Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a nonpeptidic neurotoxin with a high rate of food poisoning mortality (60%) that has been associated with the consumption of diets from puffer fish and mud snails harbouring TTX-producing bacteria. As this neurotoxin has no known antidote and could not be mitigated by cooking, the only way for safety appears to be the detection of TTX-contaminated fishes at the points of harvest and control. The overall aim of this study was to develop amperometric and impedimetric sensors for TTX based on ionophores and aptamer immobilised on the modified conducting electroactive polyaniline (PANI)/electrode. The undoped polyaniline and poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSSA) doped electroactive polyanilines were prepared in perchloric acid/acetonitrile and phosphoric acid respectively by electrochemical oxidative polymerisation. Two types of electropolymerisation were applied to prepare the neutral and p-doped PANI−PSSA films composites. The dynamic electroinactivity of TTX was studied which revealed that TTX is not electrochemically active on bare Au, GC, Pt, PG, Ni, Ti and BDD (Boron dopeddiamond) electrodes in acetate buffer pH 4.8. Using ion transfer voltammetry and UV-Vis analysis, the complexation of TTX with two neutral ionophores (sodium ionophore X (NaX) and dibenzo-18-crown6 (B18C6)) was investigated. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) recorded from ion transfer voltammetry presented no redox peak and no increasing/decreasing current was observed which indicates that no TTX ions transfer from the liquid to the organic phase. In addition, the absorption spectra of the mixture of TTX/NaX and TTX/B18C6 presented the same absorption bands recorded for NaX and B18C6 respectively. Three absorptions bands at 250.4, 278.3, and 370.6 nm for NaX and two at 222.03 and 274.10 nm for B18C6 were observed before and after mixing TTX with NaX and TTX with B18C6 separately. No chemical reaction occurred between the TTX and both ionophores, therefore, sodium ionophore X and dibenzo-18-crown-6 did not form a complex with TTX. Thus, TTX ion sensor cannot be developed based on these two neutral compounds. The electrodynamics of the PANI and PANI−PSSA films electropolymerised on the bare precious metal electrodes were also investigated through various electrochemical techniques. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies in sodium phosphate (SPB) and acetate (OAc) buffer revealed that both neutral and p-doped films synthesized were thin (thickness L < 5 nm in acetate buffer and L < 10 nm in sodium phosphate buffer) film polymers.

The introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing about 3 decades ago led to the possibility of early detection of prostate cancer (PCa). Although PSA testing reduced the mortality rate, it is also associated with high risk of over diagnosis in patients with and without PCa. Despite the current drawbacks, it would be a challenge to replace PSA testing entirely. Instead, there is a need to develop parallel testing of other potential biomarkers that can complement the results from PSA tests. To address alternative biomarker sensing, this thesis highlights on the development of oligonucleotide-based biosensors for the detection of different biomarkers of PCa. Using PSA as a gold standard, the first study of this dissertation investigates the use of DNA aptamers to detect PSA using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The study compares 6-mercapto 1-hexanol chemistry with sulfo-betaine chemistry for the development of PSA aptasensor in terms of performance and selectivity. The second study focuses on glycoprofiling in order to complement PSA quantification as an additional information for reliable PCa diagnosis. This strategy was developed in a microfluidic channel with an optical read out using chemiluminescence. This study addresses one of the major problems of cross-reactivity with lectins in glycoprofiling, which can be solved using DNA aptamers. A third study concentrates on the development of an aptasensor for Alpha-Methylacyl-CoA Racemase (AMACR). AMACR has been reported for its high specificity and sensitivity to PCa. For the fabrication of the biosensor, a new strategy using polyethylene glycol was developed by electrochemical grafting it to a polypyrrole film. Since PCa diagnosis can be improved by looking at different biomarkers, an electrochemical platform for miRNA/DNA detection using a gold nanoparticle amplification strategy was also investigated. The sensor was fabricated using peptide nucleic acids (PNA) probes on gold electrodes. The study presents non-Faradaic EIS and amperometric techniques in order to exploit the inherent charges of nucleic acids. In conclusion, this thesis wants to serve as a potential orientation for overcoming the shortcomings of the current PCa testing and contribute towards the development of oligonucleotide-based biosensors for PCa biomarker detection and hopefully enhance the diagnosis and prognosis of PCa.

