Magister Scientiae - MSc / In electrochemical oxidation treatment of wastewater, the electrode material is an important parameter in optimizing oxidative electrochemical processes, since the mechanism and products of several anodic reactions are known to depend on the anode material. The electrochemical oxidation of benzaldehyde, nitrobenzene and m-cresol on bare boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode was investigated. Cytochrome c was then electrochemically immobilsed onto the functionalized BDD electrode by cyclic voltammetry. Oxidation and reduction reaction mechanism of each flavonoid was studied. There was one oxidation and reduction peaks for quercitin and catechin respectively, and two oxidation and two reduction peaks for rutin. The cytochrome c modified BDD electrode showed good sensitivity for all three flavonoids and low detection limits i.e. 0.42 to 11.24 M as evaluated at oxidation and reduction peaks, respectively. / South Africa

Magister Scientiae - MSc / In this research project, nanostructured composites based on Tin dioxide (SnO2) and Titanium dioxide (TiO2) with poly-4-styrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) doped polyaniline (PANI) conducting polymer has been investigated based on their structural, electrical and electrochemical properties. The synthesis of conducting polymers and their metal oxide or composites have been carried out chemically or electrochemically according to methods modified from the literature. Layer-by-layer construction of nano-Metal Oxide/PSSA doped polyaniline composites were successfully constructed by electroanalytical methods on the surface of a glassy carbon working electrode (GCE). / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / One of the most powerful aspects of conducting polymers is their ability to be nanostructured through innovative, synthetically manipulated, transformations, such as to tailor-make the polymers for specialized applications. In the exponentially increasing wide field of nanotechnology, some special attention is being paid to innovative hybrid dendrimer-core based polymeric smart materials. Star copolymers are a class of branched macromolecules having a central core with multiple linear polymer chains extending from the core. This intrinsic structural feature yields a unique 3D structure with extended conjugated linear polymer chains, resulting in star copolymers, which have higher ionic conductivities than their corresponding non-star conducting polymer counterparts. In this study an in-depth investigation was carried out into the preparation and characterization of specialized electronic smart materials. In particular, the preparation and characterization of novel conducting dendrimeric star copolymers which have a central poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimer core with conducting polypyrrole (PPy) chains extending from the core was carried out. This involved, first, the preparation of a series of dendrimeric polypyrrole poly(propylene imine) star copolymers (PPI-co-PPy), using generations 1 to 4 (G1 to G4) PPI dendrimer precursors. The experimental approach involved the use of both chemical and electrochemical synthesis methods. The basic procedure involved a condensation reaction between the primary amine of a diamino functional PPI dendrimer surface and 2-pyrrole aldehyde, to afford the pyrrole functionalized PPI dendrimer (PPI-2Py). Polymerization of the intrinsically contained monomeric Py units situated within the dendrimer backbone was achieved via two distinctly different routes: the first involved chemical polymerization and the second was based on potentiodynamic oxidative electrochemical polymerization. The star copolymers were then characterized using various sophisticated analytical techniques, in-situ and ex-situ. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HNMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to determine the structures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the morphology. Themogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study the thermal stability of the prepared materials. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) was used to study the structural make-up of phases, crystallinity and amorphous content. Hall effect measurements were carried out to determine the electrical conductivity of the chemically prepared star copolymers. The PPI-co-PPy exhibited improved thermal stability compared to PPI-2Py, as confirmed by TGA. SEM results showed that the surface morphology of the functionalized dendrimer and star copolymer differed. The surface morphology of the chemically prepared star copolymers resembled that of a flaky, waxy material, compared to the ordered morphology of the electrochemically grown star copolymers, which resembled that of whelk-like helixes. In the case the electrochemically grown star copolymers, SEM images recorded at higher magnifications showed that the whelk-like helixes of the star copolymers were hollow tubes with openings at their tapered ends, and had an average base diameter of 2.0 mu;m. X-ray diffraction analysis of the first generation star copolymer G1PPI-co-PPy revealed a broadly amorphous structure associated with PPy, and crystalline peaks for PPI. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were used to study and model the electrochemical reactivity of the star copolymer materials. