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

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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