Les aptamères correspondent à de courtes séquences d'oligonucléotides possédant une forte affinité et spécificité envers un ligand (petites molécules organiques, peptides, acides nucléiques, protéines, cellules). Du fait de leurs remarquables propriétés, ils sont utilisés comme alternative aux anticorps dans les dispositifs de type biocapteur/biopuce, notamment pour la détection de petites molécules (PM < 2000 Da). L'imagerie de résonance des plasmons de surface (SPRi) est une technique de détection optique qui a gagné une attention croissante ces dernières années. Elle est basée sur un principe de variation de l'indice de réfraction d'une surface sélective lors de l'interaction sonde/cible. Sa sensibilité est néanmoins limitée aux molécules de poids moléculaire supérieur à 2000 Da. Dans le cadre de ces travaux, nous avons développé une biopuce à aptamères pour à la détection d'une petite molécule, l'adénosine, au moyen de la technique de résonance des plasmons de surface (SPR). Pour cela, deux différentes stratégies ont été développées. La première combine l'utilisation de nanoparticules d'or (AuNPs) pour l'amplification du signal SPRi avec l'ingénierie des séquences d'aptamères. La seconde stratégie est basée sur l'exploitation de la stabilité thermodynamique apportée par l'interaction de la cible (adénosine) avec les séquences d'aptamères. Le dispositif SPR est alors couplé à un système de régulation de température, permettant ainsi d'assurer la dissociation des complexes et d'établir des profils de dénaturation caractéristiques. Nos résultats initient ainsi une nouvelle approche dans la détection de petites molécules par SPRi et ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives de développement des biocapteurs à aptamères. / Aptamers are single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or RNA molecules capable of binding to target molecules, including proteins, metal ions and drugs. Because of their specific binding abilities and many advantages over antibodies (higher stability, lower cost, easy chemical modification…), they provide a great opportunity to produce sensing surfaces for effective and selective detection of small molecules. Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (SPRi) has become one of the most widely used label-free method for the study of biorecognition events on sensor surfaces. This technique provides a rapid approach, however, limited by low refractive index changes occurring when small molecules (<2000 Da) are captured on the sensor. Whereas significant reflectivity variation is observed upon the interaction of large molecules like proteins with the sensing interface, for small molecules targets such adenosine, the reflectivity variation is often too small to be detected by SPRi. Thereby, only few studies have been reported so far on SPRi-based biosensor for small molecules detection using aptamers. In this work, we developed two bioassay strategies for the detection of a model small molecule, adenosine, using Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging. The first one combines the SPRi signal enhancement effect induced by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with the advantage of using engineered DNA aptamers. The experimental results have demonstrated that the presence of gold nanoparticles and adenosine, which works as a molecular linker between engineered aptamer fragments, can significantly increase the SPRi response. The second strategy is based on the thermodynamics of binding between adenosine and its aptamer. To that end, SPRi technique was coupled with rigorous temperature control and aptamer duplex stability was monitored (affected by target binding) by quantification of melting transitions. Our results initiate a new approach for small molecule detection using SPRi with the aim to validate future prospects for integration in parallelized platform.