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data showed that the G1PPI-co-PPy exhibited slightly higher ionic conductivity than pristine PPy in lithium perchlorate. The second generation star copolymer G2PPI-co-PPy electrochemically deposited on a platinum (Pt) electrode had a lower electrochemical charge transfer resistance compared to electrodeposited polypyrrole (PPy) on a Pt electrode, and bare Pt. The decrease in charge transfer resistance was attributed to an increase in the conjugation length of the polymer as a result of the linking of the highly conjugated PPy to the PPI dendrimer. Bode impedimetric analysis indicated that G2PPI-co-PPI was a semiconductor, with a maximum phase angle shift of 45.3° at 100 MHz. The star copolymer exhibited a 2- electron electrochemistry and a surface coverage of 99%. Results of Hall effect measurements showed that the star copolymer is a semiconducting material, having a conductivity of 0.7 S cm-1, in comparison to the 1.5 S cm-1 of PPy. To the best of my knowledge, these new star copolymers have not been reported in the open literature. Their properties make them potentially applicable for use in biosensors. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / A highly dispersive gold nanoparticle-dotted 4-nitrophenylazo functionalised graphene nanocomposite (AuNp/G/PhNO2) was successfully synthesised and applied in enhancing sensing platform signals. Three label-free electrochemical immunosensors for the detection of deoxynivalenol mycotoxin (DON) based on the systematic modification of glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) with AuNp/G/PhNO2 was effectively achieved. General electrochemical impedance method was employed for the sensitive and selective detection of DON in standard solutions and reference material samples. A significant increase in charge transfer resistance (Rct) of the sensing interface was observed due to the formation of insulating immune-complexes by the binding of deoxynivalenol antibody (DONab) and deoxynivalenol antigen (DONag). Further attachments of DONab and DONag resulted in increases in the obtained Rct values, and the increases were linearly proportional to the concentration of DONag. The three immunosensors denoted as GCE/PDMA/AuNp/G/PhNH2/DONab, GCE/Nafion/[Ru(bpy)3]2+/AuNp/G/PhNH2/DONab and GCE/Nafion/[Ru(bpy)3]2+/G/PhNH2/DONab have detection range of 6 – 30 ng/mL for DONag in standard samples. Their sensitivity and detection limits were 43.45 ΩL/ng and 1.1 pg/L; 32.14ΩL/ng and 0.3 pg/L; 9.412 ΩL/ng and 1.1 pg/L respectively. This result was better than those reported in the literature and compares reasonably with Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) results. The present sensing methodology represents an attractive alternative to the existing methods for the detection of deoxynivalenol mycotoxin and other big biomolecules of interest due to its simplicity, stability, sensitivity, reproducibility, selectivity, and inexpensive instrumentation. And they could be used to develop high-performance, ultra-sensitive electrochemiluminescence, voltammetric or amperometric sensors as well.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Indinavir is a potent and well tolerated protease inhibitor drug used as a component of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) of HIV/AIDS, which results in pharmacokinetics that may be favourable or adverse. These drugs work by maintaining a plasma concentration that is sufficient to inhibit viral replication and thereby suppressing a patient’s viral load. A number of antiretroviral drugs, including indinavir, undergo metabolism that is catalysed by cytochrome P450-3A4 enzyme found in the human liver microsomes. The rate of drug metabolism influences a patient’s response to treatment as well as drug interactions that may lead to life-threatening toxic conditions, such as haemolytic anaemia, kidney failure and liver problems. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) during HIV/AIDS treatment has been suggested to have a potential to reduce drug toxicity and optimise individual therapy. A fast and reliable detection technique, such as biosensing, is therefore necessary for the determination of a patient’s metabolic profile for indinavir and for appropriate dosing of the drugs. In this study biosensors developed for the determination of ARV drugs comprised of cysteamine self-assembled on a gold electrode, on which was attached 3-mercaptopropionic acid-capped palladium telluride (3-MPA-PdTe) or thioglycolic acid-capped palladium telluride (TGA-PdTe) quantum dots that are cross-linked to cytochrome P450-3A4 (CYP3A4) in the presence of 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride and N-hydroxysuccinimide. The quantum dots were synthesized in the presence of capping agents (3-MPA or TGA) to improve their stability, solubility and biocompatibility. The capping of PdTe quantum dots with TGA or 3-MPA was confirmed by FTIR, where the SH group absorption band disappeared from the spectra of 3-MPA-PdTe and TGA-PdTe. The particle size of the quantum dots (< 5 nm) was estimated from high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) measurements. Optical properties of the materials were confirmed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry which produced absorption iii bands at ~320 nm that corresponded to energy band gap values of 3 eV (3.87 eV) for TGAPdTe (3-MPA-PdTe) quantum dots. The electrocatalytic properties of the quantum dots biosensor systems were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) for which the characteristic reduction peak at 0.75 V was used to detect the response of the biosensor to indinavir. Results for indinavir biosensor constructed with 3-MPA-SnSe quantum dots are also reported in this thesis. The three biosensors systems were very sensitive towards indinavir; and gave low limits of detection (LOD) values of 3.22, 4.3 and 6.2 ng/mL for 3-MPA-SnSe, 3-MPA-PdTe and TGA-PdTe quantum dots biosensors, respectively. The LOD values are within the ‘maximum plasma concentration’ (Cmax) value of indinavir (5 - 15 ng/mL) normally observed 8 h after drug intake.