Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Retinitis Pigmentosa is a degenerative eye disease that can eventually lead to blindness. This disease is caused by light desensitization of retinal cells resulting in a lack of neural impulses from the eye to the brain to form an image. Scientists are attempting to treat this condition by bringing light sensitivity back to retinal cells. They are accomplishing this by transfecting the cell with light activated channel proteins called opsins. However, researchers are facing a difficulty using these opsins as the proteins can only be activated by intense narrow band light that can damage cells further. Our objective was to create an opsin that can be activated by low intensity ambient white light that would not bring further damage to the retina. We accomplished this by combining three narrow band opsins into a single complex in hopes of creating a protein that can be activated at non damaging light levels.
Publication Date
12-1-2015
Language
English
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Cervenka, Gregory, "IMPLEMENTATION OF BROAD BAND AMBIENT LIGHT ACTIVATED OPSINS TO TREAT NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES IN RETINAL CELLS" (2015). 2015 Fall Honors Capstone Projects. 5.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_fall2015/5