Heat shock protein (HSP)27 is traditionally described as an intracellular chaperone and signaling molecule, but growing evidence suggests it is released from immune cells where it plays an anti-inflammatory role during atherogenesis. Previously, the O’Brien lab found that overexpression of HSP27 led to augmented HSP27 serum levels in female apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE-/-) mice, attenuated atherogenesis, and inhibited macrophage foam cell formation via physical binding with scavenger receptor (SR)-A. However, the precise mechanism of atheroprotection remained elusive. This thesis sought to ascertain the mechanism(s) by which HSP27 prevents foam cell formation, and determine if SR-A, a key receptor involved in the uptake of lipid into macrophages, plays an important role in HSP27-mediated atheroprotection. Pre-treatment of human macrophages with recombinant HSP27 (rHSP27) inhibited acytelated low density lipoprotein (acLDL) binding and uptake independent from receptor competition effect. Reduction in uptake was associated with attenuation of expression of SR-A mRNA, total protein, and cell surface expression. To explore the signaling mechanism by which HSP27 modulated SR-A expression it was hypothesized that nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a major regulator of many atherosclerosis gene programs, is altered by extracellular HSP27. Indeed, rHSP27 markedly activated NF-kB signaling in macrophages. Using an inhibitor of NF-kBsignaling there was an attenuation of rHSP27-induced inhibition of SR-A gene and protein expression, as well as lipid uptake, suggesting that SR-A expression is regulated by NF-kB activation. Lastly, to investigate if SR-A is required for HSP27-mediated atheroprotection in vivo, ApoE-/- and ApoE-/-SR-A-/- mice fed a high fat diet were treated with rHSP25, the mouse orthologue of HSP27, or PBS for 3 weeks. While rHSP25 therapy equally reduced serum cholesterol levels in the mouse cohorts, aortic atherogenesis, assessed using en face and sinus cross-sectional analyses, was attenuated in ApoE-/- mice but not ApoE-/-SR-A-/- mice. In conclusion, rHSP27 inhibits foam cell formation by downregulating SR-A expression. This effect may be associated with NF-kB activation. Reductions in atherosclerotic burden by rHSP27 require SR-A, and are independent of changes in serum cholesterol levels, highlighting the importance of macrophage lipid uptake in atherogenesis. Results presented in this thesis demonstrate that SR-A is a major target for HSP27 atheroprotection in the vessel wall, and provide an impetus for further studies that investigate the potential therapeutic value of HSP27.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T14:49:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1613275 bytes, checksum: 00b0097dfdb9c99181e93e899c5d60df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Recent years have seen a significant increase in demand for starches with specific properties, leading to the modification of these properties in order to get ideal for your application. The objective of this study was to obtain information about the properties of starch from avocado seed cv. "Butter" and submit it to the modification by acetylation and cross-linking, to provide rheological characteristics applicable in obtaining food. The native starch showed starch content of 74.47 % in the physical-chemical analysis and performance of the extraction process used in 11.36%. The degree of substitution (GS) of native starch by acetylation was 0.007 and 0.006 for cross-linking. The native starch granules and had modified oval and circular, their dimensions ranging from 26 to 26.34 μm for the smaller diameter and 35.75 to 36.85 μm for the larger diameter. The pattern of crystallinity shown by X-ray diffraction was type C. The swelling power and solubility at temperatures 75, 85 and 95 °C was maximum for the native starch and modified by acetylation in relation to cross-linking. The changes reduced the ability of native starch hydrophilic and hydrophobic increased their capacity. The native starch gel showed an opaque folder, and with a tendency to retrogradation, modified with acetic anhydride showed no difference compared to the native whereas modification by cross-linking improved the clarity of the folder and decreased the tendency to retrogradation. Stability to freezing and thawing all samples released water in the first cycle, but with each passing day there was a decrease in syneresis. The acetylated starch did not differ from native in the analysis of viscosity has low viscosity and a greater tendency to retrogradation. The starch is modified by cross-linking showed efficacy by introducing cross-links in native starch granule and its peak viscosity was well below the value obtained in native, just had a lower tendency to retrogradation. In Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was an initial decrease in temperature for starch modified by cross-linking, and all samples