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The aim of this study was to produce useful composite materials from fly ash, a major waste product of coal combustion from power plants. Polyaniline-fly ash (PANI-FA) composites were prepared by in situ polymerisation of aniline in the presence of Fly Ash (FA) by two slightly different methods. In one case polystyrene sulphonic acid (PSSA) was used as a stabilizer and in another case the starting materials (aniline and FA) were aged before oxidation. The aging procedure formed nanotubes that have cross-sectional diameters of 50-110 nm. The other procedure produced nanotubes with a diameter of 100-500 nm and the length of up to 10μm. The presence of metal oxides and silica in FA were responsible for the formation of nanorods in PANI-PSSA-FA.. The formation of the composites was confirmed by UV-Vis and FTIR. The UV-Vis showed maximum absorbance at 330-360 nm ( due to π-π* transition of benzoid rings) and 600-650 nm(due to charge transfer excitons of quinoid rings), which are characteristics of emaraldine base. The electrochemical analysis of the composites showed that the composites were conductive and electroactive. The Cyclic Voltammetry of PANI-PSSA-FA showed three redox couples which are characteristics of sulphonated PANI. The morphology of the composites was studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and showed that our methods gave composites with improved homogeneity as compared to other reported methods. Thermo Gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the presence of FA in the composites improves the thermal stability of the composites by up to 100 0C.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Amperometric sensors for Tenofovir, a model nucleotide/ nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor ARV drug, were studied based on the principle of ion-transfer electrochemistry at the membrane-stabilized oil/ water interface (O||W) in a four-electrode cell set-up. Solutions of the hydrophobic salts tetradodecylammonium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl) borate (ETH500), ethyl violet tetraphenylborate (EthVTPB), tetrabutylammonium tetraphenylborate (TBATPB), tetraphenylphosphnium tetraphenylborate (TPphTPB) and three ionic liquids (Methyltrioctylammonium bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide (IL1), 1-butyl-3- methylimdazolium bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide (IL3) and 1-propyl-3- methylimdazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (IL4)) in nitrobenzene (NB), 1,2- dichloroethane (DCE), and 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether (NPOE) were each tested as O-phases. The cyclic voltammograms of the resulting O||W interfaces in aq. Li2SO4 or aq. MgSO4 were compared with respect to noise, potential window, and other parameters. The three ILs were also tested as self-sufficient salts without a solvent medium. In the end, the ETH500/ DCE salt/ solvent pair was found to yield the best behaved polarizable O||W interface in aq. MgSO4. The analytical characteristics of the resulting sensors to tenofovir without (Ag|ETH500/DCE||) and with the dibenzo-18-crown-6 (Ag|ETH5000/DB18C6/DCE|| in the O-phase were studied with respect to the two pairs of peaks in the CV, namely the WO ion transfer peak and the reverse OW peak. Both sensors exhibited operational stability of 90 min. After consideration of reasonable S/N ratio and sample throughput rates, the scan rate of 25 mV/ s was used in subsequent signal interrogation with CV. The final potential windows were 0.95 V wide for Ag|ETH500 (10 mM)/ DCE|| in aq. MgSO4 (50 mM) and 0.70 V wide for Ag|ETH500 (10 mM)/ DB18C6 (50 mM)/ DCE|| in aq. MgSO4 (50 mM). From plots of peak currents versus square of scan rate, tenofovir diffusion coefficients of about 2.48 × 10-11 cm2/ s were estimated, which indicated diffusion through the supporting membrane as the rate limiting process. Based on WO ion transfer peaks, the first one exhibited a detection limit of about 5 M, a linear range of 15 – 100 M, and sensitivity of 7.09 nA M-1 towards tenofovir, whereas for the second one these were respectively 3 M, 6.32 nA M-1, and 9 – 100 M. In this way, a four-electrode amperometric detection of ion transfer process at liquid | liquid interface, both under simple and ionophore-facilitated mode, has been demonstrated as promising for analysis of tenofovir as a representative of the nucleotide/ nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor ARV drugs

The scientific objective of this research program was to determine the feasibility of manufacturing an ionic liquid-based supercapacitor that could operate at temperatures up to 220 °C. A secondary objective was to determine the compatibility of ionic liquids with other cell components (e.g. current collectors) at high temperature and, if required, consider means of mitigating any problems. The industrial motivation for the present work was to develop a supercapacitor capable of working in the harsh environment of deep offshore boreholes. If successful, this technology would allow down-hole telemetry under conditions of mechanical vibration and high temperature. The obstacles, however, were many. All supercapacitor components had to be stable against thermal decomposition up to T ≥ 220 °C. Volatile components had to be eliminated. If possible, the finished device should be able to withstand voltages greater than 4 V, in order to maximise the amount of stored energy. The internal resistance should be as low as possible. Side reactions, particularly faradaic reactions, should be eliminated or suppressed. All liquid components should be gelled to minimise leakage in the event of cell damage. Finally, any emergent problems should be identified.