Cette thèse porte sur la modification d'électrodes par des polymères électrogénérés, capables d'immobiliser une biomolécule et/ou de fournir des propriétés de transduction électrochimique afin d'élaborer des biocapteurs à ADN faisant intervenir différents types d'interactions : ADN/protéine de réparation, hybridation et aptamère/molécule cible.Dans un premier temps, nous avons immobilisé la protéine Formamidopyrimidine ADN Glycosylase (Fpg) de D. radiodurans portant un tag histidine sur un film de poly-(pyrrole-NTA) via l'interaction NTA/Cu2+/Histidine. Dans le but d'étudier, par spectroscopie d'impédance électrochimique et SPR, l'interaction de cette protéine avec un duplex d'ADN sans lésions et un duplex d'ADN portant une lésion -oxo-guanine (8-oxo-G), car la Fpg est une protéine impliquée dans la réparation de l'ADN lorsque celui-ci comporte un site 8 (8-oxo-G).Dans un second temps, nous avons élaboré un biocapteur photoélectrochimique à partir d'un complexe multifonctionnel, (Ru(bpy-pyrrole)2(dppn)]2+) (bpy-pyrrole=4-méthyl-4'-butylpyrrole-2,2'-bipyridine, dppn=benzo[i]dipyrido-[3,2-a:2'.3'-c]phénazine) pouvant être électropolymérisé, intercalé l'ADN et photoactivé. La preuve de concept a été réalisée pour une séquence type d'ADN du VIH. Une limite de détection de 10-15 mol.L-1 et une sensibilité de 0,01 unité par décade avec une gamme de linéarité allant de 10-15 à 10-10 mol.L-1 ont été obtenue. Puis, nous avons conçu un aptacapteur pour la détection de la cocaïne à l'aide d'un aptamère double-fragment, formant une seule entité en présence de cocaïne, pouvant être immobilisée par intercalation sur le ligand dppn du métallopolymère. Ainsi une gamme de linéarité comprise entre 10-6 et 5x10-4 mol L-1 a été obtenue pour une concentration d'aptamère de 10-7 mol L-1, avec une limite de détection de l'ordre de 10-6 mol L-1. / This work focuses on the conception and optimization of impedancemetric and photoelectrochemical DNA biosensors based on the modification of electrodes with electrogenerated polymers. Different types of interactions involving DNA were studied: DNA/DNA repair protein, hybridization and aptamer/target molecule.In the first part, a poly-(pyrrole-NTA)-modified electrode was used to immobilize a protein involved in DNA repair: the Fpg (Formamidopyrimidine DNA Glycosylase) from D. radiodurans. This protein was previously tagged with histidine to be immobilized via a (NTA)Cu-histidine interaction. This protein detects and removes 8-oxo-guanine (8-oxo-G), a DNA damage caused by irradiation in double stranded DNA. We studied the behavior of this Fpg with DNA duplexes with and without 8-oxo-G nucleotide by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and SPR.In the second part, we report the design of novel photoelectrochemical biosensor based on a multifunctional complex, (Ru(bpy-pyrrole)2(dppn)]2+) (bpy-pyrrole=4-methyl-4'-butylpyrrole-2,2'-bipyridine, dppn= benzo[i]dipyrido-[3,2-a:2'.3'-c]phenazine) exhibiting photo-sensitive, DNA-intercalating and electro-polymerizable properties. This modified electrode achieves photoelectrochemical detection on planar electrode by intercalating HIV-DNA duplexes or aptamer–cocaine complexes. The photocurrent generated through visible irradiation was correlated to the oligonucleotides concentration. Low detection limits of 10-15 mol L-1 and sensitivity of 0.01 unit per decade were measured, demonstrating excellent adequacy of these modified electrodes towards duplex HIV DNA detection. For the cocaine detection, the photelectrochemical aptasensor was based on the immobilization of a 10-7 mol L-1 double-fragment anti-cocaine aptamer and finally exhibited a linear range between 10-6 and 5x10-4 mol L-1 and a detection limit of 10-6 mol L-1.

L'objectif du travail de recherche mené concerne l'élaboration des nouveaux matériaux d'électrodes modifiés pour des applications dans le domaine des biocapteurs. Le travail a été subdivisé en trois parties portant sur le greffage du sel de diazonium pour application immunocapteur, l'électroadressage des d'anticorps et l'électrodépôt d'un espaceur pour application aptacapteur. Dans la première partie de ce travail, nous nous sommes consacrés d'abord à l'électrogreffage du nitrobenzène diazonium sur la surface d'or pour le développement de capteurs immunologiques destinés à la détection de la bactérie Staphylococcus aureus. Une limite de détection de 10 UFC/mL a été atteinte. Dans la deuxième partie, la détection de l'ochratoxine A est présentée, basée sur l'électroadressage covalent de l'anticorps modifié par la fonction diazonium sur des électrodes de Diamant Dopé Bore (BDD). Une limite de détection de 0.007ng/mL a été obtenue et l'immunocapteur a été testé sur des échantillons réels. Enfin, on a développé un aptacapteur basé sur le greffage d'un espaceur (PEG) sur la surface des microcellules BDD pour la quantification de la biotoxine OTA. Une limite de détection de 0,01ng/L a été obtenue et application à un échantillon réel (le riz) a été démontrée. Les résultats obtenus, basés sur des méthodes électrochimiques de détection (variation de l'impédance ou du courant d'une sonde redox) sont encourageantes en termes de sensibilité, limite de détection, reproductibilité et spécificité / The objective of the research work was to the development of modified electrode materials for biosensor application. The work was devided into three parts: electrografting of diazonium salt for immunosensor application, electroadressing of antibodies and electrodeposition of PEG spacer for aptasensor application. In the first part of this work, the modification of gold surfaces with nitrobenzene diazonium cation was investigated in order to develop an immunosensors for the detection of Staphylococcus aureus. A detection limit of 10 CFU/mL has been obtained. The second part was focused on the electrically addressable deposition of diazonium functionalized antibodies on boron-doped diamond (BDD) microcells for the detection of OTA. A detection limit of 0.007ng/mL has been obtained and the immunosensor was tested on real samples. Finally, we developed an amperometric aptasensor based on electrochemical grafting of a PEG-COOH spacer on a BDD microcell for the detection of OTA biotoxin. A detection limit of 0.01 ng/L has been obtained and application to a real sample (rice) has been demonstrated. The amperometric and impedimetric techniques used in this work lead to promising results in terms of sensitivity, specificity and reproductibility