did not differ significantly in peak temperature. / Nos últimos anos houve um aumento expressivo na procura por amidos com propriedades específicas, levando à modificação dos mesmos a fim de obter propriedades ideais para sua aplicação. O objetivo deste trabalho foi obter informações a respeito das propriedades do amido da semente de abacate cv. Manteiga e submetê-lo à modificação por acetilação e cross-linking, a fim de oferecer características reológicas aplicáveis na obtenção de produtos alimentares. O amido nativo apresentou teor de amido de 74,47 % na análise físico-química e rendimento para o processo de extração utilizado de 11,36 %. O grau de substituição (GS) do amido nativo por acetilação foi de 0,007 e por cross-linking de 0,006. Os grânulos de amido nativo e modificado apresentaram formato oval e circular, suas dimensões variam de 26 a 26,34 μm para o diâmetro menor e de 35,75 a 36,85 μm para o diâmetro maior. O padrão de cristalinidade mostrado por difratometria de raios-X foi do tipo C. O poder de intumescimento e a solubilidade nas temperaturas 75, 85 e 95 ºC foi máxima para o amido nativo e modificado por acetilação em relação ao cross-linking. As modificações reduziram a capacidade hidrofílica do amido nativo e aumentaram a sua capacidade hidrofóbica. O gel do amido nativo apresentou uma pasta opaca e com tendência a retrogradação, a modificação com anidrido acético não apresentou diferença em relação ao nativo enquanto que, a modificação por cross-linking melhorou a claridade da pasta e diminuiu a tendência a retrogradação. Na estabilidade ao congelamento e descongelamento todas as amostras liberaram água no primeiro ciclo, mas com o passar dos dias houve uma diminuição da sinérese. O amido acetilado não divergiu do nativo na análise de viscosidade apresentando baixa viscosidade e maior tendência a retrogradação. O amido modificado por cross-linking apresentou eficácia com a introdução de ligações cruzadas no grânulo de amido nativo e seu pico de viscosidade foi bem abaixo do valor obtido no nativo, logo teve menor tendência a retrogradação. Na Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (DSC) houve uma diminuição da temperatura inicial para o amido modificado por cross-linking, sendo que todas as amostras analisadas não diferiram significativamente na temperatura de pico.

Heat shock protein (HSP)27 is traditionally described as an intracellular chaperone and signaling molecule, but growing evidence suggests it is released from immune cells where it plays an anti-inflammatory role during atherogenesis. Previously, the O’Brien lab found that overexpression of HSP27 led to augmented HSP27 serum levels in female apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE-/-) mice, attenuated atherogenesis, and inhibited macrophage foam cell formation via physical binding with scavenger receptor (SR)-A. However, the precise mechanism of atheroprotection remained elusive. This thesis sought to ascertain the mechanism(s) by which HSP27 prevents foam cell formation, and determine if SR-A, a key receptor involved in the uptake of lipid into macrophages, plays an important role in HSP27-mediated atheroprotection. Pre-treatment of human macrophages with recombinant HSP27 (rHSP27) inhibited acytelated low density lipoprotein (acLDL) binding and uptake independent from receptor competition effect. Reduction in uptake was associated with attenuation of expression of SR-A mRNA, total protein, and cell surface expression. To explore the signaling mechanism by which HSP27 modulated SR-A expression it was hypothesized that nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a major regulator of many atherosclerosis gene programs, is altered by extracellular HSP27. Indeed, rHSP27 markedly activated NF-kB signaling in macrophages. Using an inhibitor of NF-kBsignaling there was an attenuation of rHSP27-induced inhibition of SR-A gene and protein expression, as well as lipid uptake, suggesting that SR-A expression is regulated by NF-kB activation. Lastly, to investigate if SR-A is required for HSP27-mediated atheroprotection in vivo, ApoE-/- and ApoE-/-SR-A-/- mice fed a high fat diet were treated with rHSP25, the mouse orthologue of HSP27, or PBS for 3 weeks. While rHSP25 therapy equally reduced serum cholesterol levels in the mouse cohorts, aortic atherogenesis, assessed using en face and sinus cross-sectional analyses, was attenuated in ApoE-/- mice but not ApoE-/-SR-A-/- mice. In conclusion, rHSP27 inhibits foam cell formation by downregulating SR-A expression. This effect may be associated with NF-kB activation. Reductions in atherosclerotic burden by rHSP27 require SR-A, and are independent of changes in serum cholesterol levels, highlighting the importance of macrophage lipid uptake in atherogenesis. Results presented in this thesis demonstrate that SR-A is a major target for HSP27 atheroprotection in the vessel wall, and provide an impetus for further studies that investigate the potential therapeutic value of HSP27.