Submitted by Jos? Henrique Henrique (jose.neves@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2018-06-26T00:47:56Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) eliziana_santana_gomes.pdf: 3970415 bytes, checksum: 2481c11516ababe53f6e97ce77e43efc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Martins Cruz (rodrigo.cruz@ufvjm.edu.br) on 2018-07-18T12:49:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) eliziana_santana_gomes.pdf: 3970415 bytes, checksum: 2481c11516ababe53f6e97ce77e43efc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-18T12:49:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) eliziana_santana_gomes.pdf: 3970415 bytes, checksum: 2481c11516ababe53f6e97ce77e43efc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / O estriol (C18H24O3, denominado E3) ? o principal esteroide estrog?nico produzido na gravidez. O uso do estriol ? comum para o tratamento da menopausa como alternativa ao 17?- estradiol, estrona ou a uma combina??o destes dois f?rmacos. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o perfil voltam?trico do estriol utilizando a voltametria c?clica e desenvolver uma metodologia para a sua determina??o em comprimidos e urina utilizando a voltametria de pulso diferencial (DPV) e o eletrodo de carbono v?treo modificado com um filme de polimetionina e cobalto. Os resultados mostraram que em solu??o de tamp?o fosfato a 0,1 mol L-1 (pH 7,0) o E3 oxidou irreversivelmente no potencial de +0,58V, apresentando uma boa defini??o do pico. A curva anal?tica para o E3 foi linear no intervalo de concentra??o de 0,60 ?mol L-1 ? 4,76 ?mol L-1 (R2 = 0,996) e 5,66 ?mol L-1 ? 9,90 ?mol L-1 (R2 = 0,994), com limites de detec??o e de quantifica??o iguais a 3,40x10-8 mol L-1 e 1,13 x 10-7 mol L-1, respectivamente. A precis?o foi avaliada atrav?s de an?lises voltam?tricas do estriol realizadas em um mesmo dia e em dias diferentes e apresentaram desvios padr?es relativos (RSD) inferiores a 5,0%, mostrando que o m?todo desenvolvido ? preciso. Os estudos sobre interferentes mostraram que as subst?ncias presentes nas amostras de comprimido (lactose, estearato de magn?sio e amido) ou urina (?cido ?rico, ?cido asc?rbico e ?cido c?trico) n?o interferiram de maneira significativa na determina??o do E3. Al?m disso, o m?todo desenvolvido foi comparado estatisticamente com um m?todo citado na farmacop?ia atrav?s do teste-t e do teste-F. Os resultados mostraram que os valores de t e F calculados foram menores do que os valores de t e F cr?ticos, indicando que n?o houve diferen?a estat?stica significativa entre os m?todos. A exatid?o do m?todo foi avaliada tamb?m por estudos de adi??o e recupera??o. As recupera??es do E3 variaram de 97,7 ? 100,9% para a formula??o farmac?utica e 99,0 ? 100,9% para a urina, indicando que n?o houve efeitos de interfer?ncia de matriz significativos e que o m?todo apresenta boa exatid?o. Desta forma, a valida??o da metodologia desenvolvida demonstrou que o m?todo proposto pode ser aplicado com sucesso na determina??o do E3 em medicamentos e urina humana. / Disserta??o (Mestrado) ? Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Ci?ncias Farmac?uticas, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, 2017. / The estriol (C18H24O3, named as E3) is the main estrogenic steroid produced during pregnancy. The E3 is used to treatment of menopause as an alternative for 17?-estradiol, estrone or a combination of both. The main goal of this work was to study the voltammetric profile of E3 using cyclic voltammetry in order to develop a methodology for its determination in tablets and urine using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and the glass carbon electrode modified with a film of polymethionine and cobalt. The results showed that the E3 was oxidized at + 0.58V in a 0.1 molL-1 phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0), giving a good peak definition. The analytical curve for E3 was linear in the concentration range of 0.60 ?molL-1 ? 