Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
Degree Granting Department
Medical Sciences
Major Professor
Diane Allen-Gipson, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Stephanie Zhou, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Mark Kindy, Ph.D.
Keywords
Bixin, E-cigarette, JUUL, Mitochondrial stress, Nanoprecipitation, Polycaprolactone
Abstract
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have increased in popularity and usage over the last few decades. E-cigs are generally composed of a liquid containing nicotine flavoring chemicals, a battery, a vaporization chamber, and a coil that heats the liquid upon inhalation of the mouthpiece. E-cigs were initially introduced as a healthy alternative to cigarette smoking. However, recent research has demonstrated that e-cigs elicit comparable cytotoxic and dangerous effects to conventional cigarettes. Bixin has been introduced in recent research as a candidate for therapeutic applications due to its innate anticancer, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory characteristics. Nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged over the past few decades as a powerful tool for therapeutic drug delivery, offering a potential method for treating various conditions and diseases. Bixin NPs (BXNPs) show promise as a viable method for treating e-cig-induced damage due to the inherent properties of bixin and the advantages of using NPs over conventional medicinal interventions. This study conducted MTT assays to analyze how cell mitochondrial activity responds to JUUL exposure and how subsequent bixin NP treatment can mitigate this damage. The data demonstrate that differing nicotine JUUL concentrations and flavors induce varying responses in cells. While the BXNPs did not elicit a therapeutic response, the cell reaction to BXNP treatment varied according to the nicotine concentration of JUULs. This study lays the groundwork for future experimental endeavors to investigate how the dose-dependent kinetics of BXNPs can more effectively attenuate JUUL–induced mitochondrial stress and how chronic exposure to JUULs impacts cell responses over time.
Scholar Commons Citation
Claymore, Sophia R., "Utilization of Bixin-Loaded Polycaprolactone Nanoparticles to Ameliorate E-Cigarette-Induced Damage to Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells" (2025). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10851