L'une des stratégies mise en œuvre pour améliorer la prise en charge thérapeutique des patients concerne le développement d'outils diagnostiques sensibles et spécifiques. Les aptamères sont des oligonucléotides artificiels obtenus par SELEX avec une très haute affinité ainsi qu'une excellente spécificité pour leurs cibles. L'immobilisation de ces motifs de reconnaissance moléculaire à la surface de nanomatériaux tels que des nanoparticules d'or (AuNPs), dont les propriétés optiques et électroniques sont uniques, permet d'amplifier le signal généré par l'interaction du ligand avec sa cible. Deux systèmes de biosensing ont été élaboré en fonctionnalisant des AuNPs avec des aptamères, l'un dirigé contre la thrombine et le second dirigé contre une marque épigénétique portée par une protéine histone. La réduction des sels d'or aurique précurseurs a été réalisée en présence de PEG4 et a conduit à l'obtention d'une population homodisperse de AuNPs sphériques d'un diamètre moyen de 14 nm et présentant une isotropie de taille et de forme. Ces AuNPs ont ensuite été fonctionnalisées par des bras espaceurs de longueur variable constitués d'unités tétraéthylène glycol successives reliées entre elles par des ponts éthers ou triazoles. L'acide lipoique a été utilisé comme motif d'ancrage à la surface des AuNPs via une liaison covalente Au-S et a été couplé aux différents bras espaceurs via une réaction de Steglich. Les linkers étaient porteurs d'un groupement terminal azoture afin de réaliser le couplage par chimie-click avec les aptamères. La stratégie de détection de la thrombine utilisait les propriétés de quenching de fluorescence des AuNPs alors que la détection de l'histone était colorimétrique et mettait à profit l'effet de résonance plasmonique de surface des nanoparticules d'or. / Improving patients therapeutic care needs the development of sensitive and specific diagnostic tools. Aptamers are synthetic oligonucleotides obtained by SELEX with a very high affinity and excellent specificity for their targets. Grafting of these molecular recognition patterns onto nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles (GNPs), which unique optical and electronic properties, can amplify the signal induce by the interaction between the ligand and its target. Two biosensing systems have been developed by GNP functionalization with aptamers, one is directed against thrombin and the second against an epigenetic mark carried by a histone protein. Gold precursors was reduced in the presence of PEO4 and led to a homodisperse population of spherical GNP with an average diameter of 14 nm and an isotropy of size and shape. GNP were functionalized with tetraethylene glycol units interconnected by ether or triazoles bridges as a linker. Lipoic acid was used as an anchor moiety onto gold surface via a covalent Au-S bond and was coupled to the spacer through a Steglich reaction. The linkers were functionalized with an azide group to perform the coupling with aptamers by click chemistry. The thrombin sensing strategy used the fluorescence quenching properties of GNPs while the histone detection involved the gold nanoparticle plasmon resonance surface effect.