4.76 ?molL-1 (R2 = 0.996) and 5.66 ?molL-1 ? 9.90 ?molL- 1 (R2 = 0.994 with lmits of detection and quantification of 3.40x10-8 molL-1 and 1.13x10-7 molL-1, respectively. The precision was evaluated by recording voltammograms of E3 on the same or different day. The relative standard deviations were lower than 5.0% for each test, indicating that the developed method has good precision. The interfering study showed that the tested substances do not interfered significantly in the determination of E3, as for both tablets (lactose, magnesium stearate and starch) or urine test (uric acid, ascorbic acid and citric acid). Furthermore, the developed method was compared to the suggested method from American Pharmacopoeia using the t-test and the F-test. The results showed that the calculated values of t and F were lower than their critical values, indicating no significant statistical difference between the methods. The accuracy of the method was also evaluated by studies of addition and recovery. The recovery of E3 ranged from 97.7 ? 100.9% for the pharmaceutical formulation and 99.0 ? 100.9% for the urine, indicating no significant effects of matrix interference and that the developed method presented accuracy. Thus, the validation of the developed methodology demonstrated that the proposed method can be applied successfully to the determination of E3 in drugs and human urine.

A remoção de íons Cu²+ de soluções ácidas diluídas é investigada utilizando eletrodos de Pt recobertos com polipirrol previamente reduzido (PPl) e eletrodos de carbono vítreo reticulado (CVR). O estudo tem por objetivo a redução de Cu²+ sobre ppl via reação espontânea e eletroredução a -0,40 V vs. eletrodo de calomelano saturado (ECS), e a eletroredução sobre CVR. Nestes experimentos, a concentração de íons Cu²+ remanescentes na solução é monitorada por voltametria de varredura linear ou por voltametria potenciodinâmica em um ultramicroeletrodo de platina (UME). Também o monitoramento por espectrometria de absorção atômica (EAA) foi realizado nos processos de remoção por eletrodeposição. Foi mostrado que o CVR é o material mais adequado para este fim. O cobre depositado sobre platina em meio sulfúrico exibe uma, duas ou três ondas de redissolução anódica, que correspondem respectivamente à oxidação de uma camada de cobre adsorvida sobre a platina, à oxidação de um filme fino depositado sobre a camada adsorvida e à oxidação do depósito de cobre denso que cresce sobre o filme fino. Este comportamento foi evidenciado por ciclos potenciodinâmicos impostos a um UME de disco de Pt na faixa de concentrações de Cu²+ entre 10-5 e 10-4 M em meio sulfúrico. / The removal of CU²+ ions from dilute acidic solutions is studied at Pt electrodes recovered with electrically neutral polypyrrole and at reticulated vitreous carbon electrodes, in the presence of dissolved oxygen. The aim is to remove Cu²+ ions by reduction on neutra I polypyrrole both through the spontaneous reaction and by its electroreduction at -0.40 V vs. a saturated calomel electrode, and by electroreduction on reticulated vitreous carbono In these experiments the concentration of the Cu²+ ions remaining in the solution is monitored by linear scan voltammetry or by potentiodynamic voltammetry at a Pt ultramicroelectrode. Monitoring of Cu²+ ions by atomic absorption spectrometry was also performed in the electroreduction processes at neutral polypyrrole and reticulated vitreous carbono It has been shown that the best efficiency results were found for reticulated vitreous carbono Copper electrodeposited on Pt in sulphuric medium may exhibit one, two or three anodic stripping waves, which correspond respectively to the oxidation of a bulk copper deposit, a thin copper film and a copper monolayer adsorbed on pt. This behaviour has been evidenced by potentiodynamic cycles imposed to a Pt disk ultramicroelectrode in the 10-5 to 10-4 M Cu²+ concentration range in sulfuric media.