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Prostate cancer, commonly referred to as adenocarcinoma of the prostate, is the leading cause of cancer death in men in 46 countries, and it was estimated that by the end of 2018 there would approximately be 1.3 million new cases of prostate cancer worldwide. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved biomarker for prostate cancer disease diagnostics Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is not specific to the disease itself but extends to other cases such as Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH) a condition in which the prostate grows uncontrollably. This biomarker is then detected in blood samples via conventional methods which require a qualified individual to operate and are often time consuming. Examples of these methods are spectrophotometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Hence, a more efficient biomarker and method of detection is needed for prostate cancer disease diagnostics, as early detection of the disease means early treatment, which could ultimately save lives. Currently, an emerging biomarker for prostate cancer known as Alpha-Methyl CoA Racemase (AMACR) has shown to be more specific to the disease with advantages such as being a non-invasive biomarker. AMACR has been reported to be present in urine, and thus may be detected via a non-invasive method. This study proposed an economical, non-invasive electrochemical biosensor for the rapid detection of AMACR based on mercaptosuccinic acid capped tungsten telluride (MSA-WTe3) quantum dots (QDs). Nanomaterial has shown promise in terms of increasing the sensitivity and specificity of sensors. MSA-WTe3 QDs was successfully synthesized using easy, inexpensive method and was studied by various techniques such as High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) where the size was confirmed to be within the nanometer scale and was reported to be 2.65 nm with a good crystallinity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the structural properties and chemical composition of the QDs and it is reported that the QDs are rich in both tellurium and tungsten and comprise of a hexagonal structure. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) confirmed the successful immobilization of aptamer sequence specific to AMACR onto the electrode surface by showing a distinct conformational change when aptamers were introduced to the QDs under study. This study reports the successful detection of AMACR using an MSA-WTe3 QDs based aptasensor immobilized onto a screen printed glassy carbon electrode, with a detection limit of 0.35651 ng/mL and a limit of quantification calculated to be 1.08033 ng/mL.

No description available.

This study embarks on exploiting the Thickness Shear Mode (TSM) acoustic wave sensor and the ElectroMagnetic Piezoelectric Acoustic Sensor (EMPAS) towards the study of aptamer-to-cocaine binding in a label-free direct approach. The high sensitivity and selectivity offered by the EMPAS in combination with alkyltrichlorosilane-based self-assembled monolayers proved superior towards the detection of cocaine. The most efficient method for the attachment of the aptamers onto the sensor surface to construct highly dense populations of the aptamer molecules with retained biomolecule activity is shown to be dependent on the composition of immobilizing solution and on the amount of spacing provided in the plane of the aptamer molecules. The distinct ligand-induced binding mechanisms and regeneration capabilities of the two anti-cocaine aptamers are monitored with the EMPAS. Utilizing this sensor to monitor cocaine-aptamer interactions will serve as the first piezoelectric aptasensor for the detection of a small molecule.

This study embarks on exploiting the Thickness Shear Mode (TSM) acoustic wave sensor and the ElectroMagnetic Piezoelectric Acoustic Sensor (EMPAS) towards the study of aptamer-to-cocaine binding in a label-free direct approach. The high sensitivity and selectivity offered by the EMPAS in combination with alkyltrichlorosilane-based self-assembled monolayers proved superior towards the detection of cocaine. The most efficient method for the attachment of the aptamers onto the sensor surface to construct highly dense populations of the aptamer molecules with retained biomolecule activity is shown to be dependent on the composition of immobilizing solution and on the amount of spacing provided in the plane of the aptamer molecules. The distinct ligand-induced binding mechanisms and regeneration capabilities of the two anti-cocaine aptamers are monitored with the EMPAS. Utilizing this sensor to monitor cocaine-aptamer interactions will serve as the first piezoelectric aptasensor for the detection of a small molecule.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that, despite all efforts devoted towards its eradication, remains a threat to many countries including South Africa. Current diagnostic assays do offer better performance than the conventional sputum smear microscopy and tuberculin skin tests. However, these assays have been proven to be affected by various factors including the condition of an individual's immune system and vaccination history. By far, electrochemical biosensors are amongst the currently investigated techniques to address the shortcomings associated with these diagnostics. / 2020-08-31