La surexploitation des ressources de la planète est aujourd’hui une problématique de premier ordre, et fait du remplacement des sources non renouvelables, d'énergie et de matières premières, l’un des défis majeurs du XXIe siècle. Dans cet objectif, les lignines, par leur disponibilité et leur biocompatibilité, apparaissent comme l’une des alternatives aux ressources fossiles. C’est dans ce contexte que le Laboratoire PEIRENE a décidé de mener ce travail de thèse portant sur le développement de nouveaux matériaux photosensibles à base de lignines modifiées. Dans ce but, trois lignines d’origines différentes ont été acétylées. Leur étude par spectroscopie RPE a révélé que le blocage de leurs fonctions antioxydantes augmente considérablement la quantité d’espèces réactives de l’oxygène qu’elles sont capables de générer sous irradiation lumineuse, permettant ainsi d’envisager l’utilisation de ce biopolymère modifié dans de nombreux domaines tels que le traitement photodynamique antimicrobien. Afin de les rendre hydrodispersibles et d’élargir ainsi leur champ d’applications, ces matériaux aux propriétés prometteuses ont été mis sous forme de nanoparticules puis, leur comportement photosensible a été lui aussi évalué par spectroscopie RPE. Il a ainsi été démontré qu’une fois dispersées dans l’eau sous la forme de nanoparticules, les lignines acétylées étaient toujours capables de produire de l’oxygène singulet sous irradiation lumineuse. Cette activité, qui n’a pas encore été reportée dans la littérature à notre connaissance, reste cependant assez restreinte et nécessite donc d’être améliorée. Afin d’élargir le domaine du spectre solaire permettant leur activation, un photosensibilisateur a par ailleurs été associé à ces nano-objets par encapsulation et par greffage covalent. L’ensemble des résultats découlant de ces travaux permettent d’envisager le développement de systèmes à base de nanoparticules de lignines acétylées dans de nombreux domaines, notamment pharmaceutique et phytosanitaire. / The overexploitation of the planet's resources is nowadays a major problem and makes the replacement of non-renewable sources of energy and raw materials, one of the major challenges of the XXIe century. For this purpose, lignins, by their availability and their biocompatibility, appear as one of the alternatives to fossil resourcesIn this context, the PEIRENE Laboratory decided to carry out this PhD work on the development of new photosensitive materials based on modified lignins. For this purpose, three lignins from different origin were acetylated. Their study by EPR spectroscopy revealed that blocking their antioxidant functions considerably increases the quantity of reactive oxygen species they are able to generate under light irradiation. Thus it is possible to envisage the use of this modified biopolymer in many areas such as antimicrobial photodynamic therapy. In order to make them water-dispersible and thus to widen their field of applications, these materials with promising properties were put in the form of nanoparticles. Their photosensitive behavior has been also valuated by EPR spectroscopy. It has been demonstrated that once dispersed in water in the form of nanoparticles, the acetylated lignins were still capable of producing singlet oxygen under light irradiation. This activity, which has not yet been reported in the literature to our knowledge, however, remains quite limited and therefore needs to be improved. In order to widen the range of the solar spectrum allowing their activation, a photosensitizer has also been associated with these nano-objects by encapsulation and covalent grafting. The results of these studies make possible to envisage the development of systems based on acetylated lignins nanoparticles in in many field, in particular pharmaceutical and phytosanitary.

