  I have also assisted companies within the
surrounding community.  I have worked on
projects with professors from Plant and Soil Sciences, the Center of Advanced
Vehicular Systems, and the University of Texas Health Science Center. 

            As an
assistant professor, I plan to continue to combine teaching, service to others,
and research.  I am interested in
teaching several different classes, in helping others as I have at Mississippi
State, and continuing my research in modifying the surface of metal implants in
order to promote osseointegration and prevent biocorrosion, using my experience
in the laboratory as a graduate student and my experience as an undergraduate
earning a minor in microbiology.