Acetylated polyamines, N 1 - and N 8 -acetylspermidine, are key intermediates in polyamine metabolism. Hexamethylenebisacetamide (HMBA) is a synthetic polyamine derivative known to induce in vitro biochemical and morphological differentiation of murine and human tumor cell lines. Deacetylation of HMBA and/or its metabolite N-acetyl-1,6-diaminohexane (NADAH) has been suggested to be catalyzed by N 8 -acetylspermidine deacetylase, a cytoplasmic enzyme involved in polyamine metabolism. The present investigation is focused on (1) the effect of N 1 - and N 8 -acetylspermidines, HMBA and NADAH on differentiation in Cloudman S91 melanoma cells, and (2) the effect of 7-[N-(3-aminopropyl)amino]heptan-2-one (APAH), a N 8 -acetylspermidine deacetylase inhibitor, on the effects of N 8 -acetylspermidine, HMBA, and NADAH on differentiation in Cloudman S91 melanoma cells. The biochemical signs of differentiation were measured as melanin content (absorbance at 475 nm) and tyrosinase activity (release of 3 H 2 O from 3 H-tyrosine) per μg protein. α-Melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) was used as a positive control. After 4 days of treatment, MSH at 100 nM raised the melanin to 293% of control (p < 0.05) and tyrosinase activity to 550% of control (p < 0.05). Spermidine did not produce any significant effect on these parameters in S91 cells. N 1 -acetylspermidine increased tyrosinase activity only at higher concentrations (100 and 1000 μM). However, 24-hour treatment of N 8 -acetylspermidine produced a dose dependent differentiation of S91 cells. At 10 −4 M, N 8 -acetylspermidine increased melanin by 85% and tyrosinase activity by more than 150% of control (p < 0.05). APAH alone had moderate effect on differentiation but potentiated and prolonged the effects produced by N 8 -acetylspermidine. HMBA decreased both melanin and tyrosinase activity in a dose dependent manner. After 4 days of treatment, 3 mM HMBA reduced melanin to 60% of control (p < 0.05) and tyrosinase activity to 4% of control (p < 0.05). NADAH is more active than HMBA. APAH was able to reduce the effects of HMBA (but not those of NADAH) on the parameters of differentiation. The results from the present study suggest that N 8 -acetylspermidine and HMBA have opposite effects on differentiation of S91 cells. The inability of APAH to counter NADAH-mediated decrease in tyrosinase activity suggests that APAH may be blocking the deacetylation of NADAH to an inactive metabolite.

The increasing awareness of sustainability motivates the development of building materials from renewable resources. The requirements of wood-based products with improved durability, for example, an enhanced liquid repellence, is still a challenge. The aim of this thesis is to develop and study concepts to functionalize wood surfaces to obtain superhydrophobicity or superamphiphobicity, i.e. extreme liquid repellence of both water and oils. Birch and acetylated birch veneer samples were surface-modified by hydrophobized silicone nanofilaments. Specifically, birch samples surface-modified by fluorinated silicone nanofilaments (F-SMB) showed superamphiphobicity, which repelled water, ethylene glycol and hexadecane with static contact angles greater than 150° and roll-off angles lower than 10°. Birch and acetylated birch samples surface-modified by non-fluorinated silicone nanofilaments (SMB and SMAB) showed superhydrophobicity with static contact angles greater than 160° towards water, even for samples prepared using the shortest silicone nanofilaments reaction time of 1 h. In liquid uptake measurements submerging the F-SMB in water, ethylene glycol and hexadecane, a superamphiphobic plastron effect was observed which indicates that the wood surface was in Cassie-Baxter state. The plastron reduced the liquid uptake rate and extent depending on the interactions (diffusion and solubility) between the liquid and the silicone nanofilaments. The F-SMB showed good self-cleaning properties towards water and hexadecane. In multicycle Wilhelmy plate measurements, the SMB showed a lower water uptake than that of the acetylated samples, while the SMAB showed the lowest water uptake, i.e. a pronounced increased water resistance, due to a combined effect of acetylation and surface modification. In addition, the SMB exhibited more color change than the SMAB, which was caused by the release of hydrochloric acid during the surface modification process. / Den ökande medvetenheten kring hållbarsamhällsutvecklingmotiverarutveckling avbyggmaterial från förnybara resurser. Kraven på träbaserade produkter med förbättrad beständighet, exempelvisennödvändig vätskeavvisandeförmåga, är fortfarande en utmaning.Syftet med dennaavhandling äratt utveckla och studera koncept för attfunktionalisera träytorför att uppnåsuperhydrofobicitet ochsuperamfifobicitet, dvs en extrem vätskerepellerande egenskap för både vatten och oljor.Björk-och acetyleradebjörkfanérproverytmodifierades med hydrofobiserad silikon-nanofilament. Specifikt visade björk ytmodifierademedfluorerade silikon-nanofilament (F-SMB) superamfifobicitet, som repelleradevatten, etylenglykol och hexadekan med kontaktvinklar större än 150° och avrullningsvinklar lägre än 10°. Björk-och acetyleradebjörkproverytmodifierademedicke-fluorerade silikon-nanofilament (SMB och SMAB) visade superhydrofobicitet med kontaktvinklar större än 160° förvatten, även förprover framställda medkortast reaktionstid på 1 timme.Vid vätskeupptagningsmätningargenom att sänka F-SMB i vatten, etylenglykol och hexadekanobserverades en plastroneffekt som indikerade att träytan var i Cassie-Baxter-tillstånd. Plastronen minskade F-SMB vätskeupptagningshastighet och -nivåberoende på växelverkan(diffusion och löslighet) mellan vätskan och silikon-nanofilament. F-SMB uppvisadegoda självrengörande egenskaper förvatten och hexadekan.Vidmulticykel Wilhelmy-mätningarvisade SMB ett lägre vattenupptag än det acetylerade träet, medan SMAB visade denlägsta vattenupptagningen,det vill säga en mycketmärkbar ökad vattenavvisning, tack vareav en kombinerad effekt av acetylering och ytmodifiering. Dessutom uppvisade SMB en störrefärgförändring än SMAB, orsakad av frisättningen av saltsyra under ytmodifieringsprocessen. / <p>QC 20201113</p>

In recent years, due to growing environmental awareness, considerable attention has been given to the development and production of natural fibre reinforced polymer (both thermoset and thermoplastic) composites. The main objective of this study was to reinforce epoxy and polylactic acid (PLA) with hemp fibre to produce improved composites by optimising the fibre treatment methods, composite processing methods, and fibre/matrix interfacial bonding. An investigation was conducted to obtain a suitable fibre alkali treatment method to: (i) remove non-cellulosic fibre components such as lignin (sensitive to ultra violet (UV) radiation) and hemicelluloses (sensitive to moisture) to improve long term composites stability (ii) roughen fibre surface to obtain mechanical interlocking with matrices (iii)expose cellulose hydroxyl groups to obtain hydrogen and covalent bonding with matrices (iv) separate the fibres from their fibre bundles to make the fibre surface available for bonding with matrices (v) retain tensile strength by keeping fibre damage to a minimum level and (vi) increase crystalline cellulose by better packing of cellulose chains to enhance the thermal stability of the fibres. An empirical model was developed for fibre tensile strength (TS) obtained with different treatment conditions (different sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium sulphite (Na2SO3) concentrations, treatment temperatures, and digestion times) by a partial factorial design. Upon analysis of the alkali fibre treatments by single fibre tensile testing (SFTT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential measurements, differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetric analysis (DTA/TGA), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXRD), lignin analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, a treatment consisting of 5 wt% NaOH and 2 wt% Na2SO3 concentrations, with a treatment temperature of 120oC and a digestion time of 60 minutes, was found to give the best combination of the required properties. This alkali treatment produced fibres with an average TS and Young's modulus (YM) of 463 MPa and 33 GPa respectively. The fibres obtained with the optimised alkali treatment were further treated with acetic anhydride and phenyltrimethoxy silane. However, acetylated and silane treated fibres were not found to give overall performance improvement. Cure kinetics of the neat epoxy (NE) and 40 wt% untreated fibre/epoxy (UTFE) composites were studied and it was found that the addition of fibres into epoxy resin increased the reaction rate and decreased the curing time. An increase in the nucleophilic activity of the amine groups in the presence of fibres is believed to have increased the reaction rate of the fibre/epoxy resin system and hence reduced the activation energies compared to NE. The highest interfacial shear strength (IFSS) value for alkali treated fibre/epoxy (ATFE) samples was 5.2 MPa which was larger than the highest value of 2.7 MPa for UTFE samples supporting that there was a stronger interface between alkali treated fibre and epoxy resin. The best fibre/epoxy bonding was found for an epoxy to curing agent ratio of 1:1 (E1C1) followed by epoxy to curing agent ratios of 1:1.2 (E1C1.2), 1: 0.8 (E1C0.8), and finally for 1:0.6 (E1C0.6). Long and short fibre reinforced epoxy composites were produced with various processing conditions using vacuum bag and compression moulding. A 65 wt% untreated long fibre/epoxy (UTLFE) composite produced by compression moulding at 70oC with a TS of 165 MPa, YM of 17 GPa, flexural strength of 180 MPa, flexural modulus of 10.1 GPa, impact energy (IE) of 14.5 kJ/m2, and fracture toughness (KIc) of 5 MPa.m1/2 was found to be the best in contrast to the trend of increased IFSS for ATFE samples. This is considered to be due to stress concentration as a result of increased fibre/fibre contact with the increased fibre content in the ATFE composites compared to the UTFE composites. Hygrothermal ageing of 65 wt% untreated and alkali treated long and short fibre/epoxy composites (produced by curing at 70oC) showed that long fibre/epoxy composites were more resistant than short fibre/epoxy composites and ATFE composites were more resistant than UTFE composites towards hygrothermal ageing environments as revealed from diffusion coefficients and tensile, flexural, impact, fracture toughness, SEM, TGA, and WAXRD test results. Accelerated ageing of 65 wt% UTLFE and alkali treated long fibre/epoxy (ATLFE) composites (produced by curing at 70oC) showed that ATLFE composites were more resistant than UTLFE composites towards hygrothermal ageing environments as revealed from tensile, flexural, impact, KIc, SEM, TGA, WAXRD, FTIR test results. IFSS obtained with untreated fibre/PLA (UFPLA) and alkali treated fibre/PLA (ATPLA) samples showed that ATPLA samples had greater IFSS than that of UFPLA samples. The increase in the formation of hydrogen bonding and mechanical interlocking of the alkali treated fibres with PLA could be responsible for the increased IFSS for ATPLA system compared to UFPLA system. Long and short fibre reinforced PLA composites were also produced with various processing conditions using compression moulding. A 32 wt% alkali treated long fibre PLA composite produced by film stacking with a TS of 83 MPa, YM of 11 GPa, flexural strength of 143 MPa, flexural modulus of 6.5 GPa, IE of 9 kJ/m2, and KIc of 3 MPa.m1/2 was found to be the best. This could be due to the better bonding of the alkali treated fibres with PLA. The mechanical properties of this composite have been found to be the best compared to the available literature. Hygrothermal and accelerated ageing of 32 wt% untreated and alkali treated long fibre/PLA composites ATPLA composites were more resistant than UFPLA composites towards hygrothermal and accelerated ageing environments as revealed from diffusion coefficients and tensile, flexural, impact, KIc, SEM, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), WAXRD, and FTIR results. Increased potential hydrogen bond formation and mechanical interlocking of the alkali treated fibres with PLA could be responsible for the increased resistance of the ATPLA composites. Based on the present study, it can be said that the performance of natural fibre composites largely depend on fibre properties (e.g. length and orientation), matrix properties (e.g. cure kinetics and crystallinity), fibre treatment and processing methods, and composite